Modernica

Just before last weekend Jennifer from Modernica sent me an email to let me know about an upcoming online sale at Modernica that I definitely don't want to miss...the Case Study Storage Units will be on sale during a 72 hour promotion, from 4th - 6th July... and these storage unites are on our minds for a long time, so now we're hopeing they will and can ship to Malaysia...are you familiar with the Case Study furniture? ...well this is some information I found on Modernica's website ..."they were created for a competition held in 1948 sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design was motivated by the urgent need in the Post-war period for low-cost housing and furnishing design adaptable to small housing units. The concept behind the products was that mass-produced, standardized parts could be combined in different ways to meet the unique needs of each customer"... sounds a bit like IKEA  ..since 18 years already Modernica in Los Angelos is manufacturing these unites after its original design.

What I didn't know about Modernica, but found via Apartment therapy LA is that Modernica has a huge prop department...would you like to see more images or read an interesting interview with founder , Frank, ... click here...and don't forget the sale that starts on Friday!! {ps. this is it for today, because I know many of you haven't had time to read and see the beautiful report from Christine about Oslo in Norway from last Friday...tomorrow I will be back with some fresh and designs}

Comments

[Nicole]

I would be curious to know exactly who designed those storage units. Why does the 'history' provided by Modernica not reveal the designer? Surely this is an important selling point coming from such an influential exhibition.

Why do these storage units look so much like the Eames storage units? Why are we OK with copying a designer years later, but would never stand for it with many of the living designers featured elsewhere on this blog?

Take a look at the 'Letters' section of the June 2008 Dwell. You'll find a letter written by Eames Demetrios about Dwell running Modernica ads promoting 'fake Eames plastic chairs'.

Please do a little research about the companies you are promoting before you help them advertise. Don't help them promote misleading stries about their products. As Demetrios says in his letter, 'your readers deserve better'

[irene]

Thanks for your sharing your views. I actually did research (and always do) on Modernica. But I am sure I don't have all the facts, and I am not sure whether you have. What attracts me to contemporary furniture is that originally most of the designs were intended to be low cost furniture. A great principle in my view and something to keep in mind if you ask me.

Irene

[Nicole]

Well, here is what I know, and we'll limit it to the storage units mentioned. It would be great if you could share what you know as well and why you think Modernica should be supported. All sides are appreciated.

- Can we agree that both storage units, the ones provided by Modernica and Herman Miller - their original manufacturer of the Eames units - look curiously similar?

- The Eames Storage Units (ESU) are shown in the _Eames design_* book in the year 1950. This book was authored by Ray Eames along with 2 other authors. The Case Goods series is shown in the book as well in the year 1946 and the series bears visual resemblance to the ESUs.

- The 'International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design' is also featured in the book along with the Eames Office's entries in the exhibition, none of which appear to include the storage units. All of the entires were chairs.

- So who, exactly, designed those Modernica storage units, supposedly submitted to the 1948 'Low-Cost' exhibtion? Who was it that entered copies of goods the Eames had already produced -the Case Goods- or were in the process of producing 2 years down the line? Wouldn't that have caused a scandal? There were only 5 other groups/offices involved (there were six teams invited to the competition), so the designer of said storage unit should be easy to find in the history books.

I am not suggesting that Modernica has crossed legal lines, I have no idea. They have, however, waded into questionable territory and I think it's worth asking these questions as advocates of independent designers. I would love to hear what they say about the back-story that accompanies the units and how it has no basis in history. Manufacturing provenance for a piece of furniture *is* misleading. It puts the piece in the cadre of designers to which it absolutely does not belong. (And, I did not look into why the connect it to Case Study.)

Good design at a reasonable price is a worthy goal, but it doesn't have to come at the expense of designers, living or dead. There are other viable low-cost options, Modernica isn't the only one (aside from the fact that some of what they sell is only fractionally cheaper than what you can buy the original for). By supporting Modernica, we give our attention/money to a company that appears not to value designers and their contributions to our lives... and isn't that the purpose of this site?

* The full title is 'Eames design: the work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames" authored by john Neuhart, Marilyn Neuhart and Ray Eames. Published by Harry N Abrams, third printing, 1994.

[lauren alane]

Apparently this debate has been going on for years :) Here's a thread that's super helpful, which I spent all yesterday reading. Tons of great info from these readers. It turns out that Modernica used to make the ESUs for Herman Miller. So, they used to be "Eames" Storage Units, and now they are just Storage Units, because Herman Miller no longer licenses the Modernica versions. They're still the same product though. I'm excited to get one at the sale!

http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread_show_one/thread_id/6257/