Sunday, August 21, 2011

familiar?




the images above are from a new line of bedding "designed" by diane keaton (whose acting and movies i love by the way) currently being sold through bed bath &beyond.

i'm well aware of the fact that i did not invent the red cross imagery.  but when i started making my pillows i could not find anything out there like them.  and there have been plenty of smaller businesses since then using the same imagery on their pillows.  but when it's a famous person selling through a chain store there is something quite irksome and violating about it.  the hand-stitched "look" in particular and the color scheme...it gets under my skin.  what do you think?

i have to admit this bothers me more than any other "copying" i've come across before.

19 comments:

Jane Flanagan said...

I thought of you the very instant I saw this and thought, ugh.

On the upside - you have way more talent up your sleeve than one design.

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

I have to say...I like your pillows better as they are unique, handmade, and a bit rough around the edges. DK's look too machine made...so for those who appreciate something handmade with love, they'll continue to come to you.

Sadly, this very frustration is what nudged me out of the handmade community. People take others' ideas and claim them as their own. I came up with an idea years ago...hosted many projects using said idea...then one day someone else wrote a BOOK about it...got it published and everything because she knew the biggies at Stampington.

Yes...very frustrating...I'm so sorry this happened.

Jen said...

ouch

yours are much nicer--handmade is SO much better.

Susan said...

Instant recognition, same as everyone else and I can't imagine how frustrating this issue must be for all makers who got there first (like Michelle - ouch). Seems logical to me that, say, unpaid design interns are tasked with trolling etsy and blogs to "borrow" successful concepts for mass market. If nothing else, Diane Keaton thinks you're ultra cool. Small consolation, maybe, with a big difference: your work is imbued with magic and theirs is not.

Anonymous said...

Dang, I am really sorry about this Liane! Yours is incomparably real and authentic, and comes through as something I would want to have in my home and touch and cuddle up to. The DK version is plast-icky (and filled with polyester!). I know that probably doesn't help much. Seeing your design claimed as another's (and then sold in a chain store) is hard no matter what. But there really is no comparison to handmade.

I have to say, I read an interview with her.. what inspired her design? how did she get into design?... and frankly, her responses seemed pretty hollow.

So sorry about this. Try not to let it get you down. Yours are the real deal. With REAL hand-stitching and all!

another feather said...

I saw her new line featured on a design blog earlier today, and instantly said, 'Umm, that looks like enhabiten's pillows?!' I know a lot of scandinavian designers have been producing these sort of cross pillows for quite some time, but they are always much more clean cut and made for production type design, plus always have a really high price point. Thisss however looks ridiculous with the super cheesy mimicked "hand stitching", that is distinctively pretty 'enhabiten'. I'm so sorry, it really is unfortunate that it's made by a celebrity, and being sold by bed bath and beyond, stuffed with polyester no less. We all know this doesn't even compare to the hand made natural products you produce.

The Oak Leaves said...

Each and every time it happens to me it breaks my heart. I think ill be better prepared for the next time, but thats never the case.

someone with such status should be ashamed to put their name on something that isnt their own. Especially since the quality is so far from that of your own. Im surprised at it frankly. I mean, just to see, i typed in cross pillow (into google)... first thing is a photo of one of your pillows. How this has become so seemingly acceptable is beyond me, really.

My heart goes out to you!

amy merrick said...

My blood is boiling for you right now.

tj said...

...This is so wrong on so many levels and my heart goes out to you. They are eerily similar but yours say "made by hand and with love" - those don't. Also, I wonder where they're made. :o\

...Don't let it get you down, DK ain't got nothing on you girl! ;o)

...Blessings :o)

Emily Helmus said...

I know what you mean. I've seen products out there that are similar to my own and it irks me every time.

As a poster above said, this is an unfortunate part of being a member of the handmade community, but don't let it stop you! Your pillows are beautiful and radiate more love than a factory made one could ever hope to emit!

little part said...

ugh...i feel for you, i never understand how the people behind the big companies are okay with doing something like this...aside from the quality of your materials, your high level of craftsmanship,etc...your work has heart, which even with a quick glance you can tell this one does not.

chrzaszcz said...

i saw this on... apartment therapy i think? & i was appalled! & this so soon after a recent urban outfitters copycat case... are corporate designers completely out of juice & spending all their time on etsy these days?

Carlene said...

I totally thought of yours when I saw this, but yours are infinitely nicer because they don't have that mass-produced look this one has. Do we even know where they are made? No, not the same at all.

No Carnations said...

I would say so, yes. Disturbing indeed. They could have gone the route of West Elm (I know they are not perfect, but...) and offered to have YOUR products in their stores. It is nice to see the ETSY symbol all over the latest West Elm Catalog.

Anonymous said...

Liane,

sometimes we have to fight back, stop the madness. If you have a facebook account fight back there, lets have all your blog friends post your statement about this, you words need to be spread.

Don't let anyone walk over you like this. The internet now gives us all a way to fight back.

You have friends and they all need to help now, a your words together so others can copy and paste and get this out there.

Why? because you need this income, and hell if I would let some spoiled movie star steal from me.

Smile, bestrong and get em girl!

Maria

Geninne said...

Me too! Thought of you immediately after I saw this on Remodelista. It's so frustrating and sad :(
But they don't even come close to the beauty of your originals.

Jill said...

i saw this the other day too and thought of your pillows immediately. i think yours' are way cooler and i love the fact that yours' are handstitched. i don't blame you for being irked, i would feel the same way!

Amy Bradstreet said...

That is absolutely your aesthetic and design. You have every right to be perturbed.

Deb said...

That just sucks! There's no comparison though...yours have all the heart and soul.