Ellen's Design Challenge - General Discussion

[CruiseDiva]

The promos for the final challenge (and reveal of the winner) are touting some sort of "shocking" surprise.

 

Maybe the surprise is that Ellen is actually there?

[Shopgirl]

Lol. I've been debating back and forth with myself which contestant the people editing the show thinks the audience sees as the dark horse. My instinct is they think we think Tim is the clear winner because he got the early praise and Katie keeps "surprising" us with her uniqueness. Unless Ellen's all "surprise I'm too nice to give the win to just one of you yay!"

Edited March 2, 2015 by Shopgirl

[mlp]

AFAIC Ellen has been superfluous to this show.  I have no interest in her and don't care if she's involved or shows up at the finale - unless she's been manipulating the judges' decisions from behind the scenes.  Tim has clearly been the front runner (followed by Gaspar IMO) but he just as clearly is the macho sort (in a good way).  Maybe she doesn't like that and has been pushing for a female winner.  I have no idea but I do know I'm going to be disgusted if Katie wins.

[mla40]

I just watched the latest episode and Wayfair lady can suck it that no female would put Tim's piece in their house. I'm surprised at just how offended I actually am by that comment. Guess what...some of us DON'T LIKE SHABBY CHIC.

[ethalfrida]

I just watched the latest episode and Wayfair lady can suck it that no female would put Tim's piece in their house. I'm surprised at just how offended I actually am by that comment. Guess what...some of us DON'T LIKE SHABBY CHIC.

And some of us live in pretty well rounded worlds where we can appreciate the art and fine workmanship in a piece like that. 

 

And I hope this is not mean because I never want to be but just tweeted Katie and asked her to lose the voice fry. 

Edited March 2, 2015 by ethalfrida

[biakbiak]

I don't get the idea that Ellen thinks of Katie as some special snowflake so she is rigging the show for her, from what I have seen over the years of Ellen's personal taste in furniture (she and Portia's homes have been featured in different publications over the years) her style seems much more in-line with Tim and Gaspar's than Katie's pieces.

[erikdepressant]

This is a vocal fry-ku called "Katie's Final Piece."

 

With vibrating words

And a twee sense of fashion

Comes more acrylic.

[erikdepressant]

Logging back on... When Tim's daughter showed up and he got teary-eyed, so did I.

[Shopgirl]

What kind of logic? There's no way they filmed Katie learning only a week later. Both her and her boyfriend's hair was longer. 

[CruiseDiva]

Seriously? What a load of bullshit. Poor Tim. Dude was robbed.

[Honey]

Well, that was complete and utter bullshit.

[Rhetorica]

OMG! Tim! No wonder that piece was heads and tails above Katie's! What was he thinking?!?! It was well executed, though. I want to hear from Tim!

[NYGirl]

OMG I am shocked. I can't believe they disqualified Tim. Katie appears on Ellen with dopey hair in an uncomfortable and awkward spot with no audience. After she's designated as the winner her scary boyfriend and brother come out to celebrate

I wonder if Tim knew he copied some other designer

It was nice of Ellen to appear to announce the winner.

The whole show seemed off a little to me.

[SnarkKitty]

That ... wasn't even close to original. No chance of even claiming "inspired by" - that was a 100% rip-off; only change up was type of wood. Damn, now I wonder how much of his other stuff was his own.

 

Way to keep it Klassy, Tim.  I'll bet Gaspar is cursing him out right about now.

Edited March 3, 2015 by SnarkKitty

[crimsongrl]

That has to be one of the most unsatisfying reality tv "wins" I've seen...and I've watched every season of Project Runway! Boooo.

[Rhetorica]

Seriously? What a load of bullshit. Poor Tim. Dude was robbed.

I love Tim. I wanted him to win. I was so happy! But how was he robbed if he copied a piece? That piece was way too unique for him to have thought it up on the spot by looking at a pile of lumber. The design was the same. It's a shame. He has such talent.

