Thursday, July 14, 2011

box shock horror




today in Good Box News we have FIVE finished fabric boxes newly listed in the shop

I already had 3 completed and I just about managed to sew another 2 yesterday ...but then I gave up because I felt fed up/angry/sad because.....

In Bad Box News I've seen some photos of copies of my work... here are 2 pictures of my boxes ::



I know you've seen them before but take a good look...
and then take a look at photos taken from the copier's website ::




my lovely little pussy cat COPIED, my cute panda face COPIED




my owl COPIED




and worst of all my monkeys COPIED....I love my monkeys ... I made my first Monkey Face in January 2007 (Blogs are great for finding out things like that!)
*sigh*


I feel fed up


*****************************************************


I have emailed the site but have had no response


I have emailed another UK crafter whose designs have also been copied on the same site and she's fed up too!


*****************************************************

edited at 8.15pm to add ::

I have received an email and the boxes have now been removed from most of the site...I have asked that all the photos that show 'my' boxes be removed and hope they will be gone soon.

I have removed the link to their site as requested ... and now I'm off for a glass of wine!

I shall reply to your lovely comments in the morning, you are all superstars and have made me feel so much better!

38 comments:

Handige An said...

I wanted to react on your grey and yellow box, because I love it!!
But then I kept on reading...OMG!How can people do such a thing? so shameless....
Totally understand you're feelings. I hope this will get settled and they will apologize...Good luck!!

Jeanine The Crafting Fiend said...

wow, thats a pretty blatent copy and quite cheeky and rude of them to be selling them too!

Charlotte @ Life of a Domestic Witch said...

I cant believe they've copied them exactly! Thats awful!

Pene said...

It's one thing to copy something for your own use but to copy them to sell is BAD BAD BAD..No wonder your MAD I would be too.
Big Hug
Pene x

M-J said...

Oh no! It is so blatent, and almost exact copies (tho, may I say, they don't look as good quality as yours!). I love reading your blog as I think your ideas are fab and others obviously do too (even those that copy and then sell as their own work). Your boxes look so good, but it must be hard when others take credit for your ideas and hard work. :-( xx

dottycookie said...

They are BAD copies too - so rude. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this :-(

Rosa Forino said...

sono dispiaciuta per quanto accaduto il web "purtroppo" anche questo, le tue fans perĂ² conoscono bene la differenza perĂ² ;-)

Cik Puan Nurul said...

i hate copycat...;(

sassypackrat said...

Every week I see this happening to another artist and it's just so sad. Unfortunately there are people out there who won't hesitate to outright copy your designs. It makes me want to share less and less of my creations on my blog. Best of luck getting them to stop.

trash said...

I agree with Val - they are really quite bad copies too. Hope you get some satisfaction.

Anonymous said...

its very sad but i think your never stop it ,there is just to many people makiing crafts and love to copy maybe you have to take it as a good thing poeple must just love your work :-)

Anonymous said...

How rude!!! :( They sure don't look as good as yours. I hope she will remove them soon from her site.

Anonymous said...

They TOTALLY copied your designs!!!!!! How horrible!!!! (Your boxes are MUCH prettier though.) They had better respond!

Tiff said...

I don't understand all the language on her site, but there is an "in the media" link that shows her (your) boxes in a mag maybe you should contact that mag about her infringement. Also she has links to other artists, maybe you should let them know she copies peoples work, they might be next.

Louise said...

Oh my goodness, that's terrible!

It's so bad that people think its ok to do this :(

They are a poor imitation of gorgeous originals!

Anonymous said...

I can’t believe it!!! But how can they do it ? They are for sure to make felt boxes but with their own design !! Why copy ALL YOURS ?? no fantasy at all, stupid crafty people with no fantasy….
Erica

Indigo Blue said...

When large chunks of my blog tutorials were ripped off by a Turkish blogger who was being PAID to contribute to this other blog I was very upset. They took ten in all. I do not charge for people for my tutorials so making money with my ideas was a bit much. I managed after some investigating and using google translator, to find the editors email. I emailed her and she did reply. When it happended again a week later I told them to stop, put their blog on mine for all to see and told them to leave me alone or I would hold her responsible. I also deactivated all of my tutoirals and did not add any for 6 months.
If you send me their email I would be more than happey to email them with my dismay at your work being ripped off. I bet a lot of your visitors and followers would also do the same for you!! Lisa Lam at U-handbag had problems like this at Etsy, but they shut the seller down for her. Let me know if I can help, it is a genuine offer Sarah.
Try not to let it upset you too much, their sewing is not as good as yours you can see the difference!
xx

michelle said...

good god!!! that is the most blatent copy i have ever seen !!!!
i feel for you and i really really hope this gets sorted out, its just not on that someone puts so much hardwork, effort and love into a product for someone to just take them as their own!
i really really hope that you get it sorted x

Michelle said...

