Nope, I'm Not Flattered - And I'm Not Going Away

For those who have followed me and my work for the past decade or so - you've likely heard this all before. So feel free to skim or skip as you see fit.  For those who don't mind a bit of ranting, stay here and get ready.

This morning, several people alerted me to yet another website that has stolen an image of mine.  This one is slightly different than the dozens of other sites that have stolen my images to use to sell their copies of my beads - but I will go into that later.

This website - Indian Bead Store, aka Dev Exports has taken the below image and used it on their main website.

Midnight Mermaid bead set, made in June 2009

I can, of course, prove these beads are mine, because I have several other photos of them that aren't published online.  I also know what they're made of, how they're made, and can point to the fact that they carry my artistic voice.

I also talked about these beads in my post about CiM Mermaid, added to this blog in December 2009 (originally written in June, and moved over from my old Word Press blog).

Now, I'd like to talk a little about how people have responded to my many discussions about this kind of thing over the years, because I just need to get a few things off my chest.

First, I know most people are just trying to be helpful - and I really do appreciate that.  However, there are a few things being said to me that just don't help at all.

"It's because your beads are so beautiful!" - This comment (and its variations) is incredibly kind, but misguided.  The people who lift my images to use as marketing for their own work do not do so because of the beauty of my beads.  They do so because it is easy.  My website is www.lampwork.net. A simple search for lampwork brings up my website and all the images therein. I think the image thieves are looking for a quick and easy way to design their websites, and my images are right there, easy to lift.

Other artists don't have this problem nearly as often, because their website URL's are often their names or business names. I have thought of changing my web address, but I have had lampwork.net for over ten years.  It's established, and I think it would hurt my business to move.  But I am still considering it.

"You should be flattered!" No.  No I shouldn't.  I get no credit for the image, my name is nowhere on the site.  The images are usually taken because it is easy (see above), and because they think they can copy the beads. Often, they do.  This not only hurts my business, it makes me feel used and tossed aside. Yes, it's true that I should grow as an artist and make beads that are harder to copy.  I know this.  It's hard to grow as an artist when things keep happening that thwart motivation, though.

"You should watermark your pics!"  Yes, I tried this for years, but people were able to lift the images, remove the watermarks and proceed to post the images wherever.  A passing familiarity with photo editing software makes this pretty doable. So I stopped watermarking my pics because I think watermarks are ugly.

"Don't let this bother you - just ignore it!" and "You're letting them get the better of you!" This is a blatant disregard and invalidation of my feelings.  If I could ignore it, I would. I am sensitive. I admit it. It's really difficult for me to just turn a blind eye when I am being stolen from, used and when I lose business to bead exporters. It hurts me as an artist, and it hurts my bottom line. As far as I am concerned, this nerve is still exposed.  Whenever I think I am over it, it happens again.

I've also had people over the years post and email me that talking about this does no good, and is pointlessly negative. To those people, I say "Bite me". Talking about it not only helps me vent the anger and frustration and hurt - it also informs others that this is happening.

Legal action is not possible for me (overseas, expensive, etc), so all I can do to get some recourse is inform others. Posting about this online is the only way I can keep the issue relevant, and maybe stop people from buying from stores that refuse to do their own work and earn their keep legitimately.

I can't offer customers beads that are as cheap as those on an exporter's website.  But I can explain that they are not going to get what they see there, at all. Not even a little bit.

Now, I promised to explain why this particular website is different from the dozens of others that have stolen my images.  Here's why - Indian Bead Store and Dev Exports also sell glass rods.  More specifically, they sell something called "Dev Glass".  Looking at this glass on their website, it seems that this might be Devardi glass - an indian glass company that came on the market a few years ago.

I am not a fan of Devardi glass - their company or their business practices, and to have my beads on a website that sells this glass really makes me sick.  Plus, as a seller of this glass, which is used to make beads, this company should know better than to steal an artist's images to use as marketing for their own stuff. It's a slap in the face.  This website - Indian Bead Store/Dev Exports seems to be affiliated with Devardi glass.  If they are not, it's a huge coincidence.