[Shopgirl]

I'm almost wondering now if Tim was the plant the entire time and this was all contrived bs to make it so shocking/talked about. Idk. Something seems really off.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Shopgirl

[magdalene]

Well, that was awkward and quite the downer. 

[Zanne]

How/Why was Tim disqualified? I blinked and I missed it!

 

ETA: He copied a piece? I'm disappointed he didn't win. I didn't like Katie's plastic looking design style very much.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Zanne

[mla40]

I'm really at a loss of words right now...how..awkward??

Won't be tuning in for another season if there is one. This show sucked.

[CruiseDiva]

How/Why was Tim disqualified? I blinked and I missed it!

They showed a furniture piece that was very similar to Tim's and said he copied the design. Yes, it was similar, but who knows if Tim ever saw it. His piece wasn't identical.

 

Katie's voice, ridiculous clothing, and that weird hair coloring were just too over the top fugly. And her furniture wasn't much better. All plastic and fake.

[cstad]

So disappointed... First that Tim copied another's piece and then that Acrylic Katie won by default... ugh...

ETA: looking at pics, it really looks like Tim copied - they are very similar... Has Tim said anything on the Interwebs?

Edited March 3, 2015 by cstad

[Frost]

I want to hear from Chip!  Tim's piece was way too close to the other design to be a coincidence.  I am shocked.  Especially since Tim stated so loudly "I am the designer" when Chip had a differing opinion on the finish of the ends.  Yikes.  That was a very unsatisfying 'surprise' ending!

[CruiseDiva]

Despite the finale, I'd still like to give Tim benefit of the doubt. We don't know that he copied that other furniture design. Think back...he was very creative in terms of some of his other pieces, especially the desk at the beginning of the show.

 

Katie should have been eliminated after the cow table.

[Frost]

Has anybody seen a response from Chip on Tim's disqualification?  From a professional point of view, I would think he'd be passed to be involved in building a ripped off design.

[Frost]

I wonder who reported the duplicated design?  The episode hadn't aired yet so how many people actually saw Tim's piece?

[Rhetorica]

I've looked. I can find nothing on Tim nor Chip. No news, no comments. Perhaps on HGTV tomorrow. So disappointing.

[magdalene]

I think I am going to re-watch the British baking competition show that just finished airing on PBS last night to get the bad taste out of my mouth....

[cstad]

I'm betting that one of the "special designer guests" at the final unveiling noticed the similarities and reported on it after all the confetti and applause died down (probably the next day or so, actually; if they had caught it on camera you know we would have seen it.)

Still so bummed... I wanted to like this show!

Edited March 3, 2015 by cstad

[CruiseDiva]

Gaspar is the one who got screwed over in this crappy show.

The whole finale seemed like a set up to me.

[Spooneroonie]

Wow, those really were similar. Too similar.

Ugh, if it had been anyone but Katie. She's too twee for words.

[Rhetorica]

Gaspar is the one who got screwed over in this crappy show.

The whole finale seemed like a set up to me.

How did it feel like a set up? I'm sincere. Who would they set up, Tim? I think he has his own furniture business. I hope not. I'm really upset by the finale. Those piecess were just too close in design. And I really was rooting for Tim.

[mlp]

Well, crap.  After listening to Katie for an hour, I was ready to throw something so I was delighted when Tim won.  The pretentious woman from Wayfair seemed to prefer Katie and Wayfair was the sponsor so I figured she would win.  And then............Tim, how could you?  I can't believe he "accidentally" created a piece that just happened to be almost an exact copy of something that already existed but in a different wood.  How could he not know someone would figure it out?

 

I also don't believe that Katie hadn't been informed before the last bit was filmed.  She didn't look a bit surprised. 

 

Another thing that annoyed me about Katie and, by extension, HGTV................  She showed up to "work" on each of the first two days of the challenge in one of her goofy outfits made with voluminous material billowing out.  I couldn't take her seriously when I saw that (not that I had been).  And HGTV should never have allowed her in a shop with dangerous equipment dressed like that.  If that had been a real workplace, she would have been a walking OSHA violation.

 

Ellen's bumbling around is totally phony.  Not amusing.

