Hmmm...

Apologies in advance for this, as I have a feeling it may turn into a bit of a rant. I usually stay quiet about things like this because there's nothing that can be done about it, but it does get to me sometimes. Anyway...

I've been doing what I do for 7 years, since my eldest son was a baby. I made him a name banner from felt and hung it on his wall. It was rubbish, the stitching was wonky and the letters weren't perfect. But I made it with my own two hands and I was actually quite proud of it.

Since then I've made things with felt, on and off, but it was only last year that I started sharing my creations online and eventually started my little business. After searching around a bit I saw that a few people had made similar things, and obviously there was always going to be someone out there who had the same idea, but our designs had their differences, so that was fine.

This is where the rant may come in LOL, I'll try and word it appropriately... I appreciate that in the craft world, people see the work of others and take inspiration from it, and put their own spin on it. But I'm becoming increasingly aware of people copying things they've seen and NOT changing a thing. Just copying it completely and making it identical. And then the worst thing is, they say they've come up with the idea themselves. In my eyes, that is just plain wrong.

Each time I log onto Facebook and see that people have started making the same things as me, it's like a kick in the teeth. I know that I'm not the only one in the world to have the idea of making stuffed felt name banners, I'm not that naive. But for people to copy and not even mention where they got their inspiration... well, it bothers me a bit.

I'm not just referring to things of mine that have been copied. A lady on Facebook has recently had an idea for a new design, and she pointed out that she'd never seen anything like it before, anywhere on the internet.

Then I was browsing on Pinterest, as you do, and came across some photos from a very nice craft blog, where this lady's 'new' idea had originated. Then I noticed that this lady was also a follower of the said blog. Coincidence? Hmm...

As I said before, this is just one of things that happens when you put your work out there for the whole world to see. So I think for now, myself and all of the other people who have been on the receiving end of this, will just have to grin and bear it, and be safe in the knowledge that we are capable of having some originality :)