design within reach?

quite often, people ask or complain that designer items (clothing, furniture, homes, anything) are ridiculously priced. when i worked on the purchasing of the spec'd furniture for office projects, i was so shocked to learn that $4000 for a table was a good price?!

today, i spent almost $700 on felt for the chair i'm making for the furniture studio. that's when i realize, it's the quality in good design that make designer items so NOT within reach. if I were to settle with industrial felt and forget about the flaring and shedding problems, i would've at least saved $250..but how could i?mass production could help cutting down the raw cost. but because of the limited demand, bulk pricing will not be available..and then it limits the designer's ability to experiment freely..

so next time, when you and i whine about how DWR is not so DWR..let's pause and observe the quality and concept of the object first. =)