Recently I saw a photo of an embroidery that someone had done, and rightly, they were very proud of it. It was beautifully worked.
They said that they had found the design on Pinterest, and they didn’t know who the designer was.
This made me incredibly sad, and sat extremely uncomfortably for me.
There is a designer out there who has not received just payment for their work. There is a stitcher out there who is quite happy to not pay the designer.
I know this happens everywhere. I know this happens all the time in the needlework world.
Smøyg proofs from the printer, for me to check. Just one small part of the process of writing a book.
I spend thousands of hours working on my books, which involves research, problem solving, designing, stitching, writing, photographing, and illustrating, amongst other things. I also spend many hours on my designs which are not part of my books.
Do I deserve to receive payment for these if you want to use my book or use my design? I think so.
Why do so many people think it is ok not to pay others for their work?
I don’t understand when it became ok to steal. It sounds harsh, but that’s what it is.
We should not be accepting that this is ok in the needlework world. It isn’t ok to not pay your plumber. It isn’t ok to steal the house plans the architect has drawn up. It isn’t ok to steal your groceries.
So why is it ok to steal needlework designs and use pirated copies of books, charts and designs?
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
It baffles me, too. And I note that we’ve been having this conversation – campaign, perhaps – for more than a decade. What can we do more?
I just don’t know. I don’t harp on about it, but I periodically bring it up again. For some reason, people need to be reminded about this.
The problem with Pinterest is that it is very hard to trace an image to its original source. You can hop from pin that was posted by D that was posted by C that was posted by A… and eventually goes to a dead link or just a random JPG. As I’ve heard people say, “Pinterest- where context goes to die.”
Yes Eve, and that’s exactly why people should steer clear of using ANY patterns off Pinterest. I make the assumption that all charts found there are breaches of copyright, and therefore using them is illegal.
Incredibly the “sharing” of patterns takes place in a number of handwork groups I attend. People who would never walk into a store and take something without paying for it have no problem making copies of patterns and freely distributing them. One person said she “shares” patterns that are easy. Pointing out that the designer created it, worked out all of the stitch patterns, etc., and should expect that others don’t give it away has little impact. I will use Pinterest to find things I might enjoy stitching, but if I can’t determine who designed it so I can purchase it, it remains where it is in cyberspace.
I, too, find it incredible. Thank you for your moral and upright use of Pinterest. I know there are many like you who are upstanding needlework-world citizens!
Yvette
I totally support you and all designers in this. There are a lot of free designs on the internet anyway.
I always try to do a thorough search if I find something on Pinterest. I personally don’t like pinning stuff on Pinterest unless it’s from the direct source. To help find the source, you can do a google image search. It doesn’t always work, but I’ve gotten good results with this method.
Thanks Dima. That’s a very good idea. In my experience a lot of people don’t know how to do that. So maybe I should show them at some point. Thanks!
That is so disheartening. I’d like to say it’s an education thing, but I really doubt it is. When people mention pintrist I always popup and say beware of copyright. Pintrist is a place known to have a lot of violations. Wish people knew more (and cared) about Intellectual Property.
Thanks Jodi. I wish they did too. 🙁
What happens inside the embroidery local groups makes me even more angry. Most of the time, their create these groups to share their designs and books. They buy one book and make 20 photocopies. And they have subsidies coming from the city as any local associations would receive. In one word the government are giving money to some people to act illegally!!!
And they complain because there are less and less embroidery magazins!!!
I have noticed this in Australia about embroidery groups too – not all of them, but some. They don’t realise how self-defeating this sort of behaviour is.
I’ve read people complaining how hard it is to find Hardanger patterns. Um yes… many designers don’t bother any more. They’re too discouraged by the behaviour of those who steal their work.
Another thing about Pinterest (owned by Google): It tracks you and compiles your searches, likes, etc. all over the Net and monetizes your info. I have gotten so that I exclude Pinterest from my online searches. I refuse to log in (and be tracked), much less pin anything, and Pinterest retaliates by making it difficult to browse through anything on their site (login nags, obfuscating links, etc.). Remember, in most cases, if a service is “free”, YOU are the product.