My opinion on dealing with copy-cattery

I've been meaning to talk about copying and was reminded of the issue when shopping around Etsy today. I saw an item that gave me a sinking feeling because it strongly resembled one of my most loved designs. I can honestly say that upon seeing the item, my body temperature rose for a few moments. This has happened to me about a dozen times. My immediate reaction to seeing a potential mimic is to be either indignant or foaming-at-the-mouth enraged. After dealing with this feeling for years (sometimes poorly) I have a plan of action I feel confident to recommend.

Next time you come across something you deem a copy of your work, try this:

1. Be really upset for as long as you feel really upset but please do not do a single thing. If you must vent your anger, make sure you are speaking to a small private audience. I like to call my Mom because she is always on my side and makes me feel like I can overcome any injustice.

2. Once your passionate fury has subsided to a low growl, take a deep breath and eat a big bowl of humility because the next part requires a clear mind.

3. Examine the copy-ness of the copy. I'm not really discussing rip-offs shipped overseas and mass produced. I'm mostly focusing on the idea of artists and crafters stealing from other artists and crafters. It is painfully obvious when huge companies copy because they barely bother to hide it. This advice mostly does not apply to big companies who practice creative theft.

Most copies in question fall along the similarity spectrum of fraternal twins to distant relations by marriage. To determine if you have reason to take action, ask yourself these questions:

- Research! Did the item in question appear after yours? Do they seem to have some creative ideas in their portfolio or shop or does it all look like copies? Does the alleged copier clearly have knowledge of your existence (i.e.- they bought from you in the past, repeated your writing, used your product photographs, you are so super famous that Martha Stewart asked for your autograph)

- Is your art made of pieces that other people can purchase and assemble? Jewelry findings, clip art, anything made of things manufactured on a large scale? Unless dramatically modified, it is easy to see how similar items could be created from similar pieces.

- Do you think you are the only person who has ever done this? Seriously? I am not trying to be mean but there are lots of productive and creative people out there and sometimes lightning strikes twice especially if you are using an on-trend vocabulary of imagery.

- If your technique or item is very simple, what makes it distinctly yours? It is a gray area for sure but I think this part requires SOUL SEARCHING about what makes your vision unique.

4. If you have come this far and still believe that a person knowingly imitated your totally original item without a dash of their own creativity, you are ready to make your case... to a friend (no lawyers yet!). I hope you have a friend who you can trust who will take this concern seriously and knows that their role is to try to be an objective copycat juror and not a nodding-in-agreement machine. If you can convince your level-headed friend that you have been wronged, feel confident to take the first step of confrontational action!

5. After your friend's agreement, you may be tempted to spill just a tiny bit of venom online. Don't blow it! I believe it is ethical to open a dialogue with the accused before rallying an internet gang against them. I like to employ a firm but non-harassing tone. Maybe talking to them will make you realized that the offender just walked the line of inspiration vs copy a little too closely and you have an opportunity to set them straight. Even better, you may have found a kindred creative person who sees the world the way you do and makes similar art; maybe you should be friends with them!

6. I rarely have had to bust out my Cease and Desist Letter *legal shivers* because most people I've contacted have apologized and promised to stop or convinced me that they were possibly innocent. If your copycat doesn't reply to talking like a normal person, please use the power of legalese and draft one of these puppies and talk about your fake lawyer while you start researching how to find a real lawyer.

7. 95% of the time there is no need for a step 7 in situations of artists stealing from artists. If you are here at step 7 and still want to proceed, I have become useless to you. Thankfully, I have only needed to go this far. If anyone can recommend some resources for serious legal action, I welcome them in the comments.

Did you notice that I have not included a step that recommends you use all the power of your Blog and Twitter followers to drum up intellectual property outrage about your case? Sorry! I know that being validated by the masses is delicious BUT it is also unwise. If you get a lawyer, your lawyer will tell you not to talk about the case. Heck, too much craptalking (aka slander) could have legal consequences for you too!