[Wings]

I liked this show and hope for another season.  I don't think there was any set up, that makes no sense.  Set up who for what?  

 

Clearly, Tim was familiar with that piece from the European designer.  They were close to identical.  Too bad for his reputation.  He did it to himself.  I guess he thought no one would be familiar with the designer or that particular piece.  If someone in the audience recognized it, they must have gone home to do some research to be sure and then notified the judges.  

[staphdude]

Tim's piece was a gorgeous copy and so he was rightfully disqualified. However, I still maintain that the cow table was the end of Katie's run and that production shenanigans conspired to keep her in so I will just believe that the show ended inconclusively.

Given the ending I would be surprised if they are given another go at it. Then again I suppose Ellen has a lot of clout.

[Guest]

I think that was bullshit but I'm assuming they had proof of some sort that Tim knew of the previous design.  I would think people re-design previously designed stuff all the time, purely innocently.  I'm thinking maybe Tim makes those knock-offs and sells them in his shop and someone reported it.  Or he mentioned to Chip he'd seen it before and thought his would be unique enough to work but the judges decided it wasn't.  

 

I'm surprised they didn't re-tape the finale with Katie as the original winner and sweep it under the rug, but I'm thinking Tim refused to come do it, maybe?  

 

I hated Katie and most of her work and won't watch another season.  That finale piece she made was awful.  Gaspar should be invited back, if there is a next season.  

[SnarkKitty]

This wasn't even close. It's not similar, it's identical. Same sliding ends, same center piece lift, same steel legs in the same spot - same stacked wood design! It's a rip-off if ever there was one. He simply did not come up with a unique design, he remade someone else's piece. No way did he just come up with this: "Hmm, I think I'll make a hidden storage desk, with a square center lift - hinges, of course. And then two drawers, one on either side of a metal brace/leg. And then over those drawers, I think I'll add a piece that slides on top, from either end. Nobody has ever seen anything like it! Yeah, that's the ticket."

 

Simon Schacht Original vs Tim's:

 

 

 

 

Dammit Tim! I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you! /Tyra

 

Interesting tidbit:

 

 

Earlier in the episode, the not-so-subtle editing cymbal crashed the foreshadowing when Tim talked to Chip, his carpenter, after learning the challenge. Tim said, “The real challenge with this, Chip, is to do something that’s signature, that’s that dynamic in that timeframe.” After Chip responded, Tim said something that lacked context but was rather critical:
 

    “…and still looks like I designed it, not like it was designed by some–some designer in some other country, it needs to look like it came from me.”

It sounded like a confession, though again, it was clearly a sentence taken out of context, and if they had him on tape saying something about plagiarizing an idea, wouldn’t the producers have known earlier to disqualify him? When Tim introduced his piece, he described his inspiration like this:

    “When that pile of lumber was sittin’ there, I said, ‘if we could transform that into a table, that made sense, that had purpose, that would work,” Tim said while introducing his table, which slid apart and opened up into “an extraordinary hiding place.”

http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2015/03/ellens-design-challenges-finale-tim-disqualified-katie-wins/

 

So of course I have to undelete the thing from the DVR to hear it for myself, and damned if he didn't say just that. I'm thinking eventually someone watched those tapes, went looking for whatever he discussed and found it.

[SnarkKitty]

Also - Katie's piece was crap. I can't imagine buying something made of PVC, acrylic and wood in two wildly different tones! Come on, choose a lane! I like furniture that can serve multiple purposes but I would not have gone for that junk; it seemed like some Ikea hack, or made up of leftover pieces. Was this the Project Runway remake the ugliest garment challenge using all the worst pieces challenge? Gah!

Edited March 3, 2015 by SnarkKitty

[Shopgirl]

Thanks for linking that piece. The fact that Tim even went on record as saying he still felt blessed and believed Katie deserved to win just...seems really strange. I mean, as someone who owns a business, you would think he would congratulate her while also trying to defend his reputation respectfully (unless he has elsewhere that hasn't come out yet). It seems so bizarre to me - even if it were to be a bold-faced lie, it would still be in his best interest to do so as a designer? Furthermore, he's tainted now. He will literally have "cheated on and disqualified from Ellen's Design Challenge" in his history.