Oh, Sarah! I'm so so sorry, that's just ridiculous. I know this doesn't help at all, but yours do look so much better, even in the photo.

Let us know if there's anything we can do to help. I hope this gets resolved to your liking, and soon.

Anonymous said...

It is in Dutch and she claims that all her items are unique.
BUT her category 'baskets' cannot be clicked now. That is one good thing.

Unknown said...

That is completely unforgivable, it's amazing how greed can completely overide any form of moral code. I would suggest you pop over to sew happy geek's blog as she is hot on this sort of thing, knows loads about the law and copyright of artist's designs and work. I bet she would give you some great advice of where to go as she LOATHES this and is very proactive against it. Hope you get some form of resolution that makes you feel a little better.
Becky x

Kimberley said...

Well done you for confronting her and i'm glad she has done the sensible thing. They were so obviously copied it was unbelievable! Go have a good drink! x

Manu said...

Oh my God, Sarah, this is terrible!
Remember .. You are UNIQUE and ORIGINAL .. and they are only COPYING
I tell you one thing .. You are loved so much to them if they have decided to reproduce your work! =^__^=
You are an Artist .. They do not know creativity .. copy..They don't know how to invent anything!!!

A Big Hug for you

The Pea Pod said...

Oooh, the bloody cheek of it!!!!

Anonymous said...

I hope you enjoy your glass of wine as that is an absolute disgrace, what they have done. Yours are MUCH nicer and far superior but it's still bad.
Janis

liniecat said...

Shows how little talent she has herself if she copies your designs so completely, tho badly as has been said!
And Im sure she will have done it to others as well as you.
Name and shame her to the magazine too yes, thats a good point. They could be sued for misrepresenting her/your work! So they will most likely want to know about it pretty quick fast!

jojoebi-designs said...

sadly this is one of the crappy sides of being an indie designer, there is always some slack-arse who will try and rip you off. At least you handled in the right way, taking screen shots is very important and social media is on your side with things like this. Twitter has become a powerful tool, if she does stop, don't hesitate to ask for help xxx

Anonymous said...

So glad she took them off of her site. That's a good sign that she's embarrassed that she got caught! Hilarious that she was concerned about HER site being linked when SHE was the one who stole your designs. It's a compliment when someone likes your work enough to (try to) copy it, but altogether wrong if she tries to profit from it. We adore you, Sarah. Keep on smiling. :)

Anonymous said...

So shocked to read about your work being copied. You have lovely pieces.
Hope things work out and your 'rival' stops what she's doing.
Keep smiling

Frances

More Than a Mama said...

Just had to say I LOVE your new fabric boxes at the top of your post, gorgeous fabrics. Although, the copycat news of your original felt boxes, I do NOT love!
Thank you for bringing this site to our attention, I will be contacting them about the star name banners, so similar to mine I actually thought they were my photos!!! It's exhausting all this, a new one seems to pop up every few weeks. I agree with you though, all power to blogs and flickr photos etc. which prove exactly how long ago you made the original design, hurrah!
Your designs are wonderful and I'm so pleased that she has now removed them from her site, well done :) x

HeartfeltHandmade said...

whoops, I meant to write that comment as myself, not More Than A Mama :)
(you see, this whole think won't let me think straight!!)

Anonymous said...

I love all your designs and creations....keep up the good work and don't let these copycats ruin your day....:)....be happy~~

Jeni Allen said...

I've loved your stuff for as long as I've known about your site! So sad that people do this. It's like a loss in the family. Here's hoping you get through relatively unscathed.

Maria - A Playful Stitch said...

So sorry to see this - I can't believe what blatant copies they are!!! Shocking! :o(
Maria x

Awok's Kiter Craft (Awin) said...

Just happened to me... And it makes me so mad and frustrated... :(

But, don't give up... your fans know which 1 is urs... :)

keep creative :)

Unknown said...

I don't want to put a dampner on things, but I would definately keep an eye on the website, even though they have already removed the pictures, make sure they are no longer selling them. Is there any way you can get your designs copyrighted? I don't know the legal implications of that, but it might be an idea to look into. Keep your chin up, and keep up the good work. At least WE know where the designs originally came from! Hugs xx

Unknown said...

I am really glad you have had a quick and positive resolution to this. If you find the need to pursue it further then do pop over to sew happy geek who I'm sure would be happy to help you.
Sincerely hope that this doesn't rear it's ugly head again.
Becky x

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