You may or may not be aware that as of April this year, an EU ruling came into effect which extended the copyright period on furniture to seventy five years after a designer’s death. Essentially this means that it is now illegal to make and sell copycat pieces of furniture of those designers where this period of time has not yet passed.
Goodbye Barcelona chair (so favoured in corporate HQ offices), so long anglepoise lamps and ta-ra to those statement lighting pieces on swooping arcs. Farewell and fond wishes to the Eames rocker and those Eiffel DSW dining chairs…sob!
I’m not going to go into the complexities of licensing laws here, after all I think you’ve got the point. Under the new legislation, retailers selling unlicensed copies of furniture will be liable to fines up to £50,000 and jail terms of up to 10 years. It’s clear that as of October, courtesy of a six month amnesty period, you’re just not going to be able to buy replica pieces of furniture any longer.
We were taken aback when we found out about this new law and knew that we needed to share this news with you lovelies in case you weren’t already aware. Replica cult classics are very much a part of the interior decor in each of our homes and it would be hard to imagine what their replacements would be. We thought then it was only right to share those design staples that make up our homes with you too and to hear which pieces you have in your own houses.
Lisa
Like Lolly I have a thing for chairs. At the risk of sounding like a massive tramp, a few years ago I found three perfectly good dining chairs in a skip and claimed them for my own. After a good scrub, a couple of coats of white paint and a session with a staple gun and some blue, beige and white striped material from Laura Ashley, I was the proud owner of three lovely comfy coastal inspired chairs. Two of the three have recently been consigned to the tip as intended by their original owner but the third is still going strong in my study. In fact I am sitting on it as I type.
To replace my skip bargains I bought four Eames inspired Eiffel DSW dining chairs with wooden legs from eBay. I toyed with the idea of getting them in bright colours as I bloody loved Lottie’s home tour but chickened out at the last minute and bought two in white and two in light grey. They are super versatile – they look good anywhere in the house – and very practical because, being plastic, they can just be wiped clean. Also…how cute is the kid’s version?
I was gutted when Lolly told me that from October we will no longer be able to buy designer knock offs and I am very tempted to buy an Eames rocker for Lyra’s nursery and a Ghost chair for my dressing table. The facts that I don’t yet have a dressing table, and that Lyra is waaay too big to be rocked to sleep any more, are completely irrelevant 🙂
Lauren
I remember a girl coming up to me in a bar to take a look at my new gold envelope handbag. Apparently she thought it was a fancy pants Prada clutch. Obviously it wasn’t but she congratulated me on how terrific my bag was and how I’d had her fooled. I was oblivious to the premium origins of my new accessory and had bought the bag because I loved it, not because it was a designer rip-off.
I know handbags aren’t chairs but I do wonder how many people are buying these items because they appreciate the aesthetic rather than knowingly purchasing a knock-off? Loads of people look at me blankly when I mention the Tolix style stools that used to sit in my garden (and now in my kitchen at my new house) but my friends always refer to my ‘nice metal industrial stools’ instead. Either way I don’t believe the new ruling will make people purchase the way more pricey originals and instead our homes will be missing out some really beautiful pieces.
Lottie
I always loved the Eames Eiffel chairs but when we bought our new house five years ago the budget was pretty tight. Edd came across a copy cat design on Blue Sun Tree and we purchased a whole set for our dining table in a multitude of colours.
We also got the rocking chair as I loved it. It actually turned out to be an ideal chair for the nursery when Molly arrived and is still sitting in there nearly five years later. Over the years I’ve changed my mind on the colours and wish we’d gone for all one colour and also now wish I’d gone for the wood and metal legs rather than just metal but those are just me being fickle! The other thing is that I now know a lot of people who have exactly the same copy cat chairs from various retailers and in truth I doubt anyone would know if they were real or not. Despite this the one thing that hasn’t changed is my love of the design. I don’t think I will ever tire of that.
I have just returned from my Aunty’s holiday cottage in Devon where we have spent the week surrounded by a plethora of design classics from Ercol to Parker Knoll. This is not some intentional style stament I might add. They are simply the pieces that have been there since my childhood and I love them all the more for that.
Lolly
I first dipped my toe into the cult-furniture-classic waters when Ste and I bought our first house over seven years ago now. Like Lisa I purchased a set of four Eames inspired white Eiffel dining chairs from eBay for the grand total of £99 and felt slightly smug that I had managed to inject a serious dose of style into our two bed terrace for under a hundred quid. (I’ve since learned you can buy the same set from World Stores for £30!!!!!).
They served us well during the five years they were with us before I passed them onto my sister as she moved into her first home and we moved out of ours; if I were to go back in time I’d definitely make the same decision to purchase again. That said I should mention that they did begin to yellow as the years passed (this may have been because they were white rather than a bright colour) and I also found them slightly uncomfortable if I sat in them for too long. Perhaps I’ve just got a bony backside…
I’m a big cult design classic fan and was lucky enough to be the recipient of an Ercol love seat for my birthday a couple of years ago. It’s definitely my favourite piece of furniture by far and away and I smile whenever I look at it. Hector also has the lovely Teramo chest of drawers from the same brand too which are a lovely quality and will grow with him as he gets older. Granted both aren’t cheap but I just know that these pieces will be with us in many years to come.
I was gutted to hear about the restriction on the sale of replica designer pieces and had my eye on these Hans Wegner wishbone dining chairs for the new house. Despite Ste’s blockade on any new purchases until we actually move in, I think I might have to flout this ruling and invest before it’s cost prohibitive to do so.
