Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

In addition to focusing on the consignment, resale, thrift industry, I am an artist (of sorts…I do more pondering than producing!) So I follow a lot of artists’ conversations on

originality, conceptualization, and plain old copy-cat stuff.

And I see a LOT of cut-&-paste of others’ work on resale shop web sites and in their ads and paperwork and even store design, so I wanted to present this artist’s viewpoint about copying other people’s creations. As you read, think about this in the context of, as a resale industry business, taking others’ taglines, promotions, web site designs, graphics, or writing and presenting it as yours.

I am going to come out and say something controversial: It is OK to copy other artists [for practice, in private]. In fact, I encourage you to do so. Copying other artists is a low-risk way to learn design principles and mixed-media art techniques.

..[C]opying another artist is perfectly OK—up to a point. Or, rather, two points.

Point #1: It’s not okay to copy someone’s technique or style and then pass it off as your own or try to profit from it [e.g. using their ad, taking their tag line]. If you have any question at all about whether what you’re doing is appropriate, ask yourself how you would feel if someone did the same with your original work.

Point #2: There comes a time when you need to make [ your business, your marketing techniques] your own. Mary Engelbreit taught herself to draw by using other artists as inspiration. But then she developed her personal unique style.

Similarly, you might make your first chocolate cake by following your grandmother’s recipe to the letter. But after you’re more experienced with ingredients and baking in general, you’re probably going to say to yourself, “What if I substituted sour cream for some of the butter?” Or, “What if I added cherry liqueur?” And before you know it, you have your own signature dessert. —Full article at Cloth Paper Scissors

The bolding, italicizing, and stuff in [ ] were added by me. — Kate

The author of this concludes: I have been copying for quite a while. But where I used to be thrilled to just make something that would resemble the work of an artist I admired, lately I’ve been dissatisfied, asking myself, “Who are you as an artist?”

So, resale shopkeepers: Yes, admire and emulate clever ideas from others. Inspiration is grand. Imitation is flattery? Only when it’s imitated (“used as a model “), not cloned. Use good ideas, phrasing, artwork, as a springboard for ideas, words, and approaches that you mold into a good fit with you, your personality, and your shop’s branding. Nix on the copy machine.

Design your own cat. Sure, it’ll have 4 legs and whiskers and fur like most other cats (or maybe not, that’s the U in artful), but it will be YOUR cat.