Eames Lounge Chair copies... worth it?

[Gibonius]



For 5k I might be persuaded to sell one of my original PiobChairs [sup]TM[/sup]

Does it come with authentic PiobPatina?

 

[Find Finn]



The good news is that these styles will be a dime a dozen at some point again (hopefully in our lifetime).  I have a house full of Heywood-Wakefield and when I first started collecting it was fairly cheap, then there was a price spike for about 15 years.  It's now back down to reasonable prices again.  Same thing for George Nelson lamps and clocks.  You couldn't give away those things when I started collecting, now there is a huge premium.  These chairs may or may not have hit that sine wave of price, but I would guess they have and will again, but probably not for a good while (damn Mad Men show).

The MCM seem to be dying down finally and even the most resilient design magazines. Who have been all modernism since is was new have started talking about electicism with bold colors and lots of knick knacks.

 

[RebelScum]

******* LOVE THIS THING

 

[Pernalonga]

Hey there, just started my research for a good quality Eames reproduction and found this forum. After reading about all the options out there I decided to go with IFN Modern (I'm in Canada, so they still have it in here). Unfortunately it seems they no longer work with Yadea as my order had the code KT421-A and that's the code used by a Chinese company called Cursint. This is their Alibaba page:

http://cursint.en.alibaba.com/product/223173241-200151215/Charles_design_modern_lounge_chair.html

It seems really inconsistent and the cushions don't look right. Anyone else who has bought recently from IFN Canada has any feedback on the looks of their replicas? I already called them and canceled my order to be on the safe side.



The two other options I have would be either Rove (more on the expensive side, especially with a CAD$300 shipping fee) or EQ3. They are selling a replica made by Nuevo Living, but again, it doesn't seem right, especially the feet. They were sued by HM in 2012 and they no longer have this chair in their site, but they're obviously still selling to stores. Here is the pdf with photos and dimensions:

http://nuevoliving.com/Products/PDF/HGEM100.pdf

Is Rove my only other option for Yadea reproductions? In Canada? Thanks for your help.

 

[Pernalonga]

Just got this e-mail from IFN:

"I understand that you were concerned about the manufacturer that we use and yes, our products are manufactured through China Yadea company not Cursint furniture. We previously used to use Cursint however we had to drop them due to quality issues. Our main supplier is Yadea only and their product is closest to the original. The KT421- SKU was created by us and for inventory purpose we still use the same sku even though it is manufactured by Yadea. We kept the sku the same so we do not have to change our entire data base which has 1000’s of individual skus. Our sku is unique to us and we have kept is same ever since we have been in the manufacturing business of the reproductions. "

They say they have my choice in stock (aniline black palisander) and they would be able to ship to me in the next 24hours.

I went back to EQ3 to check their Nuevo Living and based on the information gathered in this thread I can say it's a lower grade replica: the backrest spacers were hard plastic and the inside of the plywood was rough and painted black. Another detail is that the legs followed the Vitra design: thin on the polished aluminum part. For CAD$2400, I'll pass....

 

[twistoffat]



Just got this e-mail from IFN:

"[COLOR=222222]I understand that you were concerned about the manufacturer that we use and yes, our products are manufactured through China Yadea company not Cursint furniture.  We previously used to use Cursint however we had to drop them due to quality issues.  Our main supplier is Yadea only and their product is closest to the original.  The KT421- SKU was created by us and for inventory purpose we still use the same sku even though it is manufactured by Yadea.   We kept the sku the same so we do not have to change our entire data base which has 1000’s of individual skus.  Our sku is unique to us and we have kept is same ever since we have been in the manufacturing business of the reproductions. [/COLOR]" 

They say they have my choice in stock ([COLOR=222222]aniline black palisander) and they would be able to ship to me in the next 24hours.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]I went back to EQ3 to check their Nuevo Living and based on the information gathered in this thread I can say it's a lower grade replica: the backrest spacers were hard plastic and the inside of the plywood was rough and painted black. Another detail is that the legs followed the Vitra design: thin on the polished aluminum part. For CAD$2400, I'll pass....[/COLOR]

Yeah Quality shines through.....put me down for five of those excellent Chinese Rolex´s or is that a Rorex.

 

[ES670]



Just got this e-mail from IFN:

"[COLOR=222222]I understand that you were concerned about the manufacturer that we use and yes, our products are manufactured through China Yadea company not Cursint furniture.  We previously used to use Cursint however we had to drop them due to quality issues.  Our main supplier is Yadea only and their product is closest to the original.  The KT421- SKU was created by us and for inventory purpose we still use the same sku even though it is manufactured by Yadea.   We kept the sku the same so we do not have to change our entire data base which has 1000’s of individual skus.  Our sku is unique to us and we have kept is same ever since we have been in the manufacturing business of the reproductions. [/COLOR]" 

They say they have my choice in stock ([COLOR=222222]aniline black palisander) and they would be able to ship to me in the next 24hours.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=222222]I went back to EQ3 to check their Nuevo Living and based on the information gathered in this thread I can say it's a lower grade replica: the backrest spacers were hard plastic and the inside of the plywood was rough and painted black. Another detail is that the legs followed the Vitra design: thin on the polished aluminum part. For CAD$2400, I'll pass....[/COLOR]

FYI, even the Herman Miller ones have back spacers that are plastic. They stopped using rubber back in the 70's.

