Very nice. I have a
knock-off that's actually well done. I normally wouldn't support that kind of thing, but when you consider even the Herman Miller versions made now aren't "authentic" but rather "authorized" instead... I managed to subdue my ethical concerns with it somehow.
When the real ones were reasonable, I was too young and too poor... and now - well, I'm not sure how rich I'd have to be to pay $6-8K for a chair that's still
technically a reproduction (an
original in mint condition would be another matter entirely). At 1/6th the price of the HM versions, I find mine to be
much more comfortable! LOL.
It's kinda ironic considering that they (Eames) were all about "making good design accessible to all" - and now their authorized designs go for a
significant premium. Sure it's not nearly to the level of
some architectural furniture... but it's far from accessible to
most, let alone
all. IMO at least.
Nothing against Eames knockoffs - at the time I purchased (mid-late 90s) they were pretty terrible, and the ones made in Mich weren't as screechingly pricey as they are today. I notice the one you reference has a pretty sizeable headrest - one of the things I like about the original is the headrest is below ear height for me, so minimal ear-interference. (I've mic'd & REW'd with and without.)
I wonder if the replicas hold up better, too - they seem to need repairs every 20 yrs or so
But the local HM dealer has excellent service, and HM does good work on them for not too much $ (depending on what breaks!)
I could never understand how Charles could find it comfortable, at his size, tho Ray would have been a perfect fit (in my experience 5' tall women fall in love with them
.
Adding the sheepskin took it from being painful for long listening sessions to nearly
perfect - but I have a disc problems down there, too.
They do hold their value tho - I recently sold off one of my sofas for close to what I paid for it 20 yrs ago. (Had too many sofas!).
Totally agree with the huge gap between the Eames's intent and the ultimate cost, though all their HM designs have
always been pricey - my Dad, an architect, could never afford more than the fiberglass dining chairs and one LCW, so made a few of his own clones.
(Probably why I ended up with a house full of the stuff... the only non Eames/HM chair is a huge LazyBoy!!)
Anyway, with the new non-slip sheepskin, it's now an absolute
joy to use - wonder why I didn't think of that before.
PS. Also have an Aeron at my desk (where I do most of my initial music 'assessments', so also audio related. That thing has also held up extremely well, still as comfy as the day I bought it.
