Having feasted on imports for years counterfeiters have begun ripping off Australian furniture designs. And the law lets them do it. AFR design editor Stephen Todd discovers first hand that Australian businesses rip-off local designers.

In Australia, poorly manufactured Eames chairs and thinly veiled replicas of designer lamps are as ubiquitous as backyard barbecues. VAULT asks why a country with a wellspring of creative talent turns a blind eye to the value of original design.

Most of us would agree that a fake Louis Vuitton purse doesn’t quite feel like the real thing — so why are so many of us furnishing our gorgeous, expensive kitchens with fake designer homewares? Fake designer furniture is big business in Australia. Jill Stevens asks - Why?