I hope that next time you are faced with the stressful situation of dealing with copyright infringement, you find my method helpful. In the case of the piece of art I saw on Etsy today that I thought could be a mimic of my design, It didn't make it past step three and was not even close enough for me to feel I needed to confront the artist.

I also hope that the next time you hear one of your favorite artists accuse someone of infringing, that you don't join in for a quick conviction. My theory is that the best way a person can help the original artist is to promote and support of their creativity rather than rally against some designer impostor (lets not drive traffic to their site).

Maybe I am too soft. I'd love to discuss this topic more. Have you ever been too quick to call foul? Do you think it is appropriate for an artist to publicly accuse another artist? Have you ever thought something was your brand new creative idea only to realize someone else had been doing it before you?

Carving rubber stamps

I've spent twelve hours in the past two days hunched over my desk carving rubber stamps. I am having so much fun.

In a few weeks I'm teaching a workshop about making stamps and needed to have some to display. The old stamps I carved were ok but I wasn't particularly interested in the imagery anymore so I decided to make some fresh ones to show the students. I'd forgotten that cutting into a piece of buttery soft rubber with a nice sharp knife is pure pleasure.

Now I need to find what to print on!

Ok, I'm ready to talk.

Ohhh I have been a very bad blogger. Sometimes, I have so much that I need to talk about that I feel overwhelmed and put it off. But, silly girl, the passage of time leads to much more stuff that piles up needing to be talked about! So, instead of infinite procrastination, I'm opting to write tiny manageable tidbits so I can get back on track. I know most of these things are deserving of their own thorough post but I simply do not have the stamina at the moment. I am also going to go ahead and blame Twitter for making writing full paragraphs seem like hard work.

Renegade Craft Fair, Brooklyn, NY: Holy woah! This fair was fun city. Justin and I had a super time and met so many people we internet-adored who we now IRL-adore! I ate corn-on-a-stick for the first time and loved it a lot. I also celebrity-spotted Paul Dano. I made only a little bit of money but ended up pirate-rich in trades! I'm blaming Renegade for my current state of lethargy. I did months of work preparing and the event was so energy-sapping that I needed to recuperate for a week or two. I'm that delicate! Here are some photos: flickr

Mass Market, Boston, MA: This fair was my Renegade remedy. It was a small but well attended event that felt very friendly and relaxed. I finally got to hang out a little with Alice of Forest Bound and Francesca and met a nice new person who happens to also be named Elise.

Tattoo: I got my very first tattoo! It is, of course, bunny related. Here is a photo: flickr. Turns out, it's true what people say about tattoos being addictive; I'm already thinking about my next one.

The Internet: Soon I'll be spreading myself all over the internet (Goodness! That sounds racy!). I was invited to be a guest writer for both Hello Craft and North Shore Art Throb. I am feeling my usual combination of both excited and nervous. I'm excited to be sharing with a much wider audience but I'm nervous about writing for someone else's site and using PROPER PUNCTUATION!

Also, I have the honor of being this weeks "Artsy Wonderbug" on my friend Leah's website today. Please head over to read my little interview here.

Snorg Tees: My very exciting opportunity to have some of my designs turned into tshirts for Snorg is still slowly coming along. They will be made soon though and I can't wait!

What now?: Yes, this post has been catching up on the past but what I'm really excited about is what is coming up in the next few weeks. Nothingness! Yes, it's true, my fair season is over and my commitments are dwindling. I finally should be able to have time to make some new things! It has pained me to put fresh ideas on hold so that I could complete tasks like set up credit card processing accounts and make signs for my fair display. My next post will be all about what has been brewing in my mind for weeks and I'll be able to show off a couple projects in progress.

Now I'm wondering why I put off writing for so long. I enjoyed that.

Big happenings this weekend. RENEGADE!

