the reduction of something to nothing more than a commodity is what you are doing.
are you aware of what you are doing? do you even care?
to copy the work of another without a thought other than to gain monetary enrichment – is money your God?
do you understand from where the material you work with eminates? how it comes into being? do you teach others of this eminence? do you reach for the deepest understanding through your work and pass that knowledge along? or are you just seeking financial rewards in the moment, unaware and uncaring of that which you may destroy along the way?
please think about what you are doing.
I realize it may be hard to understand when there really is no intention other than personal enrichment- but try to imagine another view.
I really don’t know what else to say.
日本から、おやすみなさい。
what’s going on, Glennis?
LikeLike
although I moved from porcelain to silk 10 years ago to create something new (silk Shibori ribbon) for others to use and enjoy, it begins again -where a former customer of the ribbon sees profit and has it made elsewhere, not for the passion of making it but for the desire to profit from the moment, moving along when the thrill is gone and the next big thing comes along. it so lessens my desire to continue. making me wonder how I will support myself ?
LikeLike
I sent you a message a few months ago that someone else was going by Shibori Girl, but wasn’t you.
LikeLike
I don’t recall that
LikeLike
If you feel this way then why do you make kits and sell them much less even bother making the silk and selling it to someone else knowing they are just going to reproduce your work or someone elses work.
LikeLike
this is not the issue.
LikeLike
I hope you are really not talking to me since I would never ever copy anyone and don’t even do what you do. Sincerely, Linda Vandiver in Ridgeway South Carolina.
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
I am not talking to anyone using my ribbon to make the many beautiful things that are being made with it. that is the reason I make it!! it goes beyond that. I make examples of what can be done with the ribbon for that purpose, so you can imitate it and then make your own designs as well.
LikeLike
To honor process, material, history and other artists allows wonder and gratitude to flourish. As I study shibori and discover it’s intimacies and idiosyncrasies I’m delighted by the way it speaks it’s own language. It’s impossible to copy another artist’s work because if the infinite number of choices and wild impulses that come up in shibori
LikeLike
I see you understand
LikeLike
well written, Glennis…..just where is the heart, the deep feeling of creative joy when the person selling is not the creator, just the taker…sad to read that you are experiencing this. Much appreciation for what you are creating, making, sharing with the world. Kristin
LikeLike
there are many who resell my ribbon. it’s how I make a living! I try to put it into the hands of those who appreciate its complexity and who sell components that complement it. several years ago I was offered some very large orders and told that if I couldn’t keep up they would just copy my work and have it made in China. at least they told me directly in the beginning! I declined the orders.
LikeLiked by 1 person
no entiendo lo que quieres decir yo me imagine haciendo todo, collares aretes ect. pero eso es algo imposible por falta de dinero no he podido ni siquiera tener un pedacito de liston.. y si tuviera los haria para mi o para regalar que es lo que hago yo no me dedico a hacer esto para verder mas bien lo que hago lo he regalado…
LikeLike
no aye problema…gracias
LikeLike
Huh? Why am I receiving this? I buy your ribbon and make things with it. I keep some and I give others to friends. Am I supposed to buy the ribbon and put it in a drawer to admire? Because it is beautiful and I do pull out the unused amounts to admire from time to time. I love the colors and the pleats and the movement. I love putting beads on it. Why are you selling it if you don’t want me to make things with it? I am not a museum keeping things on display or filing them away for eternity. I use them and enjoy them. Should I buy pleated ribbon from someone else?
Sent from my iPad
>
LikeLike
thank you for buying my ribbon. it is keeping me alive! no! use and enjoy freely- please. it is to use and share.
LikeLike
Shibori Girl, I’m confused. Is this aimed at me personally? I love your work and have admired it, but in no way could I even attempt to replicate it! And even if I could, I have my own style and products. If you feel I have copied you in any way, please give me more specifics.
Sincerely, Celeste
Celeste Suter Celestial Designs Fiber Art
>
LikeLike
I’m not familiar with your work -at least I don’t think so.
LikeLike
When someone copies my work I have two responses: a) There copy will not have the soul that my original had and b) this encourages me to “lift my game” or do something even better.