At any rate, I would like to implore you, the bead buyer, collector and user, to refrain from buying from any website that steals artists' images for use as a marketing ploy, please. And spread this around if you feel like helping me out.  I would really appreciate it.

I'm done ranting for today - thank you for reading.

~Kandice

***Note - I received a very rude email from the owner of Devardi insisting they are not affiliated with this company. I am not certain whether or not I believe him.  He threatened legal action.  However, it's completely legal for me to state my opinion. I am still of the mind that this is no coincidence, but if I am wrong, well, I am wrong. I doubt that, though. I am still not a fan of Devardi, and never have been - something which I am completely within my rights to insist. 

Another Bead Exporter Stealing My Photos

Hi, everyone....

Just a quick blog to ask that people please not buy from this company from India - JPM Beads N Findings - they have lifted quite a few of my bead photos - even some more recent ones - to use on their website to lure people to buy their mass-produced beads.  This company did not ask my permission to use my images - they just lifted them off of my website Lampwork.net. 

There are a ton of images of mine all over their site - some to represent beads they sell, and some used as graphical ads and column headers.  It appears that they have used the images of several lampwork beadmakers - mixed in with what appears to be their own images of their inferior work.

I have dealt with this kind of thing for years, and I have no real recourse.  The only thing I can do is inform the public and ask for your understanding.  Please feel free to spread the word if you feel inclined to do so. 

And now I have to go try and make beads with a heavy heart.  This kind of thing always steals my creative joy.

End of the Saga, and on to Better Things!

So, after a week or so, I have some clarity regarding the stolen pic issue. (read the last two posts for more info.)

As it turns out, Tartsie, the Etsy member who used my bead pics in her banners for sale, replied to my inquiries about what was up with that.

She claims to be very young - right out of high school. She also let me know she got my pics from something called Flickr Creative Commons.

Now, the high school thing - well, first off, I am not sure I believe that it should be a good excuse, but I can let that go, I think.

However, the Flickr Creative Commons thing is just strange. I did at one time have a Flickr account, but I never uploaded anything to Flickr Creative Commons. From what I understand, Flickr Creative Commons is an area of Flickr where people can grant licenses giving permission for use of their artwork. However, none of the license agreements I read there grant permission to sell the artwork to others.

It's confusing, I know. At any rate, Tartsie claims that someone else must have put my pictures there if I didn't, because that's where she got them. She was unaware that she did anything wrong. I am not sure if I believe and/or agree with that, but there's not much I can do other than what I have already done.

The person who bought the banners has graciously taken them down and replaced them with something else, for which I am very grateful. Tartsie's shop on Etsy has been closed for a long time, so I am hoping this won't happen again with her.

However, this is a common thing, and I am sure it is happening elsewhere as we speak. All I can do as an artist is hope that people will listen to me and use their own images in their marketing. I also fervently hope that people who make and sell banner ads, avatars and web graphics will consider purchasing images legally and not resort to lifting them from the web, even from a place called Flickr Creative Commons. Obviously, it's easy to illegally post images there.

Aaaaanyway, I am moving on from this. I made some pretty beads yesterday, so if you read this far, thank you - here are some pics! :)

Answers to Questions

Hi everyone - I want to thank you all for your comments on my last post.

Here are the answers to some of the questions in the comments section -

Yes, I did convo the person in question. She did reply to let me know that she had no idea the images were stolen - that she did indeed buy the banner and avatar from someone else on Etsy. That person's Etsy name is Tartsie, and it looks like their shop is empty.

I've contacted Tartsie, and I plan on contacting Etsy about it. However, I imagine Etsy can do nothing other than possibly kick Tartsie off Etsy if I can prove the banner/avatar came from them. I am not sure I can do that because the banner/avatar was a custom order.

