A few years ago I had an idea bouncing around my head. The kind of idea you have that makes you laugh, but it's such an in-joke that you think no-one else will ever get it.
And so it floated.
Finally, I needed to update my Etsy shop with some Valentine's lines and I thought I'd bring this idea to life.
This card has been to date the most popular card and item in my repertoire. A little insight into how my mind works, has actually struck a chord with thousands of people worldwide.
It's a super simple statement, in plain black and white, the font is now out of date and actually makes me a little uncomfortable but it's a product directly from my heart.
It's a super simple statement, in plain black and white, the font is now out of date and actually makes me a little uncomfortable but it's a product directly from my heart.
What happens when something is popular.......
Well, for the original creator there is a surge of happiness, validation, pride even. People get it! Woop woop, I am marginally funny in real life.
I am so, SO fond of this card it is as if I carried it for nine months and gave birth to it, I let it out into the world and now it's the king of the world whom everyone adores.
But when something works, people want a part of it.
So yeah, it's been copied at least twice that I know of. Two gals on Etsy have ripped it off (you can search 'I hold your hand' and we're all clumped together!) one has even used the same font :(
BUT, there's absolutely zilch I can do about it other than to take comfort in knowing that's my baby and others want to adopt it! Another big comfort is that the reach on this badboy astounds me. BuzzFeed have featured it a couple of times and it's been on a fair few other sites around the internet too (yeah, smug-mode).
I did a quick stats check across the board earlier and as of today 64,375 sets of eyes have been laid on this simple greetings card. I'm pretty confident that the majority of these viewers have had a cheeky giggle to themselves. Wow, just imagine if they'd all purchased!
So I guess my message to any other card designers, print sellers, or artists in general is a simple one. Just concentrate on your own ideas, because your original ideas are better than a variation on someone else's hard work.
I myself rely on this card to bring in a big chunk of my revenue at the beginning of the year which I can then invest back on equipment, pay some bills, heck, even treat myself to something nice as a reward. When you flat out copy someone's work, you're potentially skimming money off their business.
And it hurts, every time a new copy pops up, I feel like I've lost something. So, yeah.
So yeah, it's been copied at least twice that I know of. Two gals on Etsy have ripped it off (you can search 'I hold your hand' and we're all clumped together!) one has even used the same font :(
BUT, there's absolutely zilch I can do about it other than to take comfort in knowing that's my baby and others want to adopt it! Another big comfort is that the reach on this badboy astounds me. BuzzFeed have featured it a couple of times and it's been on a fair few other sites around the internet too (yeah, smug-mode).
I did a quick stats check across the board earlier and as of today 64,375 sets of eyes have been laid on this simple greetings card. I'm pretty confident that the majority of these viewers have had a cheeky giggle to themselves. Wow, just imagine if they'd all purchased!
I myself rely on this card to bring in a big chunk of my revenue at the beginning of the year which I can then invest back on equipment, pay some bills, heck, even treat myself to something nice as a reward. When you flat out copy someone's work, you're potentially skimming money off their business.
And it hurts, every time a new copy pops up, I feel like I've lost something. So, yeah.
You do you!
And I'll do me, as they say.
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