Barbara S
LikeLike
true
LikeLike
I’m sorry if something happened that made you write this. Can you explain?
LikeLike
I’m trying…
LikeLike
Glennis, I have read the slew of commits you have gotten, I know you are in Japan so I am assuming you got hacked. I am not a dyer, teacher, copier etc.
LikeLike
ha! I hope you are enjoying the posts from Japan Katherine. we have learned so much- even more! each trip here to study the textiles and the silkworm bring new insights and a deeper understanding.
LikeLike
Glennis, thank you for opening my eyes with respect to my own motivation for using your beautiful shibori ribbon. I will be more mindful about what and why I create.
LikeLike
I think that everything we create by our own hands is affected by mindfulness. I see it as I watch the sericulturists here in Japan raising silk. every step of the process is done this way. it has taken me 10 years of making the ribbon to reach this point. I had hoped for more to recoup some of the earlier lean years but…oh well.
LikeLike
I am totally confused ny your vagueness in your post. Please explain what has happened and what was meant by your post. At this point I’m fearful of touching my silks.
LikeLike
I’m confused as well. no please, the silk is to use and enjoy.
LikeLike
From reading others comments I surmise that you have equally offended us all and you who are selling your own creations of shobori may find that you have also inadvertently hurt your own business.
LikeLike
expressing these thoughts had no intention of offense. I do understand that my way of looking at things is not the usual American way. that is for sure. if my thoughts hurt my own business then I am completely responsible for that and accept it.
LikeLike
I have no clue what you are talking about. You must have me confused with someone else!
Lynne Brotman
LikeLike
hi Lynn. this is not “addressed” to you personally. it is a post on my blog. you subscribe to my blog. you can freely use the unsubscribe button. if you subscribe via email it goes to your email. I think you have it confused with a personal email. many have- no worries. glennis.
Enjoy and wonder,
Glennis Dolce Shiborigirl Studios http://www.shiborigirlstudios.com
sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
Hi Glennis,
I’m so sorry that you’re facing this trouble yet again.
Your work and words inspire and encourage many of us.
Please keep creating beauty.
Laura
LikeLike
Glennis, I buy ribbon from you and from some of the resellers with whom you do business. If you are trying to offend those of us who buy your ribbons for the sheer joy of looking at them and using them to create something else of beauty, you have succeeded. I make no apologies for being a customer.
Regretfully,
Nancy Lively White
Mineral Wells, WV
LikeLike
not at all. my disappointment comes from seeing others replicate my ribbon for nothing more than commercial purposes. I suppose it signifies a time for me to consider moving along. I love making it, taking my time to do so, and seeing others use it to further their own creativity in addition to being able to resell not only my ribbon but the work they create with it.
Enjoy and wonder,
Glennis Dolce Shiborigirl Studios http://www.shiborigirlstudios.com
sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
I understand your text but for a moment I was offended. Shibori is becoming very popular. I’ve been a crafter for about 30 years and so has two of my other friends. We didn’t know this even existed. I just found out about shibori and ordered a sampling of it from you. It is beautiful and I made a beautiful bracelet with it. Me and my friends are very excited about shibori. It’s very hard to find and buy. So what I’m getting at is people are finding out about shibori ribbon and realizing that there is a market for this and they are going to tap into it. I’m sure you will be fine, you have your loyal customers. If you have to fight the competition I’m sure you will do a good job and there’s others who will be backing you. So cheer up! Smile and have a great day.
LikeLike
I have never worked for anyone else. I gave up my porcelain company after 30 years for very similar reasons. just became tired of having every new line copied and driven into the ground. so for 40 years now the thing remains the same. I think I’m allowed to talk about it. I’m glad you enjoy Shibori. I know I’ve had a small part in popularizing it. Since the possibilities are endless when it comes to Shibori one can easily create something uniquely their own if one wishes to! I love that the ribbon has inspired so many designers to make beautiful things with it.
LikeLike
I simply signed up for your blog, so why send out a general stinging message. I hate getting spanked for something I didn’t do.
LikeLike
oh my! please unsubscribe if you find the blog offensive. perhaps you haven’t been reading it for very long.
