Here's a follow up post to Knockoff or Real thing. Special thanks to jkz.design for providing articles discussing Design Within Reach and even their struggle of falling into the trap of designing knockoffs and selling them as the real deal. Since the December 2009 article came out in Fast Company discussing DWR and their credibility they have taken aggressive steps to reestablish themselves. In an exclusive interview the new DWR CEO (as of January 3) John Edelman directly responds to the question of knockoffs stating, "the directional future of the company is not to do knockoffs. We will phase out of knockoffs and move toward originality."
I guess at the end of the day always check the manufacturer, no matter where you are purchasing from. Below I've included the December 2009 article Seeing Double: Is It DWR or Someone Else? from Fast Company magazine.
Ronda 116 Chair // Aldo Ciabatti
Ciabatti's stackable design is a café fixture throughout Europe, and until the fall of 2008, it was a DWR stalwart. "In good years, they sold 10,000," says a spokesman for EMU, which makes the Ronda ($79) in Italy. DWR's Café chair ($78) is made in China.
Sussex Credenza // Terence Woodgate
Manufactured by the Spanish company Punt Mobles, the Sussex ($4,000) was a DWR star until it was replaced by the Dover ($4,000) in 2008. Woodgate says that the Dover is a copy. Brunner's response: "Clearly, he didn't invent louvers."
Chicago 8 Box Shelves // Blu Dot
DWR carried the Minneapolis-based company's Chicago 8 Box shelves ($1,799) until replacing it with its own Lacuna ($1,800). At press time, DWR was "in the process of purging" the Lacuna, says chairman Glenn Krevlin.
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