Melbourne likes to think of itself as a pretty hip, design destination. I don't know why. I suppose for a city of it's size there is a good concentration of design orientated companies but it doesn't mean that their output is of great note.
There are a lot of Chinese copies around, not just of the tired old classics, Eames, Wegner, etc, but also of contemporary designs. In some ways I don't blame people for buying this stuff if it's well made and a good facsimile of the original. What is an original anyway? We are talking about mass produced furniture after all.
The furniture from the big players, Space, Hub, Euroluce, etc is horrendously overpriced and appeals to Melbourne's middle class snobbery and oneupmanship.
It's a very insular design scene here. The only trends they tend to pick up are the glaringly obvious ones they see at their yearly visit to the Milan Furniture Show. These are then transplanted lock, stock and barrel, without any subtlety or imagination. I have lost track of the number of neo baroque horror interiors I have seen recently. Black walls and furniture, trendy floral wallpaper and endless chandeliers.
