Buyers In Fresh China Pattern
The Age
Wednesday July 16, 2008
These days, we choose quality over quantity when updating our homewares, reports Andrea Jones.
HAS your taste in decorating become more sophisticated in the past year? According to retailers, the answer is yes. They say we are experiencing a surge of good taste and appreciation for quality."In the past six months there's been some changes in the way people are buying," says Max Grundmann of white crockery company Maxwell & Williams.Maxwell & Williams enjoyed gigantic success in catering for the popular phenomenon of "get the look for less", selling inexpensive, single pieces of white porcelain. You could copy the latest season's fashion look - whether square plates or wave patterned - and have a new, stylish dinner set for the same price of one place setting of top-end fine bone china. Consumers loved it. Of course, the fact that it was porcelain and not fine bone china didn't seem to matter - a bit like buying a knock-off Prada handbag on holiday in Asia.Suddenly, however, Grundmann reports, we no longer want six cheap porcelain plates in this season's vogue shape; we'd rather buy a single, timeless piece of fine bone china. We also understand the value of fine bone china, made with 45% bone ash, which gives it its distinctive translucent bright white appearance and its strength."It's thinner, finer and, of course, it's more expensive," Grundmann says. "The growth we're experiencing in fine bone china is massive - 50% in the last year."It's an experience that's replicated across the industry. Oz Design furniture store "was about low and mid-priced furniture," says creative director Paula Cincotta. "We would never have thought we could sell a couch for $6000. Now it's no problem. Our top-end (selection) has really grown."What's going on? At face value you could argue that it's no more than a reflection of our affluence. If we can afford it, why not buy the best?Cincotta is not so sure. "People are cash-strapped because of their mortgages. So I don't know whether they are saving up more or whether there is an 'I deserve this' attitude," she says.Nicolas-Luc Villeroy, the head of tableware firm Villeroy & Boch, said he had observed a weariness with "masstige" (denoting a combination of mass and prestige)."We have had a tsunami of whiteware, it's easy to produce, it's cheap and in the past three to five years there's been a big battle in world prices. We feel people are changing, that the consumer is going in the direction of better quality and more decoration."Does this mean we're getting fatigued by the rapid cycle of homewares fashions?Again, Cincotta doesn't think so."People are still driven by fashion and design," she says, "and still (the final choice) comes down to look and feel."A lot of it comes down to a practical approach - people want things that are going to last. We are selling a lot more that you can move around - there's flexibility there to create different looks."Social commentator Hugh Mackay sees a bigger picture. Our fascination with renovating and decorating our homes was part of a phenomenon he calls "the dreamy period" - a reaction to September11 in which we disengaged from the world and preferred to turn inwards. Now, he says, "there's a swing away from the dreamy period. We're less inclined to go and buy something as a distraction."Mackay suspects the shift in our spending patterns is also "part of a swing to non-material values".Indeed, he could be on to something."Consumers are inclined to buy fewer goods," Grundmann says, "because they are not wanting to be seen to consume indiscriminately."That we're self-conscious about our spending patterns is a curious, new phenomenon. And it suggests the idea that rampant consumption is gaining a whiff of distaste.With all that we now know about the environmental impact of manufacturing goods, as well as tossing them out, perhaps our enthusiasm for buying lots of cheap stuff is tweaking our eco-conscience?Max Grundmann thinks that is possibly the case: "Everyone's trying to slow down a bit."
© 2008 The Age