Today is my last full day of work before heading off to New York City as a vendor at The Renegade Craft Fair! I have been crazy nervous for weeks while I tried to amass inventory, work on my display and get a credit card machine. It's all coming together just in time and I'm finally feeling genuine excitement. I am so very thankful that I am able to participate in Renegade this year! I have actually had this as a goal in my mind before I even had a business! There are so many makers that will be showing at Renegade who I hold in such high regard that I am proud to be beside them. This is by far the biggest event I've ever been a part of!

Are any of you fine blog followers going to be selling or shopping there? Please let me know so I can look forward to meeting you!

Yudu FAIL

I have had a frustrating time in the last few days struggling with a machine.

I excitedly purchased a Yudu screenprinting system after reading some reviews that touted it as the savior for those of us who are running out of our no longer manufactured Gocco supplies. Like the Gocco, it is a self contained screenprinting device and it has the added bonuses of being bigger, geared towards printing on fabric, and it's screens are reusable.

I thought I'd have no problem transitioning from Gocco to Yudu but I was very disappointed.

Before I started printing, I watched a few tutorial videos, perused the Yudu user forums and read the manual. I completed every step slowly and thoughtfully but ended up with imperfections in my three separate attempts.

I spent two whole workdays trying to conquer the Yudu and ended up with unsatisfactory results. I printed 20 "foxy like a crafter" tote bags and most needed touching up by hand and in the end, probably only 6 of them are good enough to sell.

I'm planning on returning the machine later this week.

Here is a ranty rundown of all the annoying details for those of you wondering about the specifics:

The application of emulsion is probably the trickiest part of the process, the screen needs to be wet (but not too wet and not too dry) and then the emulsion is applied in a sheet like a giant green sticker that needs to be smoothed out. My emulsion didn't stick perfectly in all three of my attempts. It was drippy once and un-stuck to the screen once and generally irregular in my last try.

The waiting between steps was expected but annoying and always took longer than the manual suggested.

The machine is pretty clunky. It's very large and feels a bit cheap. For example, the little door flap that holds the screen in the drying rack never stays shut and the top frame part did not hold the screen in very securely. The screen fell out onto the floor once and I spent the next half hour plucking bunny fur out of the ink.... nice.

Once I finally got to start printing on my halfway decently burned screen, I ran into problems getting an even application of ink. I tried to apply an even pressure across the squeegee but I always ended up with un-inked spots which forced me to have to squeegee again thus losing line crispness.

All of the aforementioned grumbles were not insurmountable and I thought that I could get over them with some practice. Then, I realized that my screen needed to be washed between every 7-10 printings because the ink started to dry. Seriously, no. Washing the screen between printings is such a sad waste of ink and time (especially considering the screen needs to be dried after washing too). Yudu ink also only comes in tiny bottles that are prohibitively pricy.

The worst part for me was when I finally had started pulling acceptable prints, I noticed a pink haze had begun to show up around my images. The ink I was using was red and I speculated the screen was wearing down with use and letting a little ink through the blocked parts. I'm not really 100% sure what caused the haze though.

I stopped for the day feeling beaten and went to clean the ink off the screen hoping to pull a better batch tomorrow with the same screen. Sadly, while I cleaned the screen, one or two tiny details of the emulsion lifted off rendering it un-reusable. Reusability was one of the main draws to me for trying the YuDu.

I think the Yudu is a great concept but ended up being not such a great product. It has huge potential but didn't make the cut in my book. I wouldn't recommend it and especially not if you want it for making more than a handful of prints at a time.

Spring cleaning for the ol' shop!

The weather today was sunny and almost warm. I am so glad that spring will be here soon. I kept the windows open for hours and my home now feels like it's just breathed a deep sigh of relief. I enjoyed the afternoon on my porch taking new photos of prints to make my Etsy shop look better. I am planning on having a big sale this coming week (stay tuned) to help clean out some items that I just don't want to look at anymore.

