Designer Knockoffs: To buy or not to buy?

There are raging debates over what place repetition has in the design world. Many designers feel strongly that creating work that is reminiscent of another's and selling it at a lower price point is simply unethical, while other feel that good design should be accessible to everyone, not simply those people who can afford to drop $5k on wall decoration.

As someone who has far more expensive taste than I have little green bills in my pocket, I am not opposed to purchasing work that is reminiscent of more expensive design objects, although I acknowledge that the design is not as good. As a designer, I always feel flattered when someone rips off my work. I know this is strange, but to me it is evidence of the fact that I have created a successful piece.

{A} Left: Horseshoe Chair (Room and Board) $650 / Right: China Chair (Hans Wegner)$6,707

{B} Left: Sunburst Wall Art (West Elm) 49.00 / Right: Constellation Mirror (Thomas Pheasant for Kohler Interiors)$5,894

{C} Left: Spark Peekaboo Table (CB2) $199 / Right: Luisa Side Table (Stine Gam-Pedersen, Enrico Fratesi) $278

{D} Left: Ball Clock (You can make this yourself out of Lollypops. Admittedly this is a little ridiculous, but kind of fun!) / Right: Nelson Ball Clock (George Nelson) $300

{E} Left: Bucket Rocker (White on White) $125/ Right: Eames Rocker (Charles and Ray Eames) $399

{F} Left: Chic Chalet Clock (Invotis) $59 / Right: silhouette cuckoo clock (Anthropologie) $278

A Love of Anthropologie: The perfect blend of simplicity and complexity

I love Anthropologie. It amazes me how solid the brand is -- the housewares, the clothing, the jewelry, the catalogue and the logotype -- manages to blend the perfect amount of simplicity with an unexpected twist of complexity.

Here are a few things from the recent catalogue that I really love.

{a} Alphabet Glasses
{b} Koi Ahoy Glasses
{c} Fish Pond Glasses
{d} Fresh Berry Drops Earrings
{e} Little Chick Paperweight
{f} Recycled Glass Vases -- I love these shapes
{g} Wingspan Ring
{h} Silhouette Cuckoo Clock

New Etsy Treasures!

Etsy is so cool! I can't believe how many amazing finds there are. Here are a few I found this morning:

{a}Stackable silver rings -- beautiful sterling silver stackable rings ($139.00 for a set of 4) from Colleen Baran.

{b}Typewriter Letter Necklace -- I love type. Just ask my boyfriend who indulgently puts up with the fact that our closets are stuffed to the gills with metal and wood type. So, it goes without saying that I can't resist the look of this beautiful necklace (35$). I saw something similar at boutique shops around San Francisco for three times the price.

{c}Gossamer Wings -- Ornate Vintage Finery designed by Jody McGill. I especially love this dragon fly necklace ($49.01), but she has many other beautiful treasures for sale.

{d}Purple Grove Skirt -- I love the look of this wonderful and inventive skirt ($45.00) made of patches of fabric from Mademoiselle Modiste.