How does one politely deal with this? We're not talking a friendly exchange. Have had countless women come into my booth wearing jewelry that is very similar to what I create. When I ask them where they purchased it, they proudly reply that they made it themselves. Makes my skin crawl. Not the jewelry, but the feeling that their motives are less than honest. Especially when they stay for a long time but never make a purchase. Guess it's cheaper than taking a class to learn a new technique, but somehow doesn't seem ethical. Worse, they start asking about materials and techniques. The other comment I frequently hear is that they are just starting to make jewelry and want to look around. Is there a firm but polite way to address these people? In a perfect world, I could say, "I personally make a point of not going into competitor's booths. Would you appreciate it if this was being done to you?" Especially someone with a similar style. Or "This is not a classroom, you need to learn about your craft and develop your own style. It's going to take a lot of work".
Must add as a postscript that I recently had a competitor visit my booth and ask about where I was selling. She loved my work and was very complimentary. Told her the name of the shop, never imagining that she would create a new line that was unlike her previous work that closely resembled mine, including the packaging style. She sold it at the same shop. On top of that, she sold them at a greatly reduced price. There was some satisfaction was that she was selling just above cost and had to pay commission on top of that. The shop owner kept mixing up our stock because it was difficult to tell them apart. The "artist" has moved on to something else. Unfortunately, she is pilfering ideas from someone else. Her reputation in the community is becoming well known and she is being turned away from shows. Would be safe to say I'm a bit paranoid. Bottom line, is there a firm but polite approach to send them on their way?
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Another photographer has been stopping by my booth over the past couple years years, and I think I'm pretty much the 'vehicle' for how he's getting into shows. I've given him advice on what type of display to use: pole tent instead of EZ-Up; Propanels instead of cheap plastic gridwall; CFL lights hooked up to a marine deep cycle battery and inverter; support the tent with sta-bars, panel hooks, and velcro. And most of his visits involve snapping a few photos of my setup.
This latest visit (just last month) was a bit odd, and I will make darn sure it won't happen again. He started out the conversation with a little pity party of how he couldn't afford the both fee for this particular show. We joked about the empty booth spot next to mine, and how he ought to run home and get his canopy and eliminate my new-found corner booth!
Well, it turned out that he did bring "his booth" after all. As customers entered my booth and asked me about my work, he would butt into my conversation and talk about his work. Someone asked me about where I got my canvas frames done (at home), and he interrupted with some place across town where he gets his work done. Someone asked me about my next location where I might be shooting, and I blurted out the first random place that came to mind: Bodie, California. Sure enough, this interloper (who for whatever reason I hadn't yet shooed out of my booth) had his own photos of Bodie on his phone! Yes, he squeezed around me to show one of my visitors his photos while standing in my booth. Looking back on it, if I were just a bit more impulsive, I would have snagged his phone and thrown it out of the back of the tent! It would have certainly prevented what happened next -- he started handing out his business cards.
And to think that the conversation started with how he was too much of a cheapskate to pay the booth fee and get into the show. The next time he stops by, he will definitely get some new advice about "something that I just learned."
Jason, That's terrible! You are by far a kinder and more patient person than most. Hopefully he has moved on. What else could he possibly ask? I vote tossing out the bum with his phone!
Clearly this is an interesting and thought-provoking topic. I think you are right that you cant do too much about it, and dwelling on it takes away from far more interesting things. I had one thought-why not consult an attorney, just once, to explain the issue and have him or her draft a statement that you can post in your booth and perhaps on a card you might include with each sale, that states the designs are your creations,and they are copyrignt-protected blah blah blan polite legal stuff blah blah blah. The lawyer could advise you on how difficult (and costly) it might be to try and enforce this, but just having it out there reminds people that artistic creations are in fact covered by copyright laws --even though for jewelry especially it might be difficult to enforce. It wont stop everyone- but maybe knowing its there, and said in a friendly way, maybe you can then essentially forget about the issue and get on with designing and gardening and more pleasant life-things. I think that is probably the most anyone can do to try and protect your ideas.
As an aside, a friend on mine used to do machine embroidery- mostly for herself and friends, but occassionally wouls sell embroidered towels. She bought a $5 pattern (basically a little computer program that tells the sewing machine how to sew this design) off of ebay for a scrolly thing with some flowers. She had never used the design. She got a letter some time later from a mega embroidery design company telling her she was being sued because that design belonged to the company, and someone had bought the design and was reselling it. She was asked to pay $300. She paid it and quit doing embroidery! Ugh! The lawsuit was against the woman who was reselling the design (as it should be) and also against anyone who bought it (I guess like possession of stolen property.....? seems HARSH!!.) Now this design was no big thing, but this mega company discovered someone who was reselling it, AND they had previously put a disclaimer saying that reselling was copyright infringement AND they had the resources to enforce this.
So it would seem a jewelry designer could sue someone for copyright infringement too, if they had the resources and could prove that they originated the idea. ....
Julie, I completely agree if we are talking about studying, student years etc. But this conversation is about “competitors in my booth”, right? I was talking about fellow artists, colleagues. I don’t care about somebody who bought my etching, ugly colored it in Photoshop and put on her flickr as her own art or some hobbyist/copycat in New Zealand. But I do care about artist who imitates my art + has lower price and …(what a surprise! ) is my neighbor at the show. It is what recently happened to my friend. His imitator was his neighbor.
Rich, yes, inspiration comes in many forms and places, but it also has different degrees and percentages and it becomes stealing at some point.
Inspiration comes in many forms and many places... He/She who has never been inspired by another ones work please stand up and be counted!
Rich has a valid point. The difference is when the inspiration leads to imitation which is fueled by desperation and lack of motivation. That's a horse of a different color :)
Ha-ha, Kim, I love this: "the inspiration leads to imitation which is fueled by desperation and lack of motivation". Can I borrow it? With your copiright of course:))
Feel free!
I noticed that here, in USA, people often mix inspiration with imitation. To be inspired by beauty/art and to make your own beauty/art does not mean to imitate/copy another artist's technique/ideas. So, I am with David and Sheila on this (and workshop) subject. Also I noticed that mostly hobbyists imitate things. People with education in art don't do such things often. #1 - they have own ideas/techniques. #2 - they believe that imitation = stealing.
Even the grand masters of art imitated those from whom they learned...until they developed their own passions and ideas. Let's not poo-poo imitation UNTIL it becomes stealing. People who are educated in art are taught the styles and techniques of all who came before them...who's to say what percentage of "educated" work is completely original or taken from what was taught them?
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