Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Ikea makes me bi-polar

I feel like my attitudes towards Ikea change with each new day. Lets be honest, its a hell-hole to shop at. I for one, go because I need something - like some cheap wine glasses or a roll out bed or something that will make my home look more like a home & less like the council rubbish collection out on the street.

I do know that there exists a cult-like group of people who go because they actually enjoy it..... I hear that most members of this cult enjoy frequenting mazes with hundreds of other cult members in their spare time.

Now despite the lack of enjoyment that I get from the Ikea real-life experience I can't help but love what they do from an engagement perspective.

Some time ago I wrote about this here awesome use of transit media in Japan and now, just a few days after my traumatic real-life experience I have come across another reason to admire Ikea's work.

Its called mykea and is a community of artists that have got together and found a way to personalise Ikea furniture. The standardisation of Ikea products globally makes this project work. It is basically a massive online plasterfunhouse but the community of artists, similar to those on threadless, ensure that you don't fuck up your furniture and end up with a piece looking like a big pile of poo.

Artists can join the community, submit their designs and average joes can come along and customise their Ikea purchases.

The major limitation is coming from the furniture giant themselves. You cannot buy Ikea products online!!!!

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