What's the most frustrating thing a furniture designer will have to endure? The pitch meetings? Production challenges? Supply-chain hassles? We're going to say knock-offs. Because their presence means that after you've endured all of the initial hassles and successfully brought your product to market, someone else swoops in and starts illegally capitalizing on your hard work.
The Danish furniture design fixture Republic of Fritz Hansen is no stranger to piracy victimhood, with countless knock-offs of their iconic Series 7 chair populating cafes and undiscriminating households worldwide. With international legal battles difficult to pursue, the company has taken matters into their own hands via the social media route, releasing this YouTube video showing an impromptu strength test:
The original Series 7, as Arne Jacobsen originally designed it, seems quite a bit stronger. Taking a look at the attention lavished on its construction provides clues as to why.
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