I have a few prints that have been in my shop for a long time collecting virtual dust. My "Fiesta Snakes" print is the most acute example of this unfortunate condition. I'm not all that surprised really, I think the majority of people would greatly prefer to have a print of a bunny or a whale over a trio of snakes and it really was not my cleverest design. So, I decided to make those thirty plus unsold prints useful. I cut out the snakes with my pinking shears, added a bit of ribbon and turned them into bookmarks. I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. I am confident that they are much better than their original incarnation. These special new snake bookmarks will be included with every order while they last!

PequitoBun and Ranunculae are nice!

I made it safely to Design Hive thanks to the heroic helpfulness of my upstairs neighbor. Whew!

The event was tidily organized and all the vendors were real pros. I also had the lucky surprise of sharing an extra-long table with Sherry of PequitoBun. I met Sherry a couple of years ago at the ReCraft fair and we bonded because we both have beloved pet bunnies (her little black lop is named Pequito). I had a happy laughter-filled time catching up with her and geeking out about our pets.

I also met fellow gocco-printer and blogger Maeg of Ranunculae. She was very friendly and I hope to see her again soon at the Twist Fair in Northampton (I'm crossing my fingers that we both will be accepted as vendors!).

These two new friends made the event worthwhile even though business was slow. I am hoping that it was just the foul weather that kept the customers away. I still have high hopes for my future dates at Design Hive.

Handmade Nation NY Premier!

Our trip to New York to see Handmade Nation was exhausting but very fun. Ashley (shown above waiting for the film to start) and I did so much chatting and walking yesterday that I had sore muscles and a gravelly voice this morning. After a four hour bus ride, we spent the next few hours walking around semi-aimlessly then had a frustrating time heading in the wrong direction on the subway.

Thankfully, we made it to the premier at the Museum of Art and Design on time. I am so glad that Ashley thought to buy our tickets beforehand because they were sold out when we arrived. The place was really bustling and everyone seemed so cheerful and excited about seeing this film. Once seated, we scanned the crowd for crafty celebrities. We recognized Julie of Your Secret Admiral, Danielle of Precious Pups, Christy of A. Bardis, Andrew Wagner from American Craft and Jenine of Jenine Bressner Fireworks. We also found out later that the woman seated behind us was Micaela O'Herlihy who did the filming for Handmade Nation. Neat! I probably would have traveled all the way to New York just to be in such good company! I found I was very curious about all the unidentified attendees. I suspect that every person in the audience was a maker of some kind and I wanted a profile (with links) floating above the heads of everyone seated around me.

The film was paired with a panel discussion led by Callie Janoff with Mandy Greer, Kate Bingaman-Burt and the director, Faythe Levine. The panel was full of infectious enthusiasm and I found myself smiling through the whole thing. The audience was allowed a few good questions (and one that made me secretly wish for a blow dart) and the second that the panel was over, we had to rush away to catch our bus home. I wish we could have lingered for a bit and mingled.

I am still glowing from the experience because the film and the atmosphere of the event was so joyful and optimistic. I relished being shown that my solitary crafting pursuits are part of something special and that the silly things I make are important on some level.

Dance of a thousand hearts

I got some bad news recently that put me in a fretful state but I got a big dose of cheer when I came home today. My Argyle Whale shop has accumulated ONE THOUSAND hearts (also known as favorites). I can't help but shout a little because that is a big thrilling number of folks who like what I make.

I appreciate every single heart that has come my way and I promise I will reward the attention with a bunch of new treats to share. Going to my first big craft fair and hitting this milestone has me more inspired than ever to make make make!

I have more time and enthusiasm than ever and (if I may) Argyle Whale is about to explode. I was pushed off a cliff that I planned on jumping off of anyway (someday) and I am equal parts thrilled and terrified.

Argyle Whale is now my full time job. I must turn myself into a crafting animal.... a machine!

Bazaar Bizarre was super!

I'm so happy to report that the Bazaar Bizarre was a big success! Jenn, Justin and I had a long chilly day but it was full of people smiling and enjoying my work so we have lots of stamina for that kind of thing. It snowed for hours and the crowds still showed up and waited in a line that was two blocks long (so I hear).

