Legend of Asia

They never return phone calls, emails or faxes. We ordered an item almost 1 year ago and it is still «on the water» or some lame excuse. I have had to resort to calling from various friends cell numbers to have them answer the phone!
I order hundreds of thousands of dollars in furniture a year and have written this source off as the never again category

Consistently do not return phone calls or emails. We have ordered from them and have finally given up due to their poor service and lengthy delays. There are plenty of Chinese importers in the marketplace and we will shop elsewhere.

Tucked in a rather un-​happening part of town, this furniture place actually has a lot to offer. The Inglewood address might deter some shoppers from visiting this warehouse. But rest assure, this part of town isn’t that bad.
Legend of Asia is run by Andy and Tony. Two rather soft-​spoken Chinese businessmen (both originally from Beijing but settled here). Between them they have more than 10 years of knowledge on buying/​selling Chinese furnitures. The 12 000 square feet warehouse contains some of the most crafted reproduction pieces I have seen. Once in a while though, Tony brings in a few vintage pieces. A vintage piece is estimated to be less than 100 years old. The Chinese government is very strict about exporting antiques. So if any furniture dealers tell you that they can import Chinese antiques out of China, do your research first.
There’s nothing wrong buying reproductions when the real furnitures or Chinese ceramics cost an arm and a leg. Just visit Sotheby’s website and click under Chinese art and ceramic. Pick any Qing or Ming pieces and you will know what I mean. At the end of the day you want to decorate the room with a tint of Chinese art and not fear that the pieces will be knocked over by pesty neighbor’s kids.
Now there is a difference between the reproductions that Legend of Asia sells and the rest out there. LA’s has a factory full of qualified craftsmen located nearer to Beijing. A majority of what claims to be good Chinese reproductions sold in places like Crate and Barrel, Barneys NY, HD Buttercup and even Target are from a factory in Ning Bo, Zhe Jiang province in China. I have invested some time examining the difference in craftmanship and quality. Gosh, I even bought a piece that was made in NingBo from HD Buttercup. The furniture is light and rather «hollow» The hinges are rough and as if assembled by a untrained craftsman.
The other tip when shopping for quality Chinese reproduction furnitures is traditionally Chinese furnitures are assembled through a clever and intricate design of joints. No nails, glue, wood screws are used. This is a fact. Most of the designs you see out there are influenced by Ming dynasty furnitures. This period of furnitures are well-​known for its simplicity in design, although the actual material used back then was top-​notch wood like ZiDan and Huanghuali. Qing dynasty furnitures have more floral, dragon/​phoenix motifs alike.
If you ever visit, spend time looking through every piece they have in the showroom.