When Is it Okay to Copy?

    We get asked a lot about our policies around copying our samples or using our handouts by teachers for use in class settings. This post isn't an in-depth explanation of copyright law as I'm not an attorney and I'm also not an expert! I can only speak to how we feel at beadshop.com about our designs and intellectual property. Hopefully I can answer most of your questions about what we think are good guidelines for use of our designs. If there is enough interest, we will create an area just for those interested in teaching with our handouts and videos. For now, I'd like to just focus on when is it okay to copy our jewelry samples?

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci 

Imagine you are an art student and you go to a museum and set up an easel and paint a masterpiece like the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci. It is a commonly-held belief that when you're learning to paint, it's okay to copy as you study the techniques, the style, the colors. You're not attempting to forge a copy of the painting and sell it as an original. (That would get you arrested!)

At beadshop, our expectation (and we think yours) is that you want to copy our designs when you're learning to bead. We give you project maps, learning materials, videos, skill builders, lists of ingredients and even offer kits for sale that encourage you to mimic the samples we create. We know the best way to learn beading is often by doing step-by-step with very specific ingredients and samples for you to replicate. And you are welcome to copy as many times as you want. But....if you are making them to sell them, than copying is not okay. 

Beaders are like leaves...no two are alike.

I can't tell you to the fraction how much you need to change a design for it not to be a copy. Some say 10%. I find it hard to measure creativity in percentages. Again, I think it's common sense. Does it look different enough? If the answer is no, then you need to change it. And we believe strongly, in fact it's one of our core values, that each person has a unique, creative voice, no two are alike. After 30+ years teaching jewelrymaking,  I am positive you don't need to copy to be successful. 




When it comes to creating your own look inspired by one of our projects, Poetry is an excellent example of a project that will demonstrate the guidelines for what to do. Here's how the project was developed:

Poetry in Pearls by Janice Parsons. Poetry in Pink by Sarah Runco. Poetry in Grey by Karen Marshall. www.beadshop.com

I was in a yoga class and saw a bracelet on someone and I fell in love. I never got up close to it but noticed pearls were separated by thread and it wrapped multiple times around her wrist. I went back to my studio and sketched what I wanted to do. I had several macramé designs and handouts I had done that gave me the confidence that I was creating something I could put my name on. I also scoured the internet to see if I could find anything that mimic'd what I wanted to do. Nothing. So, through trial and error, I found the right weight thread (Tuff Cord #1) to use with our freshwater pearls and sourced a pearl button. We were selling the charm already by JBB and thought it would make a special, finishing touch. I macraméd the Poetry in Pearls sample and Grace Noland photographed it. Grace also created her own sample, Poetry in Green. I wrote the handout to guide everyone through step-by-step and we made kits up with all the ingredients. Then Sarah Runco and Karen Marshall interpreted the project in beads and colors they hand-selected.  

It's often hard to follow the trail of originality in jewelrymaking. We all have access to beads and supplies commonly available for purchase. Unless you have designed a unique clasp, cast your own beads, or own the only molds available for pressed glass beads, most of the ingredients are not protected by copyright laws (but, again, I'm not an expert!). However, our photographic images, written instructional handouts, project videos and the samples for those project form an umbrella of intellectual property which is protected by law. They cannot be reproduced without our written permission and consent of our artists. 

I hope you use common sense when finding inspiration from our talented designers, their samples and our learning. And that you give credit to our artists and beadshop.com where appropriate when and if you decide to sell your jewelry. Again, please use your best judgement and ask yourself, "would I want someone doing this with my designs?" You'll probably never go wrong if you use the Golden Rule.  

I am more than happy to talk with you about your questions and concerns. Please don't hesitate contacting me.

