So here’s my reminder:

Second, do you remember when I started a shopping ban in November? Seems like it was just yesterday, right? Well, today marks the end of my six month shopping ban. I can hardly believe it. I’m almost ready to give it six MORE months. But I’m not going to do that. I learned a lot from not shopping and from not blogging my outfits these past six months. Although, I probably should’ve blogged outfits, because it would’ve been interesting to see what I wore for six months without buying anything new. But, alas, I did not.

Did I learn anything? Yes. I am much happier NOT blogging my outfits. I also don’t really enjoy shopping. I like finding inspiration, but find that I am much more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts (my uniform for the past six months!). There is a lot I can talk about that I learned because I stopped shopping or because I stopped outfit blogging, but it’s more in-depth than I want to get in this post. I’ll probably write about it in a few days/weeks, when I’ve really had time to digest/think about things, and can give a really good write-up about if I go online shopping crazy, or if I still hold off a bit.

And yes, I did celebrate the end of my shopping ban with a purchase.

Brand new running shoes! I’m a little crazy, but I signed up for a 5k in July. My friend Emily wanted to do it, so I bit the bullet and signed up. I don’t have to run it, I can walk, cart-wheel or crab-walk (according to the website), which makes me happy. I’m not really a runner, but I have started to take up activities that make me happy and running around Ann Arbor while getting doused in colored powder is one of those things. I can’t wait. My sister is also joining us, and I’m trying to convince her to wear a tutu during the run/walk because it will be funny. We’ll see!

I looked in the mirror earlier this week and realized I needed to grow out my bangs, because I looked too much like Garth from Wayne’s World to feel comfortable anymore:

At least it’s a built-in Halloween costume.

From The Online Musical.

Recently, it has come to my attention that another company is doing something more devious than just pricing their poly-blend products at astronomical prices.

Land’s End has allegedly taken Kiel James Patrick’s belt design and is selling it as its own design, for about half as much. Here are the two designs, side-by-side:

A little too similar to be a coincidence, right? They’re even laid out the same way, photographs taken in front of grey backgrounds.

Design stealing is, sadly, nothing new in the fashion world. I found this blog post about LL Bean stealing Eliza B sandal designs (quite brazenly, I might add). Last year, a similar controversy cropped up with US state necklaces and Urban Outfitters. In that case, Urban Outfitters removed the necklace from their site, but as April from Regretsy pointed out, there were many other sellers on Etsy with similar products, so who’s really the originator of the product?

In Kiel James Patrick’s (KJP) case, according to the statement he sent to Ivy Style, he’s not claiming to be the originator of a nautical belt, but created a hand-crafted, high-quality belt that took months to perfect. KJP also says that his designs are not sold to corporations, such as Land’s End, so their seemingly identical design was not created by him, nor is he receiving any payment for it.

We can argue if this is something that we think should go on in the fashion world or if we think it’s right/wrong, but that’s not where I’m taking this discussion. I want to call out Land’s End for their blatant rip-off of a small company (20 employees!), and I want them to remove the belt from their shelves.

As it’s noted on the Ivy Style site, designs cannot be copyrighted. But, most designers (indie or well-known) aren’t going to rip someone else off, because it can be traced, and everyone wants to be original. There is a difference between seeing someone else’s design, being inspired, and creating something you deem as better. Wouldn’t you want to have something better than someone else, not a blatant copy? (Again, I don’t want to argue about fast-fashion and all that - that is not the point of this post.)

Let’s make some waves. KJP already tried to comment on the Land’s End Facebook and Twitter, and Land’s End hasn’t responded. If you take a look at Land’s End’s website, you can leave comments and reviews for products. I suggest we all jump over there and leave comments on the belt, bringing the star (boat) value down to one. Tell them the design is stolen from a small business In Rhode Island. Let’s make Land’s End give us an answer. If they didn’t “steal” the design, there would be no reason for the silence, in my opinion.

By bringing the star value of the product down, and making sure others are aware that the design isn’t original to Land’s End, hopefully Land’s End will be forced to do something about the product (e.g. pull it from the shelves!).

Please head over to the Land’s End website and help KJP get the answers they deserve.

One such place that has my attention is Conversation Pieces, who, lucky for you (not me), is offering free shipping through Sunday on any order.

