Chinese Cabinets
8 May 2008“The Rule of Three”
The rule of three is the method of finding the fourth term of a mathematical proportion when the first three terms are known. In this case I know of a company that is headquartered in America, inspired by the designs of Europe, and manufactures its products in Asia. And the result of their work on three continents is work of both proportion and flair. But is it quality if it’s manufactured overseas?
I have so many objections to outsourcing manufacturing work to foreign countries that I hardly know where to begin. However, there are times when it does make sense to do so, but not if price is to be the only object. The knock on Chinese products these days is that the most of it is cheaply made, which it is, but the reason that is so is because those who have hired the Chinese have instructed them to cut corners. Whenever I have been disgusted with a cheaply made tool, I have found the label to say “Made in China,” but, just as often, the well-made tool these days is also made in China. The reason’s simple. The Chinese, like most workmen, do the work they are instructed to do, using the methods they are being paid to employ.
It is also possible to design an exciting line of contemporary products, manufacture it in China to the highest standards, and make it possible for those of us with lesser budgets to live on the cutting edge of design.
Tonusa is a California-based company whose products are manufactured in China to the highest possible standards. They have a strong enough social conscience to insist on formaldehyde-free E-1-grade engineered wood boards for those parts of their products that employ wooden drawer parts and the design flair to put together products that are very much on the cutting edge. Their goal is simple. They want to bring high-end contemporary design in both kitchens and baths to the mass market. Judging from what I’ve seen to this point, I’d say they’re off to a good start.
I’m listening to Bach as I write these lines, and it reminds me that there is a timelessness to perfect art, something that makes it always right, always cutting edge, always just perfect. And if that seems some distance from a bathroom vanity, all I can say is that you’ve not yet learned how to surround yourself with the finest life has to offer. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Bathrooms and kitchens are the two rooms you’re in every day of your life. Why not give them a touch of the modern, mixed in with a soundness of design that makes them forever timeless.
Joseph
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