Happy beading!
~janice

Very clever! Backstrap Weaving for Macramé

When I came into the office this morning, I spotted Linnea finishing up the handout and samples for Pathways, a new Herringbone Stitch Project to be released at the end of the week. We're so excited about it but what really got me going was the way Linnea had secured the C-Lon cord to her waist to macramé. When I asked her what she was doing,she said she had modified a technique known as "backstrap weaving"; a style of looming used today by the Maya in Guatamala, where you strap the loom around your waist on one end and secure it to something on the other. I thought it was so ingenious. Linnea was taught by her mother, Hilary, who is an avid crafter. "My mother raised me to sew from age 4 and taught me about weaving, women's works and how to be historically correct." 

Linnea has secured the cord to the desk and to her waist with a binder clip. This gives her the tension to macramé with ease. I love it! It's so simple and perfect for the button loop. Thank you, Linnea and Hilary!

First Samples Made for Pathways Herringbone Project

The All-Star Instructor Cast from the Past....

Sampling of Class Handouts from The Bead Shop

I love what we're doing now with projects and design, but I also am so grateful that we can look back at what we accomplished as artists and designers when The Bead Shop was in its heyday and the early days of beadshop.com....

When The Bead Shop of Palo Alto was going full steam (and it did for close to 28 years), the classes taught by outstanding instructors were well-beyond what anyone else was doing. I mean that honestly and I can't take credit for it. The team of staff and outside teachers were perfection. I know when I start listing some, I will forget others, but there are a few that stand out for taking risks, pushing both the envelope and me to offer the best in learning. I want to thank:
Kate Ferrant Richbourg, Brittany Ketcham*, Kriss Silva, Mel McCabe, Tom McCabe, Irina Serbina, Randi Samuels, Vicky Ngyuen, Nicole Anderson*, Iris Sandkühler, Leah Fairbanks, just to name a few of this all-star roster who made The Bead Shop the place to learn beading, bead making and jewelrymaking. 

And now we are finally finally finding the time** to post online many of the handouts that were created by instructors while they were employees. It's amazing to think how many of today's top teachers and leaders in our industry passed through the doors of that little shop. So, please enjoy the learning. It's all free to download and we'll be posting more as time permits.  ~janice

* Many, many of the most amazing projects and designs on beadshop.com today were done by Brittany Ketcham and Nicole Anderson.
** And a big "thank you" to Karen Marshall, Web Master @ beadshop.com for finding the time and bandwidth to get this project completed.

Welcome to our new Learning Director, Linnea Lortsher...

Linnea Lortsher, Director of Learning, beadshop.com

Beading a new path with Linnea Lortsher... 

We are thrilled to have such a talented teacher and beader join our team. Linnea brings a POV that is so valuable in today's trends in beading leaning heavily towards glass, seed beads and beadweaving. 

Linnea is joining us as Learning Director and we asked her to tell us a little bit about her journey in beading.

We want to share some of what we've learned about Linnea, since she joined our team in February 2016.

Do you remember what your first beading project was? 

"My first beadweaving project was an amulet bag stitched in Peyote Stitch using Delica beads. I remember being enchanged with the different colors and finishes, and how delightfully they 'snapped' into place!"

What is your favorite technique?

"I love herringbone for the wonderfully supple versatile structure it makes. Projects that combine stitches are a favorite of mine and I am always excited to learn new techniques."

What jewelry artists do you admire the most and why?

My personal taste in jewelry is pretty subdued, but I love designers who go for fun and funky. Beki Haley's pendants are so lush, and I adore Laura McCabe's playful but punk-rock work with spikes, glass eyes and other unusual objects. I also love what Isabella lam is doing with SuperDuos and of course, I'm smitten with Miguel Ases and his incredible work with brick stitch... and Oh! I also love the work of Penny Dixon and Kay Bonitz."

Samples of Linnea's Superduo pattern work

In mid-March, we are rolling out Linnea's first project with us at beadshop.com. It will be a 4-wide Superduo bracelet woven with Miyuki 8/0 seed beads. Leading up to a project, Linnea works with Janice to develop the best approach. We have specific criteria when deciding on the parameters of a project:

1. Inspire our readers and be approachable to beaders of all levels.
2. Be aware of cost of ingredients and how we want to keep it affordable.
3. Be special and add value that our readers expect from us....don't just do the ordinary!

