Ikea’s Dresser recall Begs the question –What do We really want in our Furniture

Post Date: 10/17/2016

There’s a lot to be said about the bonuses of investing in quality furniture. Of all the different reasons that we talk about, perhaps one recent controversy that really begs the question to be asked happened is Ikea’s announced recall of the Ma dresser after its involvement in the death of 6 children.

The breaking news headline brings to mind the fact that no matter how good the piece of furniture, or in this case the set of drawers, looks in a catalogue, there’s no replacement for quality, custom made furniture.

 What makes Gingko different

What is the reason that IKEA’s low cost dressers have had the negative impact on their consumers that they have had? It’s probably because they are the inheritors of the old maxim that if something can be made quicker and cheaper, then surely that must be better.

But what we have to realize is that this old way of seeing furniture production is not good enough for us. We want something more. We want furniture that can be held accountable..

 The trend towards quality, custom made furniture

Unfortunately, many of us still have the perspective that furniture can be bought the same way that maybe a pair of socks can be purchased from our local department store. But why would we trust the furniture that we sit on, live beside, and entrust our children to, to strangers and kits produced by a disinterested third party?

There’s a reason that more and more people, young and old, are thinking twice  about the furniture they buy. Instead of heading to the nearest, massive department store, we are looking to smaller furniture makers who are accountable to the creations that they make.

 Accountability and master craft

Why is it then that when a brand gets too big they decide that they’d rather exchange their quality product for their brand’s name?

Unfortunately, when a brand becomes so large in name, it becomes the brand that people buy, not the quality. We will get a cup of starbucks simply because it has the green mermaid with the crown on the cup. Whether or not we like the coffee itself doesn’t often occur to us.

There’s a reason, however, that furniture building and making was traditionally left up to master craftsmen. Furniture is perhaps one of the most intimate things that we will ever purchase. We can throw our clothes out on a whim, but like a spouse or loved one, we are bringing furniture into our homes, to be part of our daily lives.

People want to buy from someone who has invested into creating their quality craft not because they want to push their brand name, but because they want to share the quality of their art as it is –an original and one-of-a-kind.