All to satisfy the unquenchable thirst of western consumer culture with the attendant environmental costs of mass manufacture, carbon intensive shipping and cheap third world labor.
Only a human hand can create that extra mojo that you find in something made with love and attention to detail that works with the natural anomalies of wood to create beauty- that's why antique pieces continue to command a strong following - from people who appreciate artistry and feel of real wood that’s all commonly called handmade furniture.
When the furniture create by human hand, and handmade furniture have extra unique of the art quality. Of course economics requires the presence of the reproduction market serving customers in different price ranges but I am continually surprised that even at the extortionate prices at the high end of the market , companies make gaudy copies of antique furniture from veneered mdf and plywood with the lame excuse that 'chippendale would have used mdf if it had existed in his day'.
Reproduction furniture is fine from a distance although at the cheaper end of the market it just doesn't look right. Do the shelves use handcarved dog tooth racking? How does it hold together as a piece overall - does it have the essential 'unity of being' that all great handmade furniture has? Nothing built to last or built with care. Was it the Beatles who said "you cant hurry love"?