Becky
We don’t have anything in our current house that’s a copy of something else to my knowledge… I mean, we probably do but not that I’m aware of.
However in the apartment we had replicas of the Panton curve chair. They are around £200 to buy the original sold by Vitra (you can buy via Amara) but we got ours from Dwell for about £69. They only stock the white ones now and they are currently on sale at £49!
It’s pretty clear that the RMLtd team are big fans of furniture classics (or rather their replica counterparts). How many of you also have iconic designs in your own homes? Did you know about this new ruling? Will you be investing now rather than splurging on an original? We’d love to hear your thoughts…
It’s tricky but I understand both sides of the debate. The original designers, or in some cases their estate, are entitled to earn money from their intellectual property. Elle Decor has been pushing for this for some time. That said I do own some replica Eames chairs – when I was lifting out our first flat in our mid 20s I simply couldn’t afford the originals. There are large numbers of businesses trading in these replicas which will presumably close, but art, music and literature are all copyrighted. Why not design?
As do I Ellie.
I can absolutely understand the desire for someone to have a right to and make money from their own intellectual property and I do support the ruling; it’s only fair and it makes complete sense.
However from a purely selfish point of view it makes me sad – like you I would never have been able to afford the originals as a first time buyer. Being able to buy a replica instead allowed me entry into the ‘classics’ world without the exorbitant costs. I’m not sure what will happen to those companies who specialise in these cult pieces of furniture – perhaps they’ll begin to sell those pieces of furniture that are 75 years + instead…
I’m sure the Rock My ltd owners wouldn’t be happy if a copycat site started up. Indeed, they probably have taken steps to protect themselves against this, by registering trademarks.
The fact that these designs are so popular are testiment to the great design, and therefore the designers and their estates are more than entitled to protect their designs against copies, especially when lots of them are of inferior quality than the originals, which is potentially damaging to their reputation.
As per my response to Ellie above Gayle, this post is in no way railing against the ruling, instead it’s more of a celebration of the classic pieces of furniture we love and why we’re gutted that these iconic products won’t be available to a wider audience.
I recently read the Emma Bridgewater pattern book and in it she talks of large chains replicating her designs. That on one part it is a compliment but also taking away from a small brand and her hard work. These classic designs are beautiful but often costly. I was lucky enough to work at vitra as a holiday job when I was at uni as my sister also worked there. They have some great sales… Often you can buy the classic eames lounge chair and ottoman for something ridiculous like £1..(just 1 normally ex demo) there did tend to be a queue outside the office for a few days in advance of the sale because of this (dedicated collectors!!) this was a few years ago so not sure if still the same but defo worth investigating options such as these to get your fix.
Thanks for the top tips Lucy – that’s very interesting to hear! Did you indulge in any buys whilst you worked at Vitra?
Of course! As I was at uni I didn’t have a house or know what my style was back then so got a walnut butterfly stool, a walnut sunburst clock and a EA217 in black moleskin on chrome castors. I have also recently purchased a white RAR rocking chair for my daughters nursery. Beautiful chairs and a truly lovely company to work for who really look after their staff
Oh you lucky devil!!!! SO jealous! Perks of the job I suppose xx
Ooh interesting. I can understand thats fair and wonder too about what will replace these items on our favourite sites.
On the other hand… since I have a whole building to furnish as a centre for young people for my charity by September this info comes in really useful. I was looking for a set of Eames or Tolix style chairs to go around a big conference table for running our creative workshops but even at £30 each its a lot when you need around 14… plus new floors, and there are 8 rooms to transform into a cool youth space on a handful of donations… by the end of the summer! I’m hoping it will make it easier to source sponsorship if companies are forced to have to get rid of stock by then.
Gosh though, I guess that will apply to eBay as well? I need to stay happy with my dining chairs then or wait another 50 years to sell them on if I get bored!
Interesting timing on a post about EU legislation given the recent referendum results.
Hi Amma – our posts are often scheduled weeks in advance so it’s purely coincidental that the post has been published after Friday’s results. As Karen said there’s a meaty post about the referendum which we published on Friday if you wanted to take a look.
Ooh I didn’t know about this! I’ve been meaning to pick up some Tolix stools for the kitchen, mainly because I was searching online for some old school science lab stools and spotted them for 30 quid! I guess I’d better look sharp on getting them bought, cos as much as it’s all fair and great news… I doubt Lee would let me chuck £400 at kitchen stools we don’t actually need!
@Lottie I love your rocker!
@Amma, Charlotte put a cracking post up on Friday about the referendum, we all had a good chinwag about our feelings. Worth a look.
I’m so glad you wrote this post! I had no idea about the new rule and I’ve been planning to buy some replica Eames chairs for ages, I just can’t decide between white and light grey…. As much as I understand why the rule has been brought in I definitely can’t justify the cost of originals so it’s fake or nothing for me! Tempted to buy an Eames rocker for my little girls bedroom too now I know they won’t be available much longer… Just have to decide on colours now ? x
Ooh thanks so much for the heads up lovely ladies! Just ordered some of those bargain eiffel chairs! Way too good of a deal to pass up.
Rebecca xxx http://www.rosesandrolltops.co.uk
Oh sad times, the chairs aren’t 4 for £30. I mean it did seem too good to be true!
Oh no really? I thought I had them in my basket at that price?
Just went and checked again and saw we’ve been duped. Such tomfoolery! x
Still, £119 for 4 chairs is great! Off to buy them! Thanks so much for the tip! Has anyone bought them? Are they okay looking? Hope they don’t look super cheap xx