While you’re placing your order, may I suggest a few things that I’d love to add to my closet that you can feel free to send me?

1. Castaway Dress
2. Apple of my Eye Dress, Navy
3. Fresh Appeal Dress
4. Polka Dot Affair Blouse, Coral
5. Morning Sunrise Blouse

Tell me if you buy something so I can live vicariously through you, OK?

(No, Conversation Pieces does not sponsor my blog, I just like their selection.)

Finally, it happened.

I was sitting at my desk when my phone lit up. “Whats carlos number?” Immediatly, my heart started racing. Realizing I knew no one named Carlos, I knew this was it. I stared at my friend Carrie with this twisted grin on my face. She stared back at me and asked “what’s up, Joker-face?”

“I have been waiting forever for someone to incorrectly text me when they’re trying to get someone else. And it FINALLY HAPPENED!” At this point, I stood up and started singing Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This.” Carrie choose that moment to leave (good choice, I must say).

I was ready. I thought about it for a minute, before responding. Here’s our entire conversation. I’ll discuss it below the image. (They’re the white, I’m the green).

If you’ll notice, my second attempt to get them to realize that I’m not who they thought they were texting, I mention that Carlos peed on me on Halloween (no, this is NOT from experience). They don’t even respond to that. It’s like that’s Carlos’s thing. It’s like it’s normal for him to go around peeing on people on Halloween. What madness have I stepped into that THIS isn’t even noticed?!

After this engaging exchange, I thought we were done. I laughed, Carrie laughed, my twitter friends laughed, and I was done with it.

An hour later, they responded again. I gave them one last attempt to realize that I have no effing clue who Carlos is, and I’m most certainly not giving them his number.

(The “totes” is in there because I had a Facebook friend complaining about the usage of that word. But that’s another story for another time).
Finally, I think they got it.

It’s been suggested that I wait a month, then text them back asking for Carlos’s number. *evil grin*

So, there you go. That’s my years-in-the-making-epic-tale-to-tell-the-kids. I don’t think they’ll believe me about texting not being a “thing” until I was 19 though.

If you ever find Carlos, let me know. I’m sure this person is dying to get a hold of him.

Here’s my effort as part of the WINTER PINTEREST CHALLENGE (even though it’s 75 degrees in Chicago today)

When I was a wee laddie (or whatever the female version of that is) my mother purchased an old printer’s tray for me to store little piggy-related baubles on -mostly to keep it out of my if-it-fits-I-eat-it hands.

After hauling it across 3 states, losing half of the piggies, and finally relegating it to my basement storage unit, I came across this Etsy pin:

$117 seemed like a lot (we’ll get back to that) So I made my own!!!

First I cleaned 15 years of dust off.

Then I drilled 4,983,234 holes (or two per “box”) This was difficult because you have to drill at an angle and also not go all the way through the REALLY thin wood. I think it took me one and a half “Holmes Inspection” episodes to finish.

Hand-screwed in the O-hooks (This took FOREVER… and my hands were very sore.) This is the part that made me think that $117 wasn’t so much…

Painted the whole damn thing BRIGHT PINK

Including the hooks (but that was my choice. You could paint first, then drill holes and screw in hooks if you wanted them to stand out)

Let it dry. (This is really accurate in terms of how bright it is. I LOVE it.

I shoved some corks in for my stud earrings (they are just hot-glued in)

I tried to hang it; realized I have no idea how to hang something that weights 20 lbs; gave up and propped it on my dresser instead. Ta Da!

Cost:
$0: Free Printer Drawer (hi mom!)
$0: pink paint left over from painting my Bevkam stool
$0: paint brushes (borrowed from now-ex boyfriend)
$5: O-hooks

TOTAL: $5!!!  (but can totally justify the $177 being charged on Etsy; this is NOT an easy project.)

The creative part of me thought, “hey, I can do this!” So, I took a trip to Joann’s, bought some clay and got started. Check Jen’s blog for the DIY, but I’ll give you a heads up, it’s pretty simple!

I ended up using one block of white, one block of pearl, and one section of emerald (there are four sections per block). I used every single bit of my mix of clay in my necklace, so keep that in mind if you make one- it does take a bit of clay. I also grabbed some round, clear beads to use as spacers.

