More furniture shopping with the crowds

Back in 2008 we covered Myfab, the French company that lets consumers collectively tell furniture manufacturers what they want and then purchase those items direct at near-factory prices. Myfab is still going strong, it appears, and now a new contender is throwing its own weight behind the concept with a like-minded service in the UK. London-based Made.com aims to bring original design to the masses by removing middlemen from the process and connecting consumers with furniture makers directly. Along the way, it strives to cut prices by 50 to 80 percent, it says. Consumers begin by browsing through the many items on Made.com’s site; represented there are the works of a variety of young and seasoned designers, many of whom design for big-name brands as well. Consumer votes determine which items from the site’s “Labs” section are put up for sale; when that happens, a timer indicates when orders should be placed for the lowest prices associated with batch production. All furniture is made to order in about four weeks and then shipped back to the UK over a like amount of time. Consumers can track their orders in real time along the way, however, so they always know not just who designed the furniture but also who’s making it, what stage it’s currently at and when it’s due to ship. Delivery—available only in the UK—is confirmed via SMS, and customers have 14 days to evaluate the furniture; if they don’t like it, they can return it free, no questions asked. We here at Springwise always love to see good ideas spread, and this one is clearly doing just that. Who will be first to bring some fresh crowd clout and transparency to manufacturing and sales in *your* part of the world…? Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann