4.22.2011

Earth Day and Copycats



Happy Earth Day, friends! I love this day of the year, and am especially happy that it's here today. I've had a rough few days this week, and am looking forward to relaxing today.

Earlier this week, I learned of a copycat shop on Etsy that has been stealing my ideas and creations and claiming them to be their own. I stewed and fumed over it for a few days, but them calmed down and came to this conclusion: This shop really isn't a threat to me. I don't feel that this shop has the potential to be taking business away from me. It's just the principle of the matter really gets to me. The shop is run by a repeat customer of mine, who obviously bought items they planned on recreating and selling in their shop claiming them to be their own creations.

I admit that my shop isn't filled of novel ideas. Essential oil blends like Grapefruit Mint or Lavender Citrus are not things that I invented. And brown paper packages tied with string, not my idea. But my Lip Balm? And my Spring blend? My verbiage and photography? My packaging and labels and designs? Those are absolutely things that I solely created that this person has ripped off from me. And those aren't the only things that were stolen. The entire shop is basically a knockoff of my creations.


Here are some of my thoughts: my shop is original and authentic. I've spent years and years and countless hours and hard work (and money!) developing my products, my style, my customer base, etc. And I'm still growing as a crafter and shop owner. And for this person to just swoop in, and within a few months of ordering my products expect to have a successful little shop that is just a copy of mine, it really upsets me. I've had many, many artists, crafters, friends, Etsy shop owners, and prominent bloggers step up to support me. Many of these friends of mine are creative and talented artists who have had similar situations happen to them. Unfortunately, copycats seem to be a growing trend with artists on the internet.. Read a little about copycats here and here. If this person follows anything I do online, which obviously they do, they'll become aware that I know what they are up to. This person has temporarily closed their shop claiming "vacation", and hopefully they are taking time to seriously reconsider the direction of their shop.


Anyway, I've decided to take the turn-the-other-cheek approach, for now. But I'll have a close eye on this person. I have better things to do than to deal with this. Better things like nourish the growing babe in my belly, and wash sap off my three-year-old's feet, and finish making critter barriers to protect my fruit and vegetable crops, and snuggle my Baby Kitty (that's what Burl prefers me call him these days, "I want you snuggle me, Mama Kitty") and plant more seeds, and make more soap, and read this book, again, for the gazillionth time today.

So let's get on with celebrating Earth Day! Today, in honor of Earth Day and ORIGINALITY!, with each order over $10 (before shipping costs), I'm giving away your choice of my Sweet Peppermint Lip Balm or a 3-ounce Spring Soy Wax Candle.

Enjoy your day, my friends! And enjoy this beautiful Earth we live on!

With love,
Amber

12 comments:

Margie Oomen said...

happy earth day amber
sorry to hear this is happening to another creative soul
It has happened to me too
with an interesting discussion here.
http://www.julochka.com/2011/03/its-hard-to-be-original.html

pencilfox said...

i'm hooked on "oakmoss" soaps and intend to remain a faithful and loyal patron.
sorry to hear about this situation....didn't even know it had happened....

x

mary manulkin said...

love this and i really want to know more about your critter barriers... i am having such a hard time between my boy, my chickens and my dog! (and the crows...)

Anonymous said...

happy earth day! sorry to hear about the copycat, too, but thanks for the helpful links. i just found someone on etsy who is copying my most popular product. luckily i have the official copyright, so it should be okay. it's just so frustrating that people can be disrespectful like that. -marie

Anonymous said...

happy earth day Amber! I appreciate your thoughts here, and how you have decided to deal with the situation. You have a lot of supportive fans here, who have been following your work through time. And you are right that this shop should probably not be a threat to your business (but I know it's tough to feel cool about it all!). Enjoy this beautiful day. xo

Unknown said...

I love your heart, Mama Kitty. :)

Vanilla Isis said...

lots of love and support, A. <3

Tonya Gunn said...

Oh that is so hard...thinking of you and wishing you a beautiful Earth Day.
Your products are wonderful!

Valerie said...

nothing beats your sweet peppermint balm & your heavenly scented candles. and as a happy customer, i know what i'm talking about !

Valerie said...

oh dear... I miss the end, the beautiful end of the post... congratulations on this new life growing xx

Elizabeth said...

Sorry to hear about your copycat. I too, would be furious! On a positive note - it does confirm how awesome your stuff must be if someone is trying to "copy" it.

Emily Heizer Photography said...

You wouldn't think it would be possible but I had the same thing happen with my photography business. A "friend" who I had gotten together with a couple of times copied and pasted all of the verbiage off my website and put it on her site, everything, right down to the pricing. Even little quotes and quips that were mine. Even the SPACING on the pricing page. Everything was mine. I was infuriated when I saw it, and yet, when I confronted her, she claimed that I had told her I could do it. I had done no such thing, in fact, we had never even spoken about my website and I never would have told her she could copy anything off my site. I never even told her what photoshop actions I used, let alone told her to do that. I was so angry. I still am. Ruined the friendship, which was still young and tender. I no longer trusted her now that I knew her to be a theif and a liar. She removed it from her site, but boy do I know how it feels.