Nelson Swag Leg Desk by Herman Miller
Design George Nelson™, 1958.
Walnut, laminate top, plastic drawers, chromed steel tubing. Made by Herman Miller®.
A beautiful desk and one that I’ve admired for years. George Nelson made rad things, along with his cohorts at Herman Miller: Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, Isamu Noguchi and Donald Knorr. The above desk is particularly beautiful with its minimal profile, tapering bent legs and perfectly placed color palette.
But the price? $1800.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am fully down with paying a premium for historically important design works. But mid-century Modernism was partially born out of an idealism that hatched during and after World War II, when factories were converted back to civil use after having served the war effort. Break-throughs in production methods, materials and technology cleared the way for mass-production of well-designed objects. All the folks at Herman Miller were on board with the idea of bringing design to the masses. Charles and Ray Eames spent decades trying to get various iterations of their bent plywood chairs into consumer hands for modest prices. George Nelson was a champion of low-cost design up until his death.
So my question: why is this desk – and other items from this period – so expensive? Surely not for the materials, as this isn’t a luxury item hand-made from lemur teeth and sea eel hides. I’m guessing that it costs maybe $100-$200 to produce this piece, I could be wrong. But I doubt the price of production is in any way connected to the selling price. My criticism isn’t aimed at this particular piece of beautifully designed furniture though it was definitely the impetus for this post.
Good design should not have to cost a lot of money. Yes, maybe a premium, but not astronomically high. Furniture and design sellers often talk about Modernism as bringing design to the masses, the great equalizer. Yet the products they sell have price tags far above what your average work schmoe can afford. Ikea understands this, and has made oodles of money knocking off modern and minimal designs and selling them on the cheap, the sacrifice is the production quality. A high percentage of Ikea’s products are essentially disposable and fall apart long before they’ve outlived their usefulness. If it weren’t for the toll that disposable furniture takes on the environment, this wouldn’t be so bad, not all furniture has to last centuries.
Why does good design cost so much?
3 Comments
One of the things that I really liked about Objectified was that it discussed how good design doesn’t have to automatically mean it’s expensive. In addition to Ikea, they used (and I agree) with Target as an example. Apple too. They get knocked for the “Apple tax” bs, but their design extends all the way down to the packaging on the replacement power supply you buy for your iPod.
At least one reason, I think good (modern) design is pricey because it has never been truly sought after by the masses. If that were the case, I think we might find more of a harmony between quality design/construction and prices. More middle-of-the-road furniture companies could produce and sell these pieces. I think that the closest America came to adopting the modern aesthetic was in the post-WWII era. Modern (now mid-century) home furnishings (many designer knock-offs) were being built by traditional companies using solid construction techniques and materials… and they were affordable.
It is ironic that design legends like the Eames’ and Nelson championed functional, quality and affordable furniture because their products have always been expensive. Maybe not fully the designer’s fault, but companies like Herman Miller and Knoll have always offered high-quality consumer and commercial pieces, but at a premium price. It’s tied to the fact that it is not fully mainstream and is associated with higher tastes. Whenever I find vintage designer pieces they are almost always at estate sales in shmancy established neighborhoods.
Your post points to the ultimate misnomer… “Design Within Reach.” Not quite within reach, for me anyway.
Very cool to see a modern design post on a surf blog! Nelson’s swag leg collection is one of my favorites. I’m a junior collector myself… all second hand. $1K for a new plywood chair is just a bit out of my price range!
Page One, yes, all great comment. definitely tied to consumer demand. i purposefully left DWR off the post, as despite what the name implies DWR’s main goal is to bring design to the 10% that can afford it (making $125,000+) and not to the other 90%.