Maybe he really is just someone who doesn't care, but the cynical side of me thinks there's likely some kind of non-disclosure thing going on here. Maybe he did it intentionally because he was the plant and guaranteed compensation for taking a fall or maybe because the producers botched this whole thing up so badly they didn't want it getting around that they knew sooner he shouldn't be in the finale or whatever else? I don't know, I just don't see how any of this adds up.

[Guest]

Now I'm thinking he was open about the other piece being his inspiration, and that's why we saw his concern in the limo about it needing to be something that seemed to be from him.  Not because he was cheating but because he thought it was ok to use an inspiration piece if he did enough of his own Tim spin on it.  I mean, all furniture is inspired by other furniture.  Though I can see the show deciding his was too close to the inspiration piece.  But I don't think they're identical.  I actually like Tim's better-- it's darker, less cavernous in the center, no paper slots, no double drawer, more than 6 pieces of wood in the 'bundle', the rough weld points, the legs are more like a sawhorse.  But yeah, too similar to win $100k, I think.  

[GaT]

WHAT??????? Did that really just happen? I was so happy when Tim won, I came right here to post & then all of a sudden, Tim is disqualified. I'm flabbergasted.

 

This was a really unsatisfying ending.

[biakbiak]

I think it's important to remember that this is supposed to be a " furniture design" competition show. I imagine even though design is in the Next Great Design Star or whatever it's current name if they had their carpenter replicate that table they would have been applauded and won because in that situation knock-off looks for less is usually applauded or if this was a strictly carpentry challenge it would be a winner because of the craftsmanship but it's just way too close to be an original design. 

 

Also, even though the comment was edited the fact that Tim specified not just that it had to look like something from him not just some other designer but not some other designer from "another country" leads me to believe there is no way he didn't at least acknowledge he was "inspired" by that piece. It's entirely possible that he did't realize how close he was to the original because he wasn't able to recheck the design, so thought he was doing something different enough (though I can't imagine because they are so very close).

 

As if Katie wasn't already every annoying cliche in the world her bleached bottoms of her hair made me want to throw something at the tv.

Edited March 3, 2015 by biakbiak

[LennieBriscoe]

I wanted to love this show and ended up disliking it very much.

1. Katie's vocal fry was turn-the-channel off-putting.

2. The finished products didn't appeal to me.

3. The show is a poor rip-off of "Flea Market Flip."

And now I learn (I turned the channel, heh) about Tim? Feh!

Edited March 3, 2015 by LennieBriscoe

[huahaha]

Wow. That was the worst reality show ending since Top Model: All-Stars. I can't imagine this getting another season.

[DownTheShore]

It sounded like the decision was being made on their entire output - all the challenges, not just solely the last one. Yet they disqualified him based solely on that last challenge.

That other piece was, no doubt, an inspiration piece for Tim, but I think that he put his own spin on it and made it recognizably his own. I actually prefer his to the original. I thought that Katie's design looked better in concept than as a finished work. I really only liked those stools of hers; I was thinking "enough with the acrylic already! ".

I'm guessing that Katie was the one who blew the whistle, because she never asked the most obvious question, i.e. WHY was Tim disqualified? Wouldn't that have been the first thing all of you would have asked - just to make sure there was no mistake or that they weren't putting you on?

It was clear early on that they wanted to keep her on the show; I agree that the cow table should have gotten her booted off. This gave her a way to win.

That was a good point made earlier that her blowsy outfits should have gotten her barred from the workplace.

I liked the idea of the show, but Ellen's schtick got old awfully fast and I thought that her scenes dragged. I like her, but that bumbling act didn't jive with the image they were touting of a woman who knew, loved, and appreciated furniture design.

If they have another one, can you just imagine the number of young, female, vocal-fry candidates who are going try to get on the show? The mere thought gives me the chills.