As you can see in the above photo, there are needles that beads can be baked on, insuring they’re not flattened when baked. I used the needles and some mini loaf pans for my beads.

Finished product:

I can’t wait to wear it! Thanks for the inspiration, Jen!

Ps- I also purchased some sealer gloss that you paint on the beads after they’re cooked and cooled, which gives them a glossy sheen. I don’t know if you need to do it, but I felt it would help protect the clay.

Lately there has been a lot of talk on the internet about Pinterest and copyright violations. By now, most of us have read this article about a Photographer who looked at the terms of service, and promptly deleted all her boards. Today I see that Flickr has given users an opt in/out to allow their images to be pinned or not. In the article, it points to a link on Flickr’s forum where users were discussing Pinterest and the use of the opt-out button. Many of the commenters were for the opt-out button, and happy their work wouldn’t be taken and pinned to Pinterest without their consent. Although, as one commenter pointed out, if they post an image to a blog (or elsewhere online), it can still be pinned from that location, which is a risk we all take when posting things on the internet. My friend, Carrie, says, “I like that Flickr is going that route. People SHOULD be able to choose whether or not their stuff is pinable by others. That being said, I (mostly) agree with the person in the article who thinks it’s bizarre that people would view Pinterest as such a huge copyright issue.”

As a blogger, I see the need to protect your intellectual property, and wanting to make sure that you get credit for images you create and that they aren’t used for things without your consent. But as a user of Pinterest who has been inspired by images and who loves finding new things, I find myself torn. I have had my images pinned to Pinterest, and find it flattering that someone wants to pin an image of what I’m wearing, or a DIY I did last year. I don’t feel like people are saving my image to use it maliciously, but because they think “oh great idea, come back to it later.”

That’s what I feel Pinterest is, at its core; a great big inspiration board of stuff you like, with links back to the source. But, it appears that even though that might be the thought behind the uber popular website, it’s not something everyone is comfortable with. I reached out to a few bloggers, a photographer, a store owner, and a general user of Pinterest to get their opinions on pinterest and how they feel about this controversy.

Kara, from Unusual Form, says, “As a personal-style blogger, I’m always incredibly flattered when someone pins one of my outfits. It means that I’ve put together an outfit that someone has found interesting or inspiring. One of the reasons that I post my outfits each day is so that I can be an inspiration to my readers. I find a lot of my own inspiration from other blogs as well, so you’ll see that my pin boards are filled with photos of other bloggers. Isn’t that what blogging is all about? Sharing?”

Kara is one of the Pinterest users I follow, and I’m always quick to repin something she posts that I find inspiring, and I’ve noticed she does the same to things I post. That, in its essence, is what Pinterest is about.

Another person I’m constantly repining is Neeka, owner of AnikaBurke.com. Since Neeka is a frequent user of Pinterest, pinning her deal of the day, lookbook images and inspiration, I thought she would have an interesting point of view on the use of Pinterest. She says she “loves seeing organic pins of [anikaburke.com merchandise and images] on Pinterest.”

When asked if she feels Pinterest is beneficial to her business, driving traffic to her shop, or helping get her store name out there, Neeka says yes. “I find it very beneficial to my business. We are getting more linkbacks to our site without having to pay for them. Pinterest is the second largest traffic generator [for us]. I love Pinterest and can’t wait to see where it goes.”

Interestingly enough, I found many other business on Pinterest, including Karen Kane, Modcloth, Kate Spade and more. Anthropologie has an account, and while they’re following over 4,000 people, they have yet to pin anything themselves. It appears that many businesses are jointing Pinterest, most likely for the same reason Neeka did- free marketing and inspiration.

While all these businesses are fashion-based, I wondered what a different business, such as a photographer would have to say. I found this image from Procopio Photography on Pinterest, and immediately pinned it on one of my own boards.

(Source: Procopio Photography- used with permission!)

Curiously, I followed it back to the website it’s linked to, which then links to the photographer’s website. I contacted them, to ask how they feel about Pinterest. Cicely says they haven’t “quite formed an opinion about Pinterest yet. It’s funny that you are emailing me about it, because our most recent blog post was the first time we added watermarks. We did that so when pinned, more of our images would be tracked back to us.” You’ll notice that the image I fell in love with was posted prior to their inclusion of watermarks, and can only be traced back to the source by clicking through.

