Inappropriation

Christien Meindertsma, $1100 (down from $1600)

This Urchin Pouf is an expensive contemporary design object I truly adore, especially after seeing the yarn and the needles in person on Governors Island this summer. Hence my shock at seeing an extremely cheap version in the new CB2 catalog, which is rife with subtle and not-so-subtle revisions of Danish modern, Bertoia, Noguchi, Risom. Others have noticed its resemblance to the original with joy. I think the older generation can’t protest, but maybe Meindertsma should. Since CB2 was already the respite for impecunious DWR lovers, I should not have been surprised that other ideas might trickle down.

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By Alexandra Lange

Alexandra Lange is an architecture critic and author, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner for Criticism, awarded for her work as a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab. She is currently the architecture critic for Curbed and has written extensively for Design Observer, Architect, New York Magazine, and The New York Times. Lange holds a PhD in 20th-century architecture history from New York University. Her writing often explores the intersection of architecture, urban planning, and design, with a focus on how the built environment shapes everyday life. She is also a recipient of the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary from AIGA, an honor she shares with Design Observer’s Editor-in-Chief, Ellen McGirt.