Nothing is original.
Steal from anywhere that
resonates with inspiration
or fuels your imagination.
Devour
old films,
new films,
music,
books,
paintings,
photographs,
poems,
dreams,
random conversations,
architecture,
bridges,
street signs,
trees,
clouds,
bodies of water,
light and shadows.
Select only things to steal from that
speak directly to your soul.
If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent.
And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it.
In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said:
“It’s not where you take things from —
it’s where you take them to.
-Jim Jarmusch
Some girl on etsy is copying my chain scarves or
I feel she is
because I'd never seen crocheted
chain scarves there before
and I searched and
searched before I put mine out there to try
and make sure.
So I feel pretty sure because
the same girl has followed me and friended me
on various other sites.
Anyway.
I tried to read
some things to feel better about it
because I'd be
hypocritical if I got too upset over it because I've
always read quotes and things like this and liked them
and always thought it silly when others were so quick
to accuse someone else of design theft
and none of
us invented the cowl even though lots of people like
to take credit as if they did
(it seems i've seen this
so much lately!).
But it still sort of stings when you
think it happens to you
so welcome to the other side
of the fence
although I'm not going to call out any
names or send an angry mob to her shop.
I'll just sulk
a day or two and get over it
because that's really all
i can do
and i'd rather be making other newer things than
wasting more time on this than i already just now have.
still stings though.
i can sympathise. it must be difficult not to take it personally when you obviously have worked so hard on your etsy shop. of course, they say "imitation is the highest form of flattery"... but still!
ReplyDeletei hope that your buyer feedback and high recognition on etsy sets you apart from any "imitations" or otherwise :)
you put yourself out there, and your work which is such a representation of yourself and you can only hope that it will be greeted with open arms.
ReplyDeleteIt sucks when something bad happens...like someone borrowing your designs very closely, bad feedback, unruly buyers, etc..its frustrating. Take a day to reflect not react...I love your work miss!
:[ good luck... my mom told me all the time when I was younger: "people copy you because you're creative and they love your idea"... take it as a compliment girlfriend and keep being creative!
ReplyDeleteThat is a bummer.
ReplyDeleteYou have a strong fanbase, though, that I feel like most people will think "huh...this reminds me of Softspoken" before buying a crocheted chain scarf from your shop, instead.
hope it all works out!
ReplyDeletewow, this sounds so familiar. I'm very jealous when it comes to my work, photos or anything.. and I can totally relate to how this makes you feel. but on the other hand, I see this situation as a space for personal growth and moving on, not only in a "be a bigger person" sense, but, in a sense that your chain scarves fulfilled their need/task. You created something and now it's time to let it go, in order to make room for something new in your creative life. even though theft is never justified, you should look at this as an opportunity to praise yourself for the creativity that makes other people steal from you. and even more, it's an opportunity to see yourself as so much more than your work. maybe I didn't get it all to the point, but, it really reminds me of me and my insecurities, so I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteso, don't let it get you down :D
Did you ever think of selling your patterns?
ReplyDelete