Cicely goes on to say she “loves that [Pinterest] is a new source that people can find us, but I don’t like when images are improperly linked, or not at all, to the source.” Well, therein lies the problem that most people seem to have with Pinterest. The problem seems to be less about Pinterest itself, but more about the link backs, or lack thereof.

Much like the writer of the first post, I found myself perusing Pinterest’s terms of service to see what I got out of it. Boy, you’re not going to like it.

According to this passage of the terms of service, when a user pins something, they are accepting that they are the owner of that image, and are giving Pinterest their consent to have it on their website. Well, that seems a little odd, because of the images pinned from my blog, I haven’t pinned any of them. That means whoever pinned them was (technically) giving MY consent for the images to be up there.

But even more concerning to me was this passage, “We may, in our sole discretion, permit Members to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit Member Content. By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services.” Basically, by uploading an image, pinning one from whatever blog you’re reading, or pinning your own image, you’re giving Pinterest the rights to do WHATEVER THEY WANT with that image. Meaning they can sell it if they wanted to, just because YOU uploaded it.

If that doesn’t make your skin crawl, I don’t know what else will. But I’m sure it will be this next part I found might help do the trick.

“Cold Brew Labs grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license, without the right to sublicense, to access, view, download and print any Pinterest Content solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes.” Awesome. So that means that technically I can print off any of the images on Pinterest or download them to my own computer, according to these terms of service. I don’t think anyone knowingly signed up for THAT. I think Amanda from Prim and Propah says it best; “I have read articles that make me worry that people misuse Pinterest/ infringe on copyright laws without even knowing it.”

Now, after having read through these terms, I find myself wondering what I can do to protect myself and protect my images. My answer? Leave the Internet forever. Seriously. If you don’t want your images on Pinterest, downloaded to someone’s hard drive or potentially licensed by Pinterest, sign off right now and break your computer and never return. Carrie, a general user of Pinterest (someone without a blog or business tied to an account), thinks that might be a little too extreme. She equates freaking out about images you chose to put online similar to someone complaining they don’t like cats, while seven cats are climbing in their lap (great mental image, right?) She also goes on to say, “if you don’t want to play on the playground, stay inside for recess. Now kindly get the eff out of my way so I can play Red Rover.”

According to the terms of service, if you pin something you don’t have the rights to, or isn’t a public image, you violate the terms of service. So what does that mean? Does that mean someone pinning an image from my blog is violating the terms because it’s not an image they own, or is it OK because I put that image online for anyone to view? Huge grey area.
Another thing to realize is that sometimes bloggers (and other outlets) use sourced images (like the one above from Procopio Photography) and those images can and are pinned. Look at this screencap of images pinned from my blog.

Did I take all of these images? No. Did I source them on my blog? Yes. I crossed out the ones that are not my images, but ones I sourced in a post.

So what does that mean? Are we in direct violation of Pinterest’s terms by pinning images from sites that are only sourced on that site? Technically, yes. Therefore, everything from Tumblr is in direct violation, in addition to many, many images from blogs, websites, articles and more.
Again, what can we do? Basically, nothing unless Pinterest goes away (doubtful), or someone sues. Of all the people I talked to, no one seems to be concerned or worried, and with the influx of businesses jumping on board, I don’t know if anything will come of these alleged copyright violations. My only suggestion is to be careful with what you pin, and pin thoughtfully. Many businesses and blogs that don’t mind being pinned have links to Pinterest on every page, item or post.

If you’re not sure, ask! The image I found from Procopio Photography I pinned prior to asking them about it, and thankfully, they’re on board with being pinned. They also responded to my email within 24-hours, even though it was only to get information for this article, not an inquiry about their services.

If you choose to delete your Pinterest boards, I suggest you reach out to Pinterest to tell them why. If you choose not to, pin thoughtfully! Personally, I really enjoy Pinterest, and I hope they will respond to these copyright problems and offer solutions to those who don’t want their images pinned, without it having to result in legal action.

What do you think? Do you use Pinterest, why or why not?