Introducing #WhyBeOriginal

Recently, popular media like Vice and People have published articles directly instructing readers on how and where to purchase knockoff products. It’s a problem that not only undermines the creative and cultural innovation of designers but also devalues the personal time, effort, and care that designers pour into their work to create something authentic and original.

Whether it’s in how we design to evoke emotion, create meaningful pieces that will live on to be passed to future generations, or honor the history and icons of the past, each member has their own story for why authenticity is important to them. We started #WhyBeOriginal on @beoriginalamericas to share these stories, experiences, and personal moments of originality.

Here are just a few of the reasons our members are original:

 
All that I do is to let the designer express his poetic power in the first phase of creation, then to work together – beginning with the original idea – to create an object that is truly original.
— Alberto Alessi ⁠
 
 
 
 
 
 
I want original furniture to give people a ‘wow’ feeling every single day. Because if you’re able to transcend the purely functional and evoke an emotion, people can build a relationship with their item and be happy with it for a long, long time. That is the ultimate goal.
— Alain van Havre, Ethnicraft:
 

Tell us why originality is important to YOU! Share your story with #WhyBeOriginal on Instagram @beoriginalamericas.