I think its safe to say that Lilian Asterfield is anything but ordinary. Sometimes the uniqueness can feel hard to maneuver through a world of convention and trend. Trend is fickle and we have never walked a straight line.
Being unique can also create a pattern of desire that is not cool. People want what you have. Being viewed as a "clever idea" rather than seeing the time, creativity and ownership of that idea as the artist's, leads many people to think that they can just make their own. DYI is awesome, I love it, but there IS a fine line. It is important to be respectful to the humans behind the art.
In this installment, I want to talk honestly and openly about knockoffs.
When we came onto the scene 10 years ago, the response was AMAZING! We were invited into the Craft community with only a few glances of confusion, but over all we were a new take on fiber art. Being Eco consciousness in the fashion world was getting a lot of attention and the Craft movement was looking for new takes on tradition. We found our voice, an amazing group of colleagues and collectors that continue to support us. With that high, there was also the reality that what we had crafted, struggled through and perfected was being copied. As an artist and designer, I try to stay focused on the work, making it better, and building our brand. I'm human though, and the more I saw my work being recreated, the more it just made me plain old SAD. I always want to inspire, but watching my business, life's worth of experience and training be thrown together for someone else to make a quick business/profit was really hard to watch.
Professionally, it rolls off my back and I march forward. One of my super powers is creating and no one can take that away from me. Or you!
So beyond taking the high road, how else can we shake off this negativity? The feeling of being taken advantage of and move forward? KEEP MAKING WORK, make it better, more beautiful, true to who we are, and keep challenging ourselves. Stay focused on strengthening your brand and keep on task with being inventive and unique.