Right there in B & W

[sofadoc]

A lady that owns a nearby pub brought in 12 chairs that she bought 2 weeks ago, and they're already falling apart.

It's the ones that come in a box unassembled, and they give you that little toy hex wrench to put them together with.

Just a few days of pub patrons scooting around was enough to loosen up all the bolts, and pull out the insert nuts.

The lady was furious that she had paid a whopping $39.95 each, and the chairs had failed so quickly.

I turned one of the chair seats upside down, and showed her the tag on the underneath side.



If you ask me, that caution label is merely code for "This chair is a POS".

It probably would've only lasted a few extra days under "Household use".

The market is so flooded with this kind of junk, the average consumer doesn't have any quality point of reference to compare with. The lady will probably go back to a similar store, and buy similar priced crap.

[SteveA]

Unless they like older things they'll never understand what was/is quality.  Most here work on Antiques and know how  furniture was made a century ago.  Hardwoods, perfect joinery using hide glues that have been around since Cleopatra and don't fail like some modern adhesives.

I collect old office equipment - typewriters, staplers, check machines, mineograph's .  These items are made of iron + steel.  The bushings are nickel or brass - this stuff will be here when we're not - those stools didn't make it to Christmas.  Manufacturers mostly producing garbage.  However if you want to buy good you can - you have to pay dearly.  My shop tools I don't try to save but my tee shirts = $ One dollar each.  That lady will learn a costly lesson the hard way. Sometimes true - you get what you pay for.
SA

[Darren Henry]

The market is so flooded with this kind of junk, the average consumer doesn't have any quality point of reference to compare with.

Too true. My diaper doesn't even attempt to promote upholstery, or boat tops,or custom made furniture, so I get to spend 75% of my time fixing this crud and sewing patches on tarps,farm trucks etc... and 25 % "other duties as assigned" [wash my van, clean out my gutters, move that trailer,etc...]

I don't know if it's a regional thing or time; but back when I had my shop in Kenora, more people were maintaining quality pieces.

However if you want to buy good you can - you have to pay dearly.

Some one mentioned the other day ---$5??/3 years  vs. $7??/20 yrs kind of thing. One thing overlooked in that equation is what you actually have for that time. My dad worked by hand all day and did the business end of it at night. He always told me not to cheap out ---mostly about tools etc... but it applies to everything,I think. I still have the hydro bib ski-pant's I choked on the price of in 1983. That summer I ate beans and pasta because I needed that set of sockets that are in the trunk of the car. 

[bobbin]

I stopped in at a very posh store in a neighboring town on my way home from a marina yesterday.  The owner is an interior designer from the metro Boston area.  The stuff in the store was amazing (priced accordingly), but what really caught my eye was the upholstery.  A very nice woman greeted me and I asked about the furniture (an armchair was in the 3-K range).  Made to order in the USA, 8 way hand tied springing, and absolutely beautiful fabrics (patterns perfectly matched).  I instantly thought of you guys.

All of the pcs. of upholstered furniture were very "classic".  The lines were clean and simple, one style was more angular, another was more rounded.  There was none of that grossly "super-size me" garbage that is now clogging the landfills of our country.  I asked if I could lift a chair; it was heavy and the woman commented that I knew what to look for in furniture.  I mentioned that I have an old furniture addiction and I make custom slipcovers.  Her ears pricked right up.  She asked me about my shop, a lot of very specific questions; I suggested a visit might be of interest...

What struck me most about my visit was how quality workmanship has been trampled by the notion that "new is better" and replacement is the only answer to a desired "update".  We talk about this all the time... how do we undertake the necessary step of re-educating the "super-size me" crowd to the notion of real thrift and value in furniture?  I sure don't have the answer, but the idea that quality furniture that will serve one faithfully and sturdily for years to come must somehow be linked to the idea of thrift and value over the long term.  I plodded home in stop and go traffic and thought about things like paying to principal and putting a price on routine discarding...