My greatest enjoyment was meeting a few fellow vendors I really admire. I wish I had the chance to mingle more. I also was really pleased to meet folks who already knew about Argyle Whale and were eager to meet me. That was a neat feeling for sure!

Being a vendor at Bazaar Bizarre has been a big goal of mine for a few years (even before I had a business!) and it was every bit as good as I'd imagined. Gigantic heaps of thanks to the organizers and volunteers who made the event so spectacular.

Photos from the event along with all the loot I brought home can be found here.

Bazaar Bizarre creeps closer.

Today was my first day with Jen (Argyle Whale's first ever intern!) and I am extremely thrilled to be working with her. She is so efficient and focused which helps balance my tendency to be a scatterbrained dawdler. We got so much done for Bazaar Bizarre in the hours we spent together that I'm almost relaxed approaching this big event. Almost. I do have plenty of butterflies though.

Ok, I've got to get back to work. I'm not stopping until Sunday at 7:00.

Things I'm excited about:

1. I mailed out all my items for the Craftland show and I'm feeling a little relief. I sent three thousand dollars worth of product! I think this show is going to be super.

2. I met my new intern yesterday and I think she is going to be perfect! Her name is Jenn and she's studying graphic design.

3. Bazaar Bizarre is SO CLOSE. Ahhhh! I received an email from the organizers and the bottom line said "see you in a couple weeks!" and my heart stopped a little. It's felt so far away for months and now it's practically here! I hope I'm ready.

4. I am in the Paper n Stitch online gallery this month. I would be so happy if you visited it and gave me a vote. I'll be able to show there next month if I get lots of votes. Just click the little heart in the corner!

5. Acorn (above) is becoming more friendly every day. He is sleeping on my lap at this very moment.

did it!

Thanks to some good advice from Sarah of CraftyFolk, I managed to make the holiday postcards that I was fussing so much over. She recommended that I basically chill out and " just make something that makes you smile when you look at it.". So, I tried to forget about what I thought everyone else would want in a card and simply designed the card that I wanted to send out this year. This version is obviously personalized for Justin and I but I made some without initials to sell.

These lovebears actually resemble us a bit (at least our accessories and hot drink habit) and I think it'll be a fun couple-y card to send off since it's our first Christmas since we got married.

Mini Sellout

I have always screen-printed out business cards on the backs of my imperfect prints and I was quite vain about this process I must admit. I thought they were the best business cards because they were made using the process I use for my products and they all had little snippets of big designs on the back. Each was unique and special and I loved sharing them. I loved sharing them so much that I was always always out and would wait until I had a decent scrap print pile to begin making more.

With the holiday season upon us and craft fairs abrew, I had to get practical and ditch my business card process for a faster alternative that would never run out. I printed up one thousand business cards online with a design made for cutting in half so now I have two thousand crisp new business cards! I like them but they are just not the same. I guess this is streamlining but it's my first concession.

I'll still make my old business cards to give out to the really special people though!

The above image is of my new cards pinned to a bulletin board with my promo buttons.

Trade ya!

There is no use denying it; Christmas is coming and I'm pretty broke. I have been trying to figure out how I can manage to have presents for my family and I had a fine idea. I'd like to make a couple gifts myself but I really want to dazzle my relatives with surprises from other makers. I may have no money, but I do have things to trade!

So, I have a proposition for you crafty friends that could be mutually beneficial. I would be delighted to trade almost any item in my shop for a special little something from yours (preferably not art since I've got that part covered). My gift recipients are all adults (23-85) and they have a wide array of tastes. If you personally would like something from my shop or think it would make a nice gift for someone you love, just drop me a note and we'll see if we can make an exchange of roughly equal value! I'm particularly hoping for things like jewelry, journals, and home decor type things. Bath and body stuff would be pretty nice too.

I hope this works or else everyone is getting homemade peanut butter again!

