The saga of the copycat artist continues...
Thanks to the people who offered to go break kneecaps--you made me laugh!! (Thank you, Judy R.)
1) Alisha Vincent at The Rosen Group strongly suggested a letter; she gave me some excellent pointers on how to phrase it. This has been a huge relief, as I'm in the homestretch for show preparations. I cannot belief how stressful it's been trying to figure out exactly how to proceed. Thank you, Alisha!
The Rosen Group has seen a lot of these cases, and advises artists on how to handle this.
I believe the person I'm dealing with is an amateur. It's possible that simply letting her know I'm aware of what she's doing, and that it is not acceptable, may be enough.
If further legal action is required, I'll have a paper trail and a track record for exhausting all reasonable courses of action first.
2) I'll be ccing the letter to Hannah Grimes Marketplace (the store that carries the work here in town), the League of NH Craftsmen, and a few other stores this woman might be tempted to sell her work at. This will alert my craft retail community to the situation. They can make their own decisions on the ethics of what this woman is doing.
3) I am also planning a publicity campaign make it clear who makes this jewelry. (Thank you for this suggestion, Pam S., who is on vacation and STILL took time to advise me.) It will not concern the theft of my design--I want to take a higher spiritual road than that!--but I want to establish this is MY work and MY designs.
I've appreciated the letters of support I've received from all of you. Yes, this IS a painful situation! Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it certainly does not FEEL very pleasant.
Consider motive. It would be one thing if this woman had made a few items for her personal use--that could be flattering. Selling many, many copies of my work indicates a desire for something a little more self-serving than simply "flattering" me. She is leapfrogging off my design, hard work and reputation to syphon off sales. The case I saw was loaded with pieces made exactly like mine, down to the tiniest design detail. Except with poor quality faux stones and cheaper components. It's not flattery--it's stealing!
So I think I'm in good shape--though I just don't need this two weeks before my "rilly big shew...."
