We're gettin all crafty up in here




We're getting in the spirit of holidays around our house, and M and I have been crafting up a storm in the afternoons. It occurred to me that we're going to have an abundance of snowmen (a few were made for loved ones as little gifts to give to kick off the season at Thanksgiving), so I was brainstorming a way to use them.

It didn't take long (probably aided by that extra cup of coffee) to realize we could list them in the shop, sell them, and give the proceeds to Little Sugar Creek Community Garden! We need a shed, I have an abundance of quirky, festive snowmen, and you have an extra $10 to spare?  The sale of one ornament will buy us 2 2 x 4s with a little extra going into buying paint, exterior wood, and hardware.

Our grow/share garden is in dire need of a shed. Last year someone jumped the giant fence, stole nearly all of our tools, and tried to steal our picnic table (too heavy?). To describe the current building as a shed is generous. It's a plastic contraption with a roof over the top, but the doors have fallen off and lean propped up against the front. The plastic-ness prevents us from being able to replace hinges and get the doors back on. There's simply no way to secure the tools. 



Okay, so maybe you don't need a snowman? Well, we're hosting a workshop in December: Drafting ornaments from the garden. I made a few prototypes from materials from my own front yard to show what we will be making: pine cone Christmas trees, and tiny grapevine and rosemary wreaths  We'll have all sorts of festive, shimmery ways to decorate your ornament, as well as gardening chatter and all around merriment. The workshop is $8, and as soon as I have more details I'll fill you in!

Not in Charlotte? There are DIYs for similar ornaments all over the internet: pine cone trees, grapevine wreath, rosemary wreath.

Cody Foster and Co PR semantics


In case you haven't seen it, Cody Foster and Co. released a statement about their business model. Keep in mind this statement was released November 5, 2013. Also note: There are sentences omitted, ones which I feel are inappropriate and blame-shifting, as well as not on topic to this post. All emphasis below is my own.
Cody Foster and Co. acknowledges that a small number of products in our catalog of more than 1800 items bear strong similarities to ones being sold by others. When this issue first came to our attention in mid-October {1}, we immediately pulled those products from our catalog and offered refunds to any of our customers that asked for them {2}.
We deeply regret any harm we may have inadvertently caused to our customers and the artist community at large. We are instituting new processes and procedures to reduce the likelihood that this happens again.
Our explanation for how this happened is simple, though not excusable. Unfortunately it occurs regularly in this industry. Documenting “artistic inspiration” {3} for reproduced craft products – particularly for those based on folk designs – is a difficult process and presents a huge challenge for suppliers, artists and retailers alike.
Cody Foster and Co. is a small, privately owned business with 18 employees located in central Nebraska. We greatly value original design and artistic creation and we are committed to properly compensating individuals who clearly create unique designs that delight and inspire {4}. Even before this incident, we have been exploring new ways to engage with artists through commissioning designs and providing royalty agreements based on sales. We know that more needs to be done to protect artists and we look forward to doing our part to ensure a fair environment for everyone involved.
{1} Let's visit a blog which posted this statement October 03, 2009:
 
About a month ago it was brought to my attention that this specific xxxxxxxx (sold in 2007 and pictured above left) is being mass produced by a US based company and sold through their holiday catalog, wholesale and very very cheap (pictured above right)...
Now I am finding myself working with a lawyer for the first time, and spending hours and hours researching this company, snooping on the internet, and dwelling over what the release of these knock offs may do to my holiday business. 

Just to beat a dead horse, here's a response to a Cease and Desist letter from Henderson Dry Goods in November 2012:

An amicable enough letter, though one that overlooks any previous damage that may have been done to the artist's livelihood.  The solution to the first instance is unknown, while the solution to the second is, as expected, free of responsibility. Two examples which further prove 2013 wasn't the first time Cody Foster and Co. had a little trouble.

{2} They offer a similar hands-off approach to resolving issues with resellers. This approach only works if the businesses have read the recent CFandC public statement and leaves the rest with a shop full of wares they may be uncomfortable selling.


{3} We can guess their inspiration sources, though theoretically applying the term "folk" could obscure any reference to originality. Thank you Cody Foster and Co for the world's shortest PHIL101: Intro to Postmodernism. *second shortest here

At this point, if you haven't read it, I'd like to direct you to John Brownlee's acute observations of the Cody Foster statement.



{4} As for proper compensation, I will direct you to the response House of Moss received from Cody Foster and Co. November 1, 2013:

Thank you very much for your recent email and for bringing your concern to our attention. Due to the similarities and out of an abundance of precaution we will cease and desist as per your request. Or if you prefer we would be happy to discuss a royalty or licensing agreement. Again, we are very sorry for any inconvenience you have been caused and hope to work with you moving forward.

Which states they'll stop producing the item. It does not indicate if they will no longer sell the items produced, and does not offer compensation for previous sales.

All that said, what do you think? Was it all a big, messy coincidence?