Crafting spree!

If I was half as productive every day as I was yesterday, I'd be a crafty tycoon! I made so much new stuff that I'll have a consistently fresh shop for weeks. That is, if I don't get overexcited and list it all on the same day.

First, I got in a huge order of blank kraft Moleskine sketchbooks in the mail and printed them all instantly with two new designs.

The first batch I made features a pudgy mole relaxing underground. I'm so literal and therefore I thought a mole would be a perfect design for a Moleskine journal. I'm also particularly fond of moles because they remind me of my father with his glasses off. Oh the tiny eyes!

The second journal design is part of my new "animal advice" series (I'll talk more about this new idea in a later post) and features a clever little elephant reminding you to not forget "that thing you were supposed to remember". This journal is a perfect example of me designing for myself since I'm the most forgetful person ever and I love making lists. My problem is that I always have five or six different list/sketch books going at the same time so I still don't have my act together.

These sketchbooks are now available in my shop and I'll be introducing the rest of the new stuff from my crafting spree in the next few days.

Double milestone spectacular!

This week I reached the 600 hearts milestone on Etsy and I also hope to celebrate my 100th sale within a few days! I'm at 99 right now and I'm just itching to do my one-hundred sales dance so I have discounted a few of my items and am offering extra surprise goodies to my one-hundredth customer. Holla!

P.S. I just applied to Boston's Bizarre Bazaar craft market and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be accepted. It's not too late to apply If you have not already; it really is super!

The above image is of a caterpillar friend I met in Maine. I thought (s)he looked particularly jubilant in this shot. Look here if you'd like to see more of my photos of this fine green thing.

Platypus preoccupation

I've been wanting to try and make zippered pouches for awhile. I think they are cute, handy and a good way to use up leftover fabric from my Lazerbeanz days. I just took a long time to make a design to print on them.

I thought that the kangaroo would be a perfect mascot for my pouches but I had a really hard time drawing one. For some reason, all my kangaroos came out with bitchy looks on their faces. I could not get them to look friendly! Koala was the next likely candidate but the tree element of the koala lifestyle was a hindrance to my layout. I thought of the platypus but wasn't sure if they actually had pouches so I began searching the internet. Well, I did not expect that a quick Google check would lead me to four hours of intense platypus research! They are very perplexing creatures full of contradictions! I actually had a hard time nailing down anything about them. I found sources claiming that they do have pouches and ones that say they don't. I've decided that I personally prefer a pouch-bearing platypus so that is what I choose to believe.

My favorite undisputed platypus factoid is that they have no nipples but still produce milk. They nurse their young with milk secreted from their pores which the babies lick off their mother's coat. That blew my mind. I think I want to be a platypologist when I grow up.

I made two wonky pouches already and I plan to spend the rest of today practicing so I can have some nice enough to sell in my shop soon. I also made Justin a platypus shirt on a whim while he was headed out the door to a concert (see the shirt here.). I'm all about platypus embellishments right now. Platypus could become the new houndstooth.

Celebratory Giveaway!

I feel like celebrating and sharing today. I'm going out to breakfast, donning my special yellow heels and having my very first giveaway! I'm offering up one of my proud llama journals and a couple other surprises to anyone who leaves a cheerful comment. I'm thinking of this as a kind of trade because I'd really like it if the comment submissions contained a link to something that may make me happy. In return, maybe you'll get something special in the mail! The odds are very good here.

I'll pick a winner on Monday. Please make sure your comment contains an internet gem and enough information so I can track you down and send you some goodies!

Glamour Shots

I took advantage of the nice bright sunlight streaming into my apartment and styled some new listing images for a few prints that I have in my shop that have not been selling as well as I'd hoped. I think these designs are just as worthy as the others but the pictures I had of them were not so great. So, this will be a little experiment in how much the listing image affects the popularity of the prints. I hope my shop feels more inviting now that I've been photographing my art in scenes instead of just scanning.