DWR: Are We Out Of Our Materialistic Minds?

Lifestyle of the rich and famous store Design Within Reach now has a blog. It's called Design Notes. I have always appreciated their Design Bio site on the DWR main site. It's free. But as a normal Joe, somewhat representative of the typical designer salary-type who is rather design goo-goo, I have a question. I suspect it might be something you've thought about to.

It's about the Name. "Design Within Reach." Come on, it can't just be me? Isn't their name worth reconsideration? Currently, I find it to be a bit of a kick in the teeth.

An example: On their blog right now is featured the Herman Miller Eames Soft Pad Management Chair in Espana Leather at a mere $2,948. Now perhaps this chair at this price is Within Someone's Reach, but not mine. Now as some of you know, I do own one of these beauties, having been at the right place, at the right time, and paid the right price at a tag sale. Now if I could only get similarly lucky seven more times, because if I were to pay DWR's price for the conference room down the hall from my office with eight chairs, it would set me back just shy of 24 thousand dollars ($23,584, for 8 chairs!).

Seriously. Who buys this stuff? Are we out of our materialistic minds? I assume the name DesignWithinReach indicates their ability to bring high design products to the masses, but the name feels like the rabbit that races about 15 yards ahead of the race dog. We all know he's never gonna catch it, even though it is "Within Reach."

No one wants to admit they can't (or shouldn't) afford a $2,948 chair, right? I would love to hear your comments on this under-blogged reality.

( I thank Nate at Design Feast for the link to BarryBlog as well as Design Notes )

Bauhaus 2 Your House: Modern Furniture Direct

Modern Furniture Classics from Aalto, Bellini, Bertoia, Breuer, Gray, Jacobsen, Knoll, Le Corbusier, Mackintosh, Nelson, Noguchi, Saarinen, Van Der Rohe, and Wright can all be purchased from a plethora of dealers and wholesalers across the country and on the web. But what caught my attention here is this particular companies' name: "Bauhaus 2 Your House." I'm sorry, but that's funny. The prices, apparently wholesale, are still well beyond my means, but they appear to be factory direct originals—not knock-offs. The site's design is rather uninspired (a bit ironic), so if for nothing else it serves as an opportunity to learn more about classic furniture design and legendary designers. You'll also find bios for each of the designers represented, though if that's what you're looking for Design Within Reach does a better job. As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of these design classics, and though I can't afford these prices personally, I have been fortunate over the years to collect two tan Marcel Breuer Wassily chairs (Knoll) for $75/e from a colleague 10 years ago; a Charles Eames Aluminum Group softback Executive side chair (Herman Miller 1969) at a garage sale for $5; an Eero Saarinen Executive Side Chair (Knoll 1957) on the side of the road for free; and a Heywood Wakefield Butterfly table (1954) and 4 chairs for $225 at a flea market.

Bauhaus 2 Your House. That name kills me.