LikeLike
My dear glennis, please don’t stop making your beautiful ribbons. No one can duplicate what you do. Yes they can use shibori to make some silk ribbons but cannot reproduce the beauty of your colors, the intent with which they are made, the great wealth of knowledge that they receive when they connect with you. Yours are superior because of the spirit that comes imbedded in your product.
I’m sorry that someone is trying to copy you. It belittles them. Was the large order that threatened to go to China from a regular customer? Wait and see if it does reduce your sales. I bet it won’t. It seems the movement to support local ( U.S.) crafts people is going strong. More and more I see people unwilling to buy “crafts” from China unless it is part of the Chinese culture. Your ribbons are a product of your own design.
Wishing you the best…
LikeLike
we move on. being in Japan at the moment is giving me a different perspective. I’ve been an outsider since I was very young. being outside the country is quite refreshing!
LikeLike
It is the best way to find new ideas.very refreshing! I still wonder, though, why anyone took your words personally? Seemed obvious you needed to vent. And yes, you are an outsider for sure. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! I learn so much from you…. Art, life, spirit.
LikeLike
thanks nancy. working on it. the tour was amazingly wonderful and the next one two years from now is already filling up! wow!
LikeLike
I’m surprised that so many took your post as a personal criticism. I have read several of these types of comments from other artists whose techniques and ideas have been usurped by others, and they are simply a verbal airing of their disappointment that others do not really respect their work and creativity. Your ribbons are gorgeous, Glennis, and we who appreciate your dedication to your craft won’t be dissuaded by other vendors. Please don’t be discouraged, I know it’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we all know who the original artist is. The world would be less beautiful without your work in it.
LikeLike
surprises me too. as if I’m not allowed to express my thoughts on my own blog-how dare I!? this is my current reality. if it offends you to hear it then perhaps you should not subscribe. part of this blog is about what it takes and what it is like to support yourself as a maker. there are other blogs out there full of pretty pictures and happy dancing, oohs and aahhs, etc.. personally, I’ll take a good well thought out criticism of my work for serious consideration over hundreds of “likes”. but that’s me. thanks for “getting it”!
LikeLike
If you had told the story it would come across better. I just opened this and my first thought is “why is she yelling at me? I have not done any of this”. I subscribe because I respect you and your craft. I’m not pleased to receive a blog post yelling at me, certainly not without some context. I’m sorry you are dealing with this issue…
LikeLike
please accept my apology and unsubscribe to email notifications of this blog. you can always add it to your blog reader to read at your leisure and it won’t seem so personal. I’m sorry but I can’t promise that you might find some future post offensive. My work and world is not all pretty pictures and kittens. You are free to dislike any and all things here.
LikeLike
Another thought: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
LikeLike
…and sincerity is the absence of pretence, deceit, or hypocrisy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear there are some earthquakes in Japan… Thinking of you. Hope you are well.
LikeLike
it was a good one!
LikeLike
Keep in perspective that imitation is the greatest form of flattery .
LikeLike
if that is your perspective.
LikeLike
I have been making shibori ribbon, silk, wool and cotton fabric in many styles since the ’80’s. I have even made jewelry art necklaces and earrings and cuffs from my dyed silks of many “rainbow colors”, as I taught and sold them. This all took place in Mendocino in the 80’s and 90’s.
After about 10 years, interest waned and I moved on to other art forms.
Now “SUDDENLY”, everyone is making multi-colored silks and using them to do the same thing I did 25+ years ago. They are selling their wares for extremely high prices and some teach these classes stating they are their “OWN ARTFORM” copyrighted and can not be replicated!
I find all this amusing. Like clothing and shoes, all things come back into style. Old crafts and art forms get “rediscovered” by a new generation. They evolve with the fashions of the era. If we are the lucky ones, we are smart enough to look beyond the “pretty” and learn the history and tradition from where it came. We study the roots of our craft we become connected to our work in a very different way than how to “look in style” or “make a bunch of money”.
Glynnis, the way you care and share shows me that you are very connected and feel strongly when those commercially oriented person’s negative energy fills your world. I am sorry you felt it’s effects so profoundly.
