Genuine imitations (+photos)

Kent Hemingway. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Yes, you can have one - but you'll have to pay $4000 for it and you'll have to wait eight weeks to get it. That's what retailer Kent Hemingway was told when he went shopping for a reproduction of a mid-last-century design classic, the Eames lounger.

He collects this kind of furniture, and wanted to put a replica in the store he was working for. But instead of getting upset at the cost and the delay, Hemingway now sees this denial as a business opportunity. Using his design contacts in China, he shopped around and found several firms which could make the requested reproduction - except better, quicker and less expensively (his Earmes loungers are $2750). And that's how his current enterprise, Homage, came to be.

In Hemingway's Newmarket premises, they specialise in quality reproductions of classics that most of us might not be willing, or perhaps able, to pay for - clocks, chairs, sofas and dining suites straight out of a lexicon of design classics. They're not super cheap - they'll still set you back anything from several hundred to several thousand dollars. But they're definitely not as rare or costly as the real thing.

And to those who may moan, "but what about the originals?", Hemingway has this reply: "Well, it's like when you first go to China or to Thailand and you are tempted to buy yourself a reproduction of a Louis Vuitton or a Chanel bag, or a Rolex watch."

Although those imitations are obviously illegal, Hemingway's are not.

"And what that [first imitation] does is get you interested. Then one day, when you can afford it, you might go and get an original."

However for the time being, Hemingway says Homage is making this sort of style more accessible. As his in-store motto goes, "everyone deserves a little design".

1 WallStories prints by John Clark. We are lucky to be able to stock Wallstories prints sourced from around the globe. Among my favourites are the John Clark prints, overprinted on pages of novels with select words and phrases highlighted. Understated cool.

2 MacBook Pro Notebook. Not only is it exceptionally fast and efficient as a computer, it has the looks and design aesthetic to match.

3 The RetroToGo and Designsponge websites. For my daily dose of what's hip and cool from around the globe.

4 British designer Paul Smith. Paul Smith's furniture shop in London (at 9 Albemarle Street, W1) was part of the inspiration to start Homage. Full of art, antiques and curiosities from Smith's travels around the world. This shop is difficult to leave without buying something and I'd recommend it highly to anyone heading to London.