My Work is Famous – but stolen!
I’m furious & really sad… I am losing faith in mankind. Yup, I stumbled on the fact that many ‘stores’ are apparently selling my product! They are scamming buyers by using my stolen pictures! It seems my work is famous – but stolen! ‘How dare you! (New updates)
My Precious Ghoul and Witch
Remember these?! They are one of my favourite concrete projects that I made & it must have proliferated the internet. Those are my photos, my steps and my watermark, but that has not stopped the thieves. A recent count (2024) has shown that there are 0ver 220 stores selling what looks like my sculptures!
If you are on the internet you have probably been scammed or at least been tempted to buy something. There are ads everywhere, and google plans to show you what you searched for, it’s not a coincidence. I do shop on the ‘net, quite often so yes, I too have been scammed.
I have been quite sad lately since my lil pup passed away so I have lost a bit of my usual drive and that leads to some mindless surfing on the net. When I googled ‘witch ghoul light‘. I just about fell out of my chair… (And that could be a problem for those new knees that I’ll be getting!)
It looks like I am selling millions of my sculptures all over, Amazon, eEbay, individual sites and even Walmart!
Third Party sellers
How can this happen??? You need to be careful… All the major selling sites have third party sellers. That means that the site owner is at the mercy of the third party seller to be honest in their product. There’s a lot of odd stuff going on under the surface. Also a company can have many stores/names all over the ‘net. It’s impossible to find contacts that work or get a reply. You need to check who the seller is & where they are shipping from. Individual sites are even riskier since they are not trying to keep their reputation clean.
Yes, there are ways to complain, to file ‘Amazon Infringement reports’, or Walmart Intellectual property violations for the use of my stolen pictures.
Spend your time filling in product numbers, contacts for hours… and hours. Then you get some form-letter email replies. What happens? Well, they may take the page down and then wait to see of there is more complaints… I’d have to hire a bunch of people to police this. Just like the ‘5 Minute Crafts’ they eventually sneak some new infringements like we sneak cookies out of the pantry when no one is looking.
No where on this site does it show what you will actually get. All the pictures are my sculptures, not depicting their product.
They even have the nerve to remove my watermark, albeit badly!
One of the most notorious places that these fakes are peddled is through Facebook ads. Check out this story from Buzzfeed. The one thing I will note; is that the scammers do like to pick the best stuff; so I suppose I should feel flattered. ‘But the proper way would have been to ask permission to make them, permission to use my design, let alone MY PHOTOS!
So many artists are upset that there is now a Facebook group: Facebook Ad Scambusters! It ‘outs’ the scam ads alerting would-be buyers.
I’ll admit that my concrete work is all my own unique designs and not some regurgitation from the ‘net since I foremost pride myself as an artist. I also teach in an art college and know that inspiration & reference comes from the internet so easily. ‘But I draw the line on blatant exact use of others images! I am so shocked that these companies believe that using my unique pictures as their own is acceptable.
I know it’s pretty easy to snipe images off of the web, screen shot them. ‘They’ even cut them out of my picture and place them in different backgrounds.
There are only one of each of sculptures that exist, as I am looking at them right now. They are HUGE, about 18″ tall, made of concrete & quite heavy. The details are fine from the handy-work of the dipped fabric.
So what do you get?
There were a few sellers who actually included a ‘real’ picture of what would arrive by mail (if it does). Read closely; these are ‘fit-in-your-hand’ tiny! Mine are concrete, and their’s are resin (or plastic). There may be some battery light inside.
One of my readers informed me of all this a while back since they were fooled that it was actually my designs being sold… I reassured that I could not make these to ship, especially for the prices stated. It was confusing since they used my stolen pictures.
Once they arrived they looked like this. (thanks, not everyone likes to admit that they got scammed) Maybe they are worth the little money. I try to imagine someone somewhere trying to copy exactly from my pictures… and I’d say they lack the true character that mine have.
Such sad little imitations! I am sure it’s not the first and surely won’t be the last, however it leaves a really bad taste in the mouth for future projects. I share my projects freely – which I am starting to question.
Come on, give me some faith in mankind.
UPDATE: Copyrights have been filed and I am patiently waiting to see what the outcome will be to a new process to stop further use of my images, wish me luck! ‘And please do not buy what you thought was my ghoul or witch!
I am so sorry to hear that your work has been copied and sold. It must have been such a shock.
I am exploring a way of dealing with image theft by selling images of my work from my own site. Limited editions of high quality digital images are in demand, and you may even find yourself with a new avenue of revenue.
Resilience and peace
That’s interesting. I have considered similar but wondered if the images once downloaded would then be sold elsewhere without my knowledge. Oh how simple life seemed before the ‘net!