Keep making beautiful things!
LikeLike
of course I can’t stop making. it’s my life work. so there are always other paths to take down the road
LikeLike
I would just like to purchase some of your items. Your Big Cartel store has been sold out of most items for the past two years. Shibori is not everything to everybody. Maybe you could pays some attention to your other products.
LikeLike
many of my items are one of a kind or custom made Maria. in addition to that, I moved everything off the shop while I am in Japan. So you see, I am paying attention. I realize Shibori is not everything to everyone, this is true! Even though my studio is called ShiborGirl it isn’t everything to me either! So perhaps if you are looking for other things not Shibori, then another shop might be in order since almost 99% of what I do is, unfortunately, shibori.
LikeLike
Did you send the above email specifically to me ? I see no other recipients on the ‘To’ line ?
LikeLike
no, it’s a post on my blog. you have subscribed by email.
LikeLike
well, i am not confused.
LikeLiked by 1 person
of course not. we captain similar ships from different coasts…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I sporadically read your blog online. I sometimes find if I am having a bad day or lacking inspiration or passion, I can look on your website or others and find joy in the colors and patterns and use that to re-fire my own creativity. I don’t dye silk, nor make ribbons, and I don’t actually sell anything I make, but regardless, you inspire me and you teach me — you would find distant reverberations of your art in my pieces and for that I thank you. I appreciate your courage in making yourself, both the physical art and the you it is grounded in, visible online. This visibility can be difficult and problematic, but I appreciate your willingness to make yourself and your art vulnerable because you contribute to a wide community, perhaps far wider than you know, and your impact matters. Namaste
LikeLike
what I do, what I make, who I am are all one in the same. to only let you view one facet somehow seems unauthentic. to be of service through ones work is the most I can aspire to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. I have just stumbled on your blog and specifically to this blog post. What a heartfelt post clearly coming from a hurt place. It is hard to believe that so many people have such strong NEGATIVE reactions to what you have written. I am finding it difficult not to comment since you put out such a powerful post and what you said needs to be heard! What i want to offer to you if a reflection of what I have read/heard from all of your posts on this subject. I hear you saying that your work and craft is being copied and produced in mass without soul or intention. And it is very upsetting that your designs made with love and intention are being copied for pure monetary gain. Additionally you are perplexed if the people who are producing have considered how it may affect those who they are copying. I also hear you saying that you are happy that people use your materials for their own art work. Your creations are what you DO as an artist and how you exist in this world so this experience that feels like a violation is making it challenging to keep going sometimes.
Granted I have just found you and your work but it seems like your work is very well loved. I have plenty of my own thoughts and curiosities but it sounds like you just needed support here from the universe and your community of readers. Congrats to you for speaking your truth. Sending love through the interwebs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
alice, it’s 5 years now since you wrote this comment and I apologize for not responding your thoughtful words back then. I wrote this post when i was in Japan for a month and opened my phone and found an announcement from one of my long time resellers that they were now making their own shibori ribbon. This after several rather deceptive convos with her that I later realized were pumping me for info on how I made the ribbon under the guise of giving her customers more info. It did feel hurtful and deceptive. I moved on. I revisited this post today as there was a spam comment which I deleted but it prompted me to reread the post and all the comments.
It just so happens that today I am posting about the ribbon and recent issues with the making of it with a much different perspective (thankfully!). Out of curiosity, I visited the webshop of the offending party to find that her foray into shibori ribbon making has now timed out. Few people stick with something over the long term. It was the deception that was crushing my spirit at the time.
Hope you are well, wherever you are…
LikeLike
Not only are you expressing your truth, but you have the feisty ness to respond to others who react with quick negative assumptions.
I applaud you for being clear and direct. I am amazed that so many mistook your post as a personal attack.
With wonder and admiration for you,
Hermosa
LikeLiked by 2 people
Beth- as with Alice above, I apologize for not replying in gratitude for your comment. I have written many posts in the interim and hope that you have visited a few…
i do try to “keep it real” here by sharing more than just links to my shop!
hope you are well wherever you are!
LikeLike