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It's Monday morning and I'm happy to see a new week, the last two have been a little bit overwhelming with the whole ASOS issue. Trying to tackle the problem of design theft is a mucky business and not one we wish to dwell on any further - we've jewellery to make! I wanna say a huge thank you to everyone who commented on our blog, sent us e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets'n're-tweets. We received a handful of *very* insightful e-mails from people who used to work on the inside of these companies including this e-mail from a girl who has granted us permission to post her message, but wishes to remain anonymous...
"I used to work for a jewellery design company, designing for lots of high street brands, including ASOS. I may have an interesting insight for you... we were actually encouraged to literally rip off other people's designs. All we had to do was photocopy the piece, make notes on it for the dimensions and colours and send it off to several production factories (mostly China) for them to compete by offering us the lowest price for manufacture on large quantities.
Occasionally we would also actually draw out a copied design, changing the details just a little. To avoid being accused of copying, many large companies use the '3 details' rule - you change 3 things about a design and you can basically get away with it a lot of the time.
Suffice to say, this job felt totally soul-destroying and I only lasted about 3 months. I've been an independent jewellery designer & maker for several years now."
Interesting, huh?
A big, big thank you to the people who also wrote blog posts about our unfortunate experiences... Indie Quarter - a UK blog dedicated to independent designers, makers, artists and crafters. Made in the Shade - a hip Scottish collective who showcase design, neo-craft and vintage lifestyle. We Make - a London group who showcase the talents and crafts of designer/makers. Strikk - a beautiful knitwear brand. Lucy Loves - A super-cute UK fashion blogger. Who Wore What When - A super-cute Scottish fashion blogger. Made By White - an Australian jewellery brand who were recently ripped off by Topshop.
We also uploaded our experience to the fantastic You Thought We Wouldn't Notice website!
We've a busy week ahead which includes the launch of our folky friend the I'm Nuts About You squirrel necklace and brooch, our all new super cute Valentines notecards to accompany our gold charm jewellery are on their way, check out our fabric sale on eBay and we're in the *very* last week of making our Personalised jewellery...