Hi Barb, I remember reporting one of these scammers to you a while back. I see so many scam ads for copies of different artists’ work; it’s infuriating. I report them to FB as scams, and a few minutes later the same item from a different advertiser pops up. I hope once folks catch on that everything they order is only a few inches high, they will think twice about ordering something online. And I’m so sorry to learn about your pup. Thank you for all you share with us.
As I would warn my college students who share their whole life… be prepared to see it somewhere else. The internet is a wonderful… but has it’s terrible side to balance.
Dear Barb, I was devastated to see this post pop up in your email. What a shock. No matter how many times I see things like this, I’m still shocked every darn time! I’m so sorry. Your hard work and generous posts are treasured by so many. Big hugs to you, Linda
Oh thanks Linda! We sometimes don’t really know. it’s going on as we are so busy with our making! It’s scary to do a search… I hope some of your fantastic stuff does not fall prey!
My condolences for your furbaby, we who love them like family are always crushed when they pass.
Ugghh! Cheaters! What a drag and it just peeves me to no end when there’s no way to get revenge. I noticed from your screenshots that some say ‘Unavailable’.
Hopefully I’ll have time this winter to try out some of your Fab projects … To keep and animate my newly redesigned back garden. I do hope you’ll feel like creating again soon. Perhaps use your beloved pup as inspiration. As we say here in France … COURAGE!
And Bisous xoxo
AAARRRGGG!! I’m so sorry this has happened to you!
Barb
I am sorry that this is happening. to you. I wish you could track down(easily) what company took your design.
Often when I am out shopping I see rip-offs of what I have been seeing on creative blogs.
I am sad. I have learned so much from your teaching.
I wonder if you should compile all your great projects into a book.
I just love learning from you. Thank you for sharing your ideas, knowledge, and joy of being creative.
To have this and the loss of your pup is hard to deal with, losing my 4 legged family members has always left a different void. sorry for your loss.
Mona
Thank you
Thanks for your kind words. I have been thinking of how to make some changes in my future. I do love what I do but may offer a different direction. Someone said ‘do not make any major changes when you lose someone, give it time.’ My mother was a strong woman having endured so much and constantly draw strength from that…
So very sorry Barb, for the whole thing—not the least, the loss of your pup! Keep your chin up though, you’re now on alert, and you do great work. Ideas…your intellectual property…can’t be totally duplicated, only immitated. Wishing you “kickbacks” for all of the copies out there!!
Take care,
A happy mask maker who sttarted with you,
Donnell
Thanks for pep-talk! I’m feeling a lot of support from everyone! It will fuel me on… maybe even to let a new up into my heart.
Dear Barb, I haven’t had an opportunity yet to make any of the DIYs I so love browsing. You are an extraordinarily multi-talented artist, and browsing through your work shines a light on the end of my tunnel and brings me joy. I’m so sorry to hear about your pup. Losing a 4-legged kid has dropped me to my knees, even as I am grateful for their having shared their lives and love with me. Truly the internet is a mixed bag of good and bad. Your post here is an example of that. You’re right about trying to trace the companies. I’ve been scammed once or twice on Facebook ads, even though I thought I had done my due diligence. Your community is strong – lean in until you’re ready. Lots of bad words for the scammers, but only positive for you.
Here’s to the ‘good’ of the net; all the support really makes me feel much better. I’ll take the ‘glass as half full’ ❤️
Hello, from Ireland! I’ve seen the work of a few artists I like pop on facebook ads. When I do I usually comment on the post to say that it’s stolen but I’ve been wondering if that’s just driving more engagement to the pages. I am actually disheartened by the amount of people I know who would think nothing of buying from these sites because it’s cheap, I almost feel like they deserve to be ripped off with shoddy products. But that does nothing to help the artist who has been stolen from, to say nothing of the appalling working conditions and environmental impact of the factories the dodgy knock offs are coming from. So frustrating
It is frustrating but knowing that it’s starting to be recognized more and more will make it better, much better if awareness is coming along.
I am another fan who found you in the mask pattern search – after a young lady in a bagel shop in Colorado told me about a mask her friend in Georgia made for eyeglass wearers from a pattern a ‘real cool lady in Canada shared on the internet.’ That search was easy and started my loyal relationship with your site. When asked about my masks – which is often – I do not share the pattern but share your site, hopefully opening a bit of your crazy wonderfully creative mind to another human. Your site is mandatory reading.
Copywrite integrity was a constant topic during my 30+ years working in the quilting industry – ranging from two students sharing a book in class to a well known professional seeing her design in CARPET in HOUSTON!
Sadly this may be one of your most important posts. With images your audience know and love, harm to the creator is clear. Gosh this is wrong. My hope would be that raising copywrite awareness is the good.
My condolences on your loss.
I am so grateful for your spreading the word, it all helps! ‘I’m the cool lady in Canada?!’ Wow! Love it!!