Monday, October 10, 2011

Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright.

Whenever anyone visits my home, two pieces always seem to elicit a lot of questions/interest.  The first is the Sputnik chandelier, and the other is this sunburst clock.


This little beauty comes courtesy of Target and is "inspired" by the designs of George Nelson (although  target.com gives him zero credit).  The "spikes" are slightly less elongated, the color scheme is a bit off, and there is that irritating logo on the face, but other than those few small differences, it remains pretty faithful to the original design.  If I ever feel up to it, I might get out the spray paint and gussy it up a little.


I've seen a few original Nelson spike clocks pop up on Craigslist recently and reproductions are available through Vitra, but they all cost hundreds of dollars.  That ain't gonna happen.  While I understand the draw of originality and designer names, I'm just looking for the maximum style + value per dollar.

With coupons, my total came to $35.63.  The next cheapest knockoff I could find was $178 and Design Within Reach wants an absurd  $327.25 for a Vitra repro!  Sure, nobody will ever mistake this clock for a Nelson, but with a savings of $291.62, I think I can live with that.

6 comments:

  1. I just found George Nelson style clocks on sale at The Foundary and bought a spindle clock for $51. I agree with you that I'd rather have the style at a reasonable price. The clock I bought will be fine until I run across a super buy on a vintage Nelson clock. If you're interested in the sale, I think it ends in about 6 hours.

    http://shop.thefoundary.com/event_1779.html

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  2. Thanks for the info! They had a great selection and prices. It's a shame that they ran out of the spiked clock, but I went for the spindle as well. We're spindle clock twinsies now.

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  3. I was at an auction where they had an original Nelson burst clock; the winning bid was around $750.

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  4. Yep, the Nelson clocks were on sale on MyHabit.com yesterday too. I didn't act fast enough...damn!

    Is the logo on your Target clock printed on? You could try using nail polish remover to remove the logo. Sometimes that works without hurting the metal behind it. But, as always, test somewhere discreet first!

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  5. Bopfish - They're wonderful little clocks. We've had 2 here in St. Louis within the last few weeks for $200/300. I know that's a decent price for a Nelson, but I'll leave those things to collectors who really get a lot more enjoyment out of owning designer originals than I would.

    Diana - I'll have to check myhabit.com out. I spent all of last night trying convince myself to pull the trigger on one of the eye clocks, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe another day. As far as the logo, I believe that it is just painted on, so a solvent should do. I might even give it a paint job while I'm at it.

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  6. i am just waiting to own one starburst..i missed on an year ago in a community yard sale :(..it was working and was for $5....i m sure i ll find one soon

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