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23 November 2007

Found normal at last

Well I finally managed to get my nearly last batch of Christmas tree earrings up onto ebay yesterday (two more to add later today!). In the end I wrote to ebay support and had a very helpul answer. They told me to do all the things I'd already done so I did them again and this time it worked - on both computers in spite of the fact that I only performed their recommendations on one!!!
SharonC left a comment on yesterday's post (please email me privately) about the pattern for these trees. This got me thinking (sometimes this does happen) and later in the day while talking to SueH 'live' on the phone we got to discussing this.
The following are my opinions and dear SueH listened to them!!
I devised these trees way back in the very early 1990's and the pattern was published in it's 'then' form in a UK craft magazine. SueH mentioned that they'd also appeared in a Workbasket magazine too and we've seen them in various other places. As the
y are a 'generic' pattern (i.e. one anybody could have devised) this is the reason that I've not added them to my pattern pages. (I do have a copy of mine if people wants it - email me privately). It would, of course, be interesting but impossible to find out who first devised this idea and mine has morphed over the years as I've learnt split rings and split chains. Remembering, of course, that at the time mine were published in the UK the internet was a mere baby (if it had even been born!) and I had never heard of, let alone seen, Workbasket magazines!
Another interesting pattern is the one that I've used below. This little generic 'baby' came about after doing the 3D one. Chicken and egg syndrome. As this FLAT little snowflake is so simple I do not consider it as a pattern in it's own right but when it's taken to the 3D state then I consider that part as being my copyright.
This makes me ask myself the question of
what we can call original and thus being somebody's copyright and what is 'generic'. By generic I mean that it is a complete pattern which is easily arrived at by a relative beginner to designing. Nothing at all wrong with that and any designer is to be applauded BUT by putting a copyright notice on everything then are we going to come to a stage when everything 'belongs' to somebody. Will this stifle creativity? Will this cause arguments? Do you follow me? Have I lost the plot? Time for a cup of tea, I think!!!

2 comments:

  1. I agree, Jane, that anyone could have come up with this design, but the threads and beads that you have used makes it for a very pretty result. Your "style" runs right through it!
    Linda

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  2. OH Janey girl...YOu are now showing me colors...love the light purple here....

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