To Alan - yes, I understand completely what you are saying. If someone bought my beads and took their own photo to use on their website, I would have no issue with it, unless they were insisting they made the beads themselves. That's still misrepresentation. I've only ever had that happen once, though. For the most part when this happens, people are using my own images to promote either their sales venue or their career as an artist.

Of course, if people are using my beads in their own work, that's completely different.It's an honor for me when I see my beads used in jewelry or other art.

Su - thank you for deciding to post about it on your blog - I appreciate that!

As for Jewlz076, she has asked for time to get another banner/avatar up, and I have decided to give her that time. It's not her fault someone was so unscrupulous as to sell her stolen images. It's my hope that she will ask whoever creates her banners to use images of her work - that would make the most sense.

And a heartfelt thank you goes out to the person who reported this to me - Angela. I really appreciate the time she took to look out for me. It was really kind of her.

A Heartfelt Plea

This plea goes out to anyone who creates and sells handmade items online.

It's simple, really. Please use your own images to represent your work. Don't lift images from other artists, unless you have their express permission. If you do, you're hurting them and misrepresenting yourself!

Case in point - something that happens to me all too often - I was informed by a very nice person who is a member of Etsy that another Etsy seller is using my images in her banner and avatar for her shop. The image is of a bead set that I made and sold years ago to someone other than the seller who is using the image. The seller, whose Etsy page is here, appears to be a jewelry designer. Her shop looks relatively new, as she doesn't have many sales or any feedback from buyers.

Those beads were very special to me - as all my beads are. They are pieces of my soul.
It might be different if this were a customer of mine who made jewelry out of beads she bought from me, and had asked to use the image, but this is not the case. She is using my work to represent herself and her own work. This is misrepresentation and copyright infringement.

Here are the beads as I photographed them. You can see that her image is directly lifted from my own. The set is called Moonlit Magenta.

Please, people, when you do this it hurts. Take the time to learn how to take good pics of your own work. Don't steal images from someone else who has already put in that time and effort.

Also, please don't comment and tell me I need to watermark my images. I have done that and it doesn't deter the thieves - it just makes my pics look bad. They can find a way around it - believe me.

Anyway - there you have it again. Just another installment of Kandice's Seemingly Weekly Copyright Infringement Notification Service and subsequent gnashing of teeth.

Off Topic: Stolen

**4:15pm -Update - yey! The offending website mentioned with the image below did remove the pic. They didn't respond to my email or apologize or anything, but at least the pic is gone. **


When someone steals images to use for their own benefit, they are stealing pieces of an artist's heart and soul to use for their own gain.

It's happened to me a lot in my journey as a beadmaker, and no matter how much I try to ignore it and tell myself to get over it, it still hurts just as much.



Case in point - I got a message from a fellow beadmaker this morning that this website stole this pic for use on their lampwork section.

Now, I am sure some people think, hey, that's a form of flattery - I should be glad. Yep, I've been told that before, but no. I'm not glad. Now, if people are lifting images just to show to people and say hey, look at these beads, I am generally okay with it.

But that website is using a pic of my beads to sell their beads, which are mass-produced. They're using me.

I've emailed the offending webmaster, and hopefully the pic will be taken down soon. However, who knows - when this has happened before, the owners of the websites usually do not respond, and the pics are usually left up.

I write about this now, because it helps me to talk about it, and because maybe it will deter some people from committing the same copyright infringement. I am sure a lot of people don't know how wrong this is.

Many beadmakers have told me that talking about this is like beating a dead horse. I just have this to say - if the violations are still happening, the horse is not dead to me.

Anyway. It's worth mentioning that this website and company lists itself as being in California, and the shop is hosted at Yahoo, I believe. If they don't remove the image within 24 hours, I will be reporting them to Yahoo.

Oh, and yes, I do know about watermarking (doesn't work, they remove it) and other copying deterrants. I've been through this so many times that it seems I have some sort of target on my back. I can't remove the target, but talking about it does help, so thanks for putting up with that. :)