Linnea will work with our in-house photography and web team, Grace Noland and Karen Marshall, taking the photographs and creating the step-by-step instructions that go into our handouts. The process is fun but can be very technical, so it does take time. Our excitement over Linnea's POV and expertise is palpable. We hare hearing from so many of our customers how excited they are to move with us into beadweaving. So, welcome Linnea and let's get going!

DIY Prairie Leather Wrap

Wraps are so wearable and easy to make. They have become the go-to accessory for both women and men. With our new project, Prairie Leather Wrap, we just took it up a few notches...maybe that's an understatement? Before we knew it, we were going crazy with embellishment...from macramé with seed beads to sliders of all kinds. It really became a team obsession. Start with a few key ingredients and some studio tools and away you go! But, don't say we didn't warn you!

So much of Prairie Leather Wrap is about designing in real time. Build it as you go rather than trying to pre-plan. It's during the process of trying it on, working on it, trying it on again and seeing where the pattern falls around your wrist that the magic happens. Ideally, you want to create interest from all sides and this method of stringing, wrapping and stringing again will guide you in what to do next.

You will be working with the back side of the leather facing up. This insures you don't damage your leather with glue or tape. Follow the steps in our free handout, which includes how to macramé, adding new C-Lon colors seamlessly, tips on gluing and design. It's 15 pages!

From very simple to wild and crazy, we hope there's a Prairie Leather Wrap in your future!

Trail Ride by Janice Parsons

Annie Oakley by Cara Scopazzi

Country by Janice Parsons

Black Heart by Karen Marshall

Fabulous Coatings on Czech Glass...Do we take them for granted?

Czech Glass in 3mm, Honeycomb, 4mm and Superduos

It's not everyday that I can drool over new beads all in my favorite colorways...sea green, mossy brown, deep teal. Nothing captures my imagination like a good Picasso Green. I've been in love with ocean colors since I first set eyes on the deep, rough waters off the coast of Big Sur. And I'm an absolute pushover for anything pebbled with brown. 

I've talked a bit about how the Czech glassmakers are on fire. They really are. There has been a resurgence in glass from the Czech Republic for about 8 years now. It's so popular that Miyuki Beads of Japan ships its seed beads over to have them coated because no one can mimic them. That's pretty crazy! But seriously, there are some very talented artists coming up with these new beads and coatings. I love beads in all colors and I do my best to always find the unusual in every hue, but sometimes it's so hard for me to look beyond green.....

Read more about Czech Glass and the Precosia Company, the leader in the renaissance in glass beadmaking. I think you might, like me, have a greater appreciation for the under-rated, taken-for-granted, affordable, Czech Glass Bead. It's really on a trajectory to stardom, if it isn't there already.

The Amazing Autumn Look Book...

             

Finding inspiration for a project can be daunting for any jewelry artist craving originality. Over the years, I have suggested to students and customers that they don't need to look any further than a favorite photograph for ideas on bead selection and even design parameters. When I had my store (closed in 2008), I used to teach "Tricks of the Trade" and students would tell me it "changed their lives." That was wonderful to hear, but I'm just glad to see the process opened many up to the fun and ease of designing authentically.

In our Autumn Challenge, we asked for entries from the beading community. The parameters were to create a wrap bracelet inspired by Autumn. Guidelines were pretty simple: 50% of the ingredients had to be available on beadshop.com and it had to be inspired by fall foliage from a photograph. 

We asked artists to submit photos of their bracelets and their source inspiration. The results were outstanding. If you're like me, you'll want them all! What an incredible group of artists...just amazing. What do you think? I'd love to hear from you and I'd love to pass your comments on to the artists themselves. 

Please email me and happy beading!

~janice