I've learned I have to say all of this is "alleged"


I have been following this Cody Foster & Co fiasco for 3 years. In 3 years a few eye have batted at the situation and I've heard of a few small, independent companies no longer buying from CF&Co (thank you ModCloth). This year, a rather well known artist on the handmade scene spoke out against them and is getting shredded for it without anyone knowing the full story.


This is one of the reasons artists don't come forward with infringement. Who among us is strong enough to be raked through the mud? Plus, how often do we blame the victim?



At the risk of making 4 of my 5 readers mad, I came up with a metaphor: There was a steak in the dog pit when someone threw in a squirrel. We could band together and get some real changes in place, or run after the next exciting thing. Major companies were listening!! Change was happening!! But now the focus has shifted. I have had a sinking feeling in my gut for weeks, the spin, well, it spun us. Are we, the designers, going to shrug our shoulders and simply accept, “It's an industrywide issue.” Oh! So everything is fine...Carry on then.


I remember I was in 5th grade when I first heard the ol', "Well, if so-and-so jumped off a cliff, would you?" Industry-wide issue means someone has to stand up and say they won't jump. AmIRight??


Back to my 3 years of personal outrage and research. I haven't devoted myself to this full-time. I've researched here and there over the course of 3 years. It's been a casual process and I've found over 60 questionable similarities. 


Those similarities have been hazed over by juicy, gossipy, hearsay. There are a lot of questions that can't be answered right now, and waiting til settlements are made means at least one blogger who has gained an inordinate amount of popularity thanks to the metaphorical squirrel wouldn't have cleaned up so nicely in the "credibility" department.Doesn't sound like much of a pay off, but when you're a blogger, traffic equals money.



If I've learned anything this go round, I've learned far more about copyright than I ever knew, and I thought I knew a great deal. The complexity of the subject is far more nuanced than I ever expected. I've learned people will say they're well researched without full investigation.



I've learned I have to say all of this is alleged, even though I know the following:



In December of 2007 I sold an item to etsy user Alchemy. Alchemy bought over 500 items in under 3 months. Alchemy has several hundred favorite stores and just under 200 favorite items. Another etsy seller brought to my attention that a one-of-a-kind item she'd made was bought by the same etsy user. That one of a kind item ended up in the Cody Foster & Co. catalog.



Many artists have found their one-of-a-kind creation's doppelgänger in the Cody Foster & Co. catalog, twins to items they sold to Alchemy. I don't think they use the etsy account Alchemy any longer, but it's hard to know since you can no longer see items bought on the site. More recently, it seems, some of the designs in question were simply found on flickr. None of your little nooks of sharing on the internet are safe from design sourcing, it seems.


Etsy user Alchemy is named Andrea Foster Andre. The address where those items were shipped? Backporch Friends, former business name for Cody Foster & Co.



All that said, you're welcome to draw your own conclusions though unless you want to share your IP, you probably shouldn't post what you draw on the internet.

Eerie Similarities cont'd


Oops, where did I go?? I've been sucked into Cody  Foster & Co. land. Seeing examples of online friends' work and their uncanny resemblances; it's a very strange, Patty Duke like world out there.


I'm not sure there's an end in sight to finding comparisons and the breadth and depth of similarities is nothing short of astonishing.


Several years ago, their catalog was probably not much more than 20 pages or so. Fast forward 6 years and the catalog is closer to 200 pages. How does a 15 person company (which I assume includes warehouse workers, management, import coordinators, and the design department among others) create unique, prolific design at that pace? Does it matter? Cody Foster & Co. makes millions annually, the same cannot be said for the artists who have found eerie similarities between their work and the products filling the pages of the Cody Foster catalog.

4 years of shameful behavior


Lisa Congdon

Cody Foster is still going strong (2010; 2011, 2012), allegedly (as it hasn't been proven in court) selling designs not theirs as their own. Check out yesterday's post on Jezebel on the subject. In the past, retailers  Jayson Home and Garden, Leif Shop, Madewell, and countless independent retailers have carried their wares. This year, after a cursory internet search, Fab, Nordstrom, and Terrain have their wares in stock. Doubtless, other shops will soon have Cody Foster ornaments in stock since their catalog is mostly seasonal items.

Let the retailers know that selling Cody Foster degrades their brand and compromises their corporate integrity.

Let these artists know you stand behind their originality:  Abigail Brown, Cassandra Smith, Kissa Designs, Lisa Congdon, Macon & Lesquoy, and Mimi Kirchner.

Abigail Brown
Cassandra Smith
Kissa Designs
Macon & Lesquoy
Mimi Kirchner
Abigail's Story

Lisa's Story
Jezebel Article
Yahoo Shine article

**Updates**
Thank you West Elm, Orange and Pear, and Fab for no longer carrying Cody Foster wares! Seems Fred Flare and ModCloth severed ties years ago when suspicions first arose.