I could see the Eames Lounger through a window from the sidewalk and I was truly taken aback. Surely, the mid-century craze is officially out of gas when cheap knock-offs are turning up in Canadian Tire (chair $544, ottoman $199). Any vestige of cool still attached to this once iconic chair must now be laid to rest. And it’s not just the Eames’s being subjected to this cruel ignominy — save room in the dustbin for Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair ($544, ottoman $269) and Isamu Noguchi’s famous, sculptural coffee table ($299, save $50!), too. This is a classic case of too much of a good thing.
October 15th, 2009 at 9:22 am
SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 15th, 2009 at 9:41 am
While I can concur with you that mid-century classics turning up in Canadian Tire (of all places) seems odd and perhaps pedestrian, they are only now being sold as they were first intended by their designers — well designed furniture for the masses. The then-novel use of chrome, bent-wood engineering, and clean unadorned design were all elements contributing to a new way of design and manufacturing furniture that could be enjoyed by all.
I haven’t seen these pieces in the stores, so I can’t say if they are up-to-snuff with those of Herman Miller, but that Noguchi table for $300 may well find itself in my media room before long!
October 15th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I respectfully disagree with your outrage and agree with hogtownmike above — if you want the original or a “high end knockoff” then please go buy one. But be aware that you are paying dearly for design. I like the idea of bringing good design down to earth. If the elite want to have something exclusive they can continue to pay dearly for young designers to innovate. After 50 yrs the noguchi table is fair game though!
October 15th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I’ve been seeing knockoffs of the Noguchi table for years–a particularly odious woman I know calls hers her Nogookie. And the Barcelona chair… it’s everywhere, and has been for a long while. Is the big problem that it’s showing up in Canadian Tire? Are higher-end knockoffs supposed to be more legitimate and less “squeeze cheese” than these ones? I am with Hogtownmike here on the history of these pieces and their purpose.
That said… after years of imitation, their impact is kind of diluted for me, especially when they’re used haphazardly. The Nogookie woman plunked her table in a cramped duplex living room about three inches away from a befrilled and beskirted IKEA slipcover sofa and opposite a pine entertainment unit. She paid a lot more than three hundred bucks, but that’s money wasted. ‘Twould be wonderful if even knockoff buyers would have a sense for the dignity of furnishings like these and use them accordingly.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Certainly my negative reaction to seeing these designs at Canadian Tire is rooted in my own snobbery; the ubiquity of these pieces dispells the cool factor, which I think is a shame. You only need to see and feel these chairs to know that they’re substandard reproductions.
Hogtown Mike, I agree that one of the primary motivations of the Bauhaus movement (of which van der Rohe was certainly part)was to embrace machine manufacturing thus making items cheaper to produce and more accessible to the masses. This was particuarly true of designs based on tubular steel and bent plywood construction. But I don’t think the Eames Lounger or the Barcelona chair fall into the same category; I think that like lots of International Style designs, they were conceived to be chic, modern seating with price tags that reflected their inherent quality.
Tricia, I love your story about the Nogookie lady!
October 15th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I am certain anyone can furnish their home how they want to…. just sayin.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
i’ve been meaning to send you a tip about this! Ok so they are poorly made and smell funny (a relative bought the lounger and it broke on him) but I actually found it exciting to see these items in a store like cdn tire as it is exposure to good (if not authentic) design where you least expect it.
There was also a commercial for a mastercraft nail gun running last summer that had the guy’s neighbours lining up to borrow it. The first person in line is carrying an Erik Buck Mobler barstool that i’ve had my eye on so i recognized it right away lol. So whoever the buyer is at cdn tire is apparently a fan of the era. I just hope it means that they realize people might actually care if the stuff they are buying is designed well. Then maybe eventually they will realize the quality, value and sustainability of buying the real thing.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
As much as I’m sure that the purpose of these items were originally for the masses, I am sure the intentions of them being massed produced with inferior quality from China is compromising the idea of these designs in the first place. The are meant to stand the test of time, not stand on the curb after 3 months of use…
I’d like to know my EeeeeH!mes, Bark-elona chair, Nogookie will last the test of time. Not just an apartment at a time.
I’d like to, although it may be esthetically pleasing, have the piece of mind, that if I sat on it or a friend sat on my furniture,I am not half worrying they either fall or break a neck.
Looking at the picture alone you tell the material used was of cheap plastics. If I had the same amount of money, I’d rather do one of the following….
IKEA
Craigslist
Save up a little more for better quality knockoffs.
The only one winning here in my book is Canadian Tire..
October 16th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I think what surprises me is that a place such as Canadian Tire is selling them. That baffles me. I had never associated Canadian Tire with style concious furniture, so when I too saw them a few months ago at the store (when I was looking for gardening supplies) I was a little taken aback and stood infront of them for a good 10 minutes wondering if I was seeing things.
I think “knock offs” of iconic pieces like this are inevitable. Whether or not reproductions like this, are worth purchasing, is a debate that I feel has been (in this post, and in other blogs) more eloquently argued on both sides by other people, so I will leave that to others. However, I don’t poo-poo anyone who gets them. Design should be available to the public - a home that you love, makes you feel proud and comfortable. And if a reproduction is all someone can afford, they shouldn’t feel badly about getting it.
But still…Canadian Tire? It kind of surprises me.
October 17th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Fantastic! Those of us on very tight budgets and who live far from downtown Craigslist sellers can now add a bit of fun to our homes! I picked up a couple of pleather “Barcelona” chairs at Loblaws 3 or 4 years ago for around $150 - 200 each and they complement my “real” pieces quite nicely!
October 20th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I find this hilarious - and excellent! To be honest, having lived across Canada I can tell you that design is hard to come by outside of major centres like Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver. Contrary to popular belief, many companies refuse to ship to rural Canada (and by rural, I mean an hour outside of a major centre). You should be applauding Canadian Tire for trying to bring attractive furniture to more Canadians.
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:42 am
Which Crappy Tire Location was this picture taken from?
… id like to save 50 bucks and snag some crappy tire money …
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Oh my good god. The horror…the horror…
October 25th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Pook Guy, it’s the store at Bay & Dundas in downtown Toronto.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:28 am
The Eames’ mandate was to do the most with the least for the most people - hence their embrace of emerging industrial production techniques, bred from the surplus of manufacturing facilities after the war. I think the Eames foundation has since corrupted this, by only offering Eames products at ridiculously high prices.
Don’t you believe that the dissemination of good design is a positive thing, above and beyond what might be considered an aesthetic fad at the moment?