May 10, 2011

Natural Faux?

I saw a rug on One King’s Lane which was listed as a “natural faux zebra hide”. natural fauxI think that something is either natural or faux. natural faux2  I’d have worded this differently.  What do you think?

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16 comments:

  1. Washington CubeMay 10, 2011 at 10:12 PM

    The minute you utter "faux," it is not natural.

    Is this rug made of pony skin? They sell these for a lot less at those couture fabric outlets you love. For a 5 x 7, I've seen them as low as $100.

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  2. Pigtown*DesignMay 10, 2011 at 10:15 PM

    Cube... if i got one, it wouldn't be this one. I don't like the pattern or the "ears" which look like horns!

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  3. ilovelimegreenMay 10, 2011 at 10:30 PM

    The stripes/markings must be painted on... they match too perfectly.

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  4. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 11:37 PM

    What do I think, you ask.

    I think there is a sucker born every minute.

    I believe some of the one-day-sale, "bargain" sites such as OKL post a riduculously inflated regular retail price and offer the real price as the mark down.

    More power to them. It's obviously working.

    However, to the experienced eye and savvy shopper such as you, Meg, the genuine deals must seem to be few and far between.

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  5. Washington CubeMay 11, 2011 at 2:03 AM

    Meg: The rugs I've seen don't look spray painted, nor do they have ears. That designer fabric outlet in Thurmont had them for about $125 each...varied "wildlife" looks, made of real skin and the kind of thing that pops up on design blogs and Elle Decor.

    What's amazing with your find is "Sold Out." I hate to think of it.

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  6. MarchelineMay 11, 2011 at 8:52 AM

    In answer to your actual question (as opposed to my opinion of the price) I think what they were referring to with the word "natural" was the coloring... note the white is not bleached white, and darkens towards the "spine" area. I think what they were trying to get at was that this is not a kiddie-room white wool and black wool cartoon zebra rug... it's a faux hide with an attempt at natural coloration.

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  7. onneryMay 11, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    If you read the description below the heading it clearly says Faux Zebra, which to me is saying that the design is faux. Then it lists materials as cowhide. It's also evident that one might be confused by this!
    To play the devil's advocate and respond to Anonymous, OKL actually on occasion does offer a good deal. For example, they have offered sterling silver (not plate) picture frames at a great price point below any retail that I've seen. On the other hand some items are priced ridiculously!

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  8. GretchenMay 11, 2011 at 10:04 AM

    Ugh..OKL drives me crazy in their inflated pricing. I look at it, just to see what's popular, but never buy. Even though I've wanted a cowhide zebra ever since college, when a dorm mate had a real zebra ( she was from Senegal), I am going to check out Thurmont....and then look at the Frederick antiques while I am out there!

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  9. Easy and Elegant LifeMay 11, 2011 at 10:12 AM

    Naturally it's faux...

    The copywriter in me cringes.

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  10. Linda from a design snackMay 11, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    The fine art of being deliberately confusing while technically telling the truth. And we thought that was just for politicians!

    "Faux-zebra" in the title immediately says a zebra didn't loose its life AND lets the casual reader assume NO animal lost its life. Which may be what Marcheline did when she wrote "faux hide....".

    "Zebra Printed Cowhide" says a cow lost its life. Is that really so bad that no one will buy it? OKL seems to think so.

    Personally, I think OKL does their research. They know consumers who like animal prints, textiles or flooring, will buy it whatever its made from and they trust the supplier is not off shooting zebras on the African plains. Maybe they are just covering their bases in case PETA members are on their mailing list.

    Worse descriptions abound in the furnishings biz, don't get me started!

    Thanks for the post.

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  11. AnonymousMay 11, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    Meg- it is very clear that you don't like OKL... Why do you continue to criticize it on a regular basis? Are there not enough positive subjects to discuss?

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  12. Pigtown*DesignMay 11, 2011 at 5:44 PM

    Anon@17:14... not true at all. i've bought a number of things from OKL, have been very happy with their products and their service and mostly like what they have. I've written about them a sum total of five times out of more than 1100 posts. And three of those posts have been very positive. So, I don't really think it's accurate to say that I criticise them on a regular basis, do you?

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  13. AnonymousMay 11, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    I have been reading your daily email post for the last 6-8 months... your last two posts about OKL (the only ones that I recall) were the negative ones. Personally, it is a turn off to read one seller criticizing another.

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  14. AnonymousMay 11, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    I am anonymous because I don't have a blog site. I am
    not the person criticizing your comments re One King's Lane. I would think if you are critizing someone you should use your name. I hope you don't take it too seriously. Love your blog.

    Leslie

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  15. MarchelineMay 15, 2011 at 11:56 AM

    @ Linda: No, actually that is not what I was doing. This rug is so ugly that I didn't do a close-up inspection of the advertising, and never realized that it was an actual cow-hide decorated to resemble someone's acid trip idea of a zebra.

    So let me re-word my assessment. Perhaps the advertisement title should be shuffled. "Natural hide: Faux Zebra".

    There, now is everyone happy? (Except the cow, I mean.)

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  16. AnonymousMay 16, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    I have seen lamps on OKL for double what they are in a retail store. I called and told them, but alas they just said "thank you we like to be aware of these details".
    I ordered a NEW tablecloth from them and when it came it had stains all over it as if it had been used one time.
    They gave me a discount of $15.00. I choose to keep
    it as I felt it was a good purchase............just FYI.
    The majority of their items are very high in my meager
    opinion.

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