[Wings]

I am surprised at the amount of hate for this show.  Is it directed at Katie?  Or is it Ellen? In a sea of real estate and remodeling shows I found furniture making a refreshing change.  

 

I was not impressed with the judges and they can easily be replaced.  The contestants will be different if this sees another season.  

 

Since a show is scheduled for a set amount of weeks the non elimination episode was clearly in the plan and not to save Katie as many think.  Since there were so few contestants due to the space needed for each to have a complete workshop I don't think this will change so I expect to see another non elimination round if this comes back.   

 

I really liked this show!  Am I alone?  

Edited March 3, 2015 by wings707

[CoolMom]

I am wondering if Tim was there as a set up and that is why the whole conversation with Chip happened.  We went back and listened again and it totally sounded like they knew they were making a piece that was not original and the editing was so so bad. I read an article that says Tim was the only contestant that Ellen recruited, maybe there was a reason for that. Tim just did not read as a person who had integrity issues but then again it's TV.

[candall]

Well, that was a real buzzkill.  I can't even imagine how miserable Tim must feel today.

 

I'd watch another season.  Maybe the flaws were as obvious to the producers as they were to us.  (Hint:  legitimate judging is priority one.)

 

And Ellen, please. . .   You're powerful, successful and reportedly a decent, likeable person.  Own it, woman!  All that stumblebum business is not to your credit.

[staphdude]

I am surprised at the amount of hate for this show.  Is it directed at Katie?  Or is it Ellen? In a sea of real estate and remodeling shows I found furniture making a refreshing change.  

 

I was not impressed with the judges and they can easily be replaced.  The contestants will be different if this sees another season.  

 

Since a show is scheduled for a set amount of weeks the non elimination episode was clearly in the plan and not to save Katie as many think.  Since there were so few contestants due to the space needed for each to have a complete workshop I don't think this will change so I expect to see another non elimination round if this comes back.   

 

I really liked this show!  Am I alone?

There is another furniture making show-Framework-and given the overall setup and tone I prefer it to this version.

It may be true that there is a non-elimination built into the schedule but that doesn't mean that it can't be used when and how the producers see fit. I feel that Katie's initial work was great but then devolved into a mess. I still feel that they judges and producers kept her to meet whatever idea they had in their minds. It's just a shame that this meant two other better (imo) designers being sent home early.

[Margo Leadbetter]

I liked the show and would watch again but it could stand some improvement.

 

Pros
1. The challenge parameters definitely required a lot of creativity but they were reasonable.
2. The time frame was short but also reasonable, given production constraints.
3. The designers seemed to have been given the best tools to work with and very talented carpenters as well.
4. Personal design preferences aside, all of the designers were very talented.

 

Cons
1. Ellen's schtick. I've only ever seen the first season of her sitcom and nothing else, but if bumbling Ellen is what she's all about (and I don't think she is), I'm not missing much.
2. The judges. Too much 'tude.

 

As far as the outcome of the show is concerned, I'm not one who sees conspiracies lurking behind every corner so I don't think Tim's disqualification was a set-up. I(t's not like Katie was a much beloved but less talented competitor going up against a bunch of meanies so the producers intervened to let the underdog triumph.) Tim's final piece may have had a few design differences, but in form and function it was almost identical to the original piece. (FTR, I liked Tim's better.) Maybe his design was triggered by the memory of the original and it wasn't a conscious decision to copy but no way it was just pure coincidence. Had it been an original as was stated in the challenge parameters, he absolutely would have deserved the win over Katie, whose piece was beautifully crafted but too disjointed, I think.

 

I do think Katie is very talented (someone upthread said that she's a RISD grad and RISD doesn't accept hacks) so hopefully, she'll outgrow her extremely annoying affectations (my daughter, also a Brooklyn resident, had a wicked vocal fry going on there for a while but dropped it with a bit of effort once it was pointed out.) I thought she made some wonderfully fun and creative pieces (even the cow table) and even though I don't share her aesthetic, I can appreciate the talent behind it. Same with Tim.