What do you say to those at the shows to copy your technique?

We all run into it..."customers" at shows that are there to learn as much as they can about how you do what you do so they can copy your work. They don't want to pay for your artistry, but instead intend to extract as much information as possible for free.

I like to mentor, and I like to teach, but I fully resent the blatant probing for all I know and the techniques I have developed that makes my art what it is. And the worst part is that this type tends to corner me and start telling me of their work as other customers that might be willing to purchase go ungreeted and walk out of my tent.

Though I've been nothing but polite (albeit vauge when I get frustrated with a torrent of questions), I'm wondering what others have come up with to deal with this.

I've been trying to figure out some replies that say "I know you are asking for information that I'm not willing to give, but I'm not going to be outright rude".

A few that I have considered are:

"I teach classes in my hometown...if you are willing to travel, I'll be happy to teach you"

"How do I do that? Well, let's see...thousands of dollars of investment, numerous classes, expensive trial and error, and years of my life"

What do you say, nice or not, to all the questions you get?

Good stuff, Annette. I also wrote an article specific to placing a watermark on one's photos.

http://indiecreatives.com/index.php/2010/02/02/how-to-add-copyright...

Two main reasons I encourage putting your name and URL on the image before it gets uploaded anywhere:

Not only does placing a watermark make it more difficult for others to steal and claim it as their own (which happens more often than not), it also makes them contemplate their desperation as they're attempting to erase the watermark from the image. Merely doing this goes beyond evil, but I digress. ;)
People will borrow an image from your site because they want to blog about it and I encourage that. By including your URL on the watermark allows it to be tracked back to your site. Countless times the image gets passed onto someone else who thinks your work is cool and wants to show a friend of a friend. It's like a dog tag for your work -he'll always find his way back home.

Replies

Diane Wright June 1, 2011 at 10:15am

Hi all, I just read a blog post at Crafting an MBA by Megan Auman about jewelry work being copied. According to that article fashion is not protected under copyright laws. Here is the link. Very interesting starting because of a scandal with Urban Outfitters. Crafting an MBA
- Amy Furgiuele > Diane Wright June 1, 2011 at 11:24am
  
  Diane - LOVE this posting and am "liking" this gal's FB page. What great info! You may want to repost this on several of the other "copying" blogs and postings as I think it's interesting information for us all to have. As it is, I believe in the bottom line which is innovate and create and leave the others behind!!
  
  Appreciate your input!
karen cooper May 31, 2011 at 9:56am

Robert Genn at Painters Keys included this in his recent newsletter:

"They copied all they could follow,
but they couldn't copy my mind,
so I left them sweating and stealing
a year and a half behind." (Rudyard Kipling)

A few commentors talked about how they've spent years perfecting their design. I think Kipling's line indicates that time would be better spent creating the next new design, rather than using up valuable time "protecting" the old one. Copying only gives a second best.
- CM Fox > karen cooper May 31, 2011 at 10:07am
  
  Karen! What a wonderful thing to share. FANNED!
  
  That of course is the answer. They can copy one design but the passion and the ideas for it are never theirs and they have no place to go with it.
  
  Great quote!
  C
Annette Piper May 28, 2011 at 2:03am

Been seeing a lot about copying coming up all over the place recently. Saw this article and thought it may be pertinent to the discussion, although its talking about copying via the web. http://www.buildalittlebiz.com/blog/2010/10/20/competition-how-to-d...
- Lisa Stewart > Annette Piper May 28, 2011 at 9:42am
  Good stuff, Annette. I also wrote an article specific to placing a watermark on one's photos.
  
  http://indiecreatives.com/index.php/2010/02/02/how-to-add-copyright...
  
  Two main reasons I encourage putting your name and URL on the image before it gets uploaded anywhere:
  
  Not only does placing a watermark make it more difficult for others to steal and claim it as their own (which happens more often than not), it also makes them contemplate their desperation as they're attempting to erase the watermark from the image. Merely doing this goes beyond evil, but I digress. ;)
  
  People will borrow an image from your site because they want to blog about it and I encourage that. By including your URL on the watermark allows it to be tracked back to your site. Countless times the image gets passed onto someone else who thinks your work is cool and wants to show a friend of a friend. It's like a dog tag for your work -he'll always find his way back home.
  - Annette Piper > Lisa Stewart May 28, 2011 at 6:48pm
    
    Thanks Lisa - something that I SHOULD do, maybe this is the push to actually DO it :)
  - Karole Bowlds > Lisa Stewart May 28, 2011 at 10:38am
    
    Good Information Annette and Lisa!
    
    I will definitely be looking into these things. Have had issues with a particular person here, and not wanted to ruin a long standing friendship, but do need to protect myself from things like this!! Thanks for posting these article links....definitely timely advise!
Christine Hauber May 26, 2011 at 7:06pm

Rarely has any of my actual buyers asked me what my technique is. This is a red flag for just another artist or artist want-a-be to get info on how you do what you do. So I often will say that I have workshops and can teach them. This quiets them down. I have also been known to just give partial information...such as...it is a recipe I came up with using a variety of different products that I have found at art stores and home depot. It took me years and alot of ruined work to get it to this point. I also reiterate that art is a creative process and they need to start experimenting with their own style and come up with something very unique.
Lisa Stewart May 23, 2011 at 11:52am

When I get detailed questions, I usually ask if they're an artist -this helps me understand which answer to give. Many cases, I have to answer, "it's done with magic."

If they're an artist and get miffed because I won't explain my process, I explain that it's part of my secret sauce. I'm running a business, not a Sunday craft table. I have to remain distinctive in order to thrive.

If they're just generally curious because they want to use that information as part of the story they use to chat with their friends, they completely understand the response. They chuckle and we move on to other facets of the conversation (other product details and how other people use it).

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