 

[vestaviascott]

Is Rove my only other option for Yadea reproductions? In Canada? Thanks for your help.

The Yadea Model number for the chair you want is PV021-1-D. As long as IFN Modern assures you that this is the chair you are getting (regardless of their internal coding), I can vouch for its quality and you will not be dissatisfied. Its the best non licensed chair you can get currently (Mine was $1099 shipped) and completely on par with the Herman Miller chair in every way and surpasses it in a few (leather quality and rubber shock mounts on the rear supports - HM now uses plastic).

My chair just arrived yesterday and I could not be more happy. The chair is identical to the Herman Miller version, right down to the rubber shock mounts under the armrest that connect the seat shell to the back shell. The Analine leather is actually nicer than the HM leather (unfair comparison since the HM leather is not full Analine). We have a HM showroom here in Birmingham and I have extensively reviewed and analyzed the chair they have in their showroom (we are purchasing one of their Noguchi glass top coffee tables). The Herman Miller chair is plush and comfortable, top quality. The Yadea "Premium Version" chair (model PV021-1-D) is an identical reproduction of that chair. The Yadea guys actualy sent me a pic of them unboxing the Herman Miller chair they used to authenticate their chair's design.

Since I'm in the US, I could not order from IFN Modern and I was able to find a US distributor partner of Yadea who sells the same chair. Check my previous posts if you need that.

 

[sbrentn]

The Yadea Model number for the chair you want is PV021-1-D. As long as IFN Modern assures you that this is the chair you are getting (regardless of their internal coding), I can vouch for its quality and you will not be dissatisfied. Its the best you can get currently for under $2000 (Mine was $1099 shipped) and completely on par with the Herman Miller chair in every way and surpasses it in a few (leather quality and rubber shock mounts on the rear supports - HM now uses plastic).

My chair just arrived yesterday and I could not be more happy. The chair is identical to the Herman Miller version, right down to the rubber shock mounts. The Analine leather is actually nicer than the HM leather. We have a HM showroom her in Birmingham and I have extensively reviewed and analyzed the chair they have in their showroom, including sitting in it. Its plush and comfortable, top quality, and the Yadea "Premium Version" chair (model PV021-1-D) is an identical reproduction of that chair. The Yadea guys actualy sent me a pic of them unboxing the Herman Miller chair they used to authenticate their chair's design.

Since I'm in the US, I could not order from IFN Modern and I was able to find a US distributor partner of Yadea who sells the same chair. Check my previous posts if you need that.

Would love to see some pictures!

 

[vestaviascott]

Would love to see some pictures!

 

[Pernalonga]

The Yadea Model number for the chair you want is PV021-1-D. As long as IFN Modern assures you that this is the chair you are getting (regardless of their internal coding), I can vouch for its quality and you will not be dissatisfied. Its the best you can get currently for under $2000 (Mine was $1099 shipped) and completely on par with the Herman Miller chair in every way and surpasses it in a few (leather quality and rubber shock mounts on the rear supports - HM now uses plastic).

My chair just arrived yesterday and I could not be more happy. The chair is identical to the Herman Miller version, right down to the rubber shock mounts. The Analine leather is actually nicer than the HM leather. We have a HM showroom her in Birmingham and I have extensively reviewed and analyzed the chair they have in their showroom, including sitting in it. Its plush and comfortable, top quality, and the Yadea "Premium Version" chair (model PV021-1-D) is an identical reproduction of that chair. The Yadea guys actualy sent me a pic of them unboxing the Herman Miller chair they used to authenticate their chair's design.

Since I'm in the US, I could not order from IFN Modern and I was able to find a US distributor partner of Yadea who sells the same chair. Check my previous posts if you need that.

Thanks vestaviascott! It was actually thanks to your research both here and in the Reddit post about the ELO purchase that I got confident about the Yadea reproduction. I also contacted them directly and saw the PDF with the (amusing) pictures of them unboxing the HM original. IFN confirmed that they work with Yadea. I'll post pictures when the chair arrives.

 

[Pernalonga]

That's a beauty!

 

[vestaviascott]

Leather close ups - the Analine leather is silky smooth. its like butter....

 

[vestaviascott]

Cushion and reverse shell detail:

 

[Pernalonga]

One week later:

I'll have to wait for my wife to come back from work and help me assemble and review this, but so far I'm happy with the matching code as everyone else who got their reproduction from Yadea (PV021-1-D). IFN did an outstanding job in delivering this before I even got the shipping confirmation from their warehouse. The chair was CAD$1396 with free shipping for anyone interested.