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Thursday 13 September 2012

Scrapbook etiquette

I'm still struggling without Internet and so thought I'd use my phone to have a browse through a few blogs. One UK blog had a number of posts featuring layouts that they had entered for challenges/competitions. I was very taken aback when I realised that one of these entries was in fact one page of a double page layout I had taught at club in January 2010. This person was in the class and even asked me to redesign the page to incorporate her photos. This was the class kit, the class design and additional design input from me to place her photos. There was a second entry that was a direct copy of another class I had taught to a group including this lady. Some of the kit contents were used, the class technique was used and the sample design was exactly copied but with slightly different papers. I love when people post pictures of my class projects on their blogs but there is an etiquette to this sort of thing where you should credit the original class/designer/kit company. It's not something I usually pay much attention to but I think this is a whole different issue. Entering a competition with something that's not completely your own work is unfair. It's unfair to the original designer and also to the other entrants. There's always going to be the issue of scrap lifting vs inspiration but I think this falls into a whole different category. Using someone else's work to enter a competition is practically fraud. Those of us who design and teach crafts as our job regard our kits and designs as our livelihood, while I love what I do for my work it is still my job and like everyone else I have to pay bills. The daft thing is that if this person had simply credited my kit and/or class I wouldn't have paid any attention. This is something that comes up in different forms over and over again and can be quite contentious - what are your thoughts?

2 comments:

Tina said...

totally agree, 'credit where credit's due' and all that. It's very simple to say 'inspired by' or 'using techniques taught by'.
I had it happen in a different kind of way recently; I taught a small group a technique, and was at great pains to say that the layout we were copying was designed by 'X', and that we were using it with her knowledge and permission. One of the group then posted her page on a public forum and said that it was all her own work!
Manners cost so little, don't they?

Jo Capper-Sandon said...

It makes me maaaaaaaaaad.

I think scrap lifting is a lazy excuse for someone who can't be bothered to be inspired by someone else and add their own twist and instead just copies. Card making has the CAS (copy and steal?) similar 'excuse'. To me, I just don't get why people are unable to put their own spin on things.Where does the creative fun lie in copying? Grrrrrr...

Can you tell it winds me up lol