Chloe Shiau - Week 4

This week's reading focuses on Danish furniture industry throughout the years and how modern Danish furniture has flourished. Moeller and Pade analyze the strategies in how the Danish created such a big industry in furniture, and what were the tactics in expanding the industry. The reading emphasizes on internationalization, which is a main source to how the industry became so popular. This internationalization connected the U.S. with this popular industry, and like always the U.S. love to imitate/appropriate industries in countries around the world.

Per H. Hansen in "Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930-1970," says that as countries are replicating and creating their own "Danish Modern" furniture, they are pushing away from the value of the furniture to consumers and caring more about the marketing and the profit. Danish furniture by Kaare Kint back in the early 1900s represented "a scientific method for maximizing function." However, as the years go on  and Danish Modern appeared, there were people who wanted to replicate his designs but saw it as a aesthetic form of product and took away the real meaning of why Danish furniture was originally made. Danish Modern was actually not fully handcrafted.

This shows that products that were made with a certain value and tradition can be replicated. However when replicated by others the value of the products slowly fade, and I believe internationalization played a big role in allowing this to happen. Countries like the U.S. love to see what other countries have that are popular and try to recreate those industries to receive profit. The original products were made to give meaning to consumers, however internationalization made products a form of marketing.

Question: Has there been times where originating industries have tried to contain their value by not allowing other industries to replicate their products?

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Works Cited:

http://www.gibraltarfurniture.com/

Hansen, Per H. "Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930–1970." Business History Review Bus. Hist. Rev. 80.03 (2006): 449-83.