Buttons?

My mom told me the other day that one of my relatives wants to give away a bunch of buttons and ribbons. She then asked me if I wanted them or not. I gave her a look as if to say, "Duh" and she said "Oh, right. Why did I even ask." Then she wondered about whether or not I'd like them or not. I told her that it didn't matter because whatever I don't like I could just sell on Etsy or Ebay. She nodded and told me it was a good idea.

So, basically where I'm getting at is that I may come into possession of some buttons and ribbons. If I decide not to keep them then I will make them available for people to buy online. I was thinking about making some "Mystery Grab Bags" because those are fun! I have no idea what these will look like, but I hope that people will be into them!

This will help put me one step closer to my goal of how I wish to run my business. I'm so excited! :D

Too Legit To Quit!

I'm very pleased to announce to everyone that I am working towards getting my business license and several other licenses that would allow me to run my business the way I would like to. It has always been my dream to sell original handmade products and custom orders. For the past 11 years I have been doing just that. I didn't want to stop there though. I wanted to run a business that also sold yarn and things related to needlecraft and teach lessons. I got the yarn ball rolling earlier this year on the classes and so far they've been doing fairly well. I would still like to see a few more faces, but I can't complain too much. My students love me! ^_^

I've been doing a lot of research and asking a lot of questions all around to see which investments would be the smartest and which course of action would be best. I've got a long way ahead of me, but I have a very clear and detailed plan to get me where I need to go.

I would like to get some feedback on a few things. I'd like to ask a few questions and hopefully get some honest responses from everyone whom decides to humor me. In order to make a better course of action for any business plan it sometimes helps to make surveys for people to complete. I know that people don't really like surveys, so it's cool if you don't do it.

These questions are for needle crafters!
1. What brands of yarn would you like to buy from Mystik Designs?
2. What sort of fibers do you like to work with?
3. Which brand of needles/hooks are your favorite?
4. How likely are you to try new techniques that may require purchasing a book?
5. What price range do you like with your materials?
6. Do you prefer to knit or to crochet?
7. How often do you purchase hobby magazines?
8. What is that one thing that you can never find in a store?
9. Which colors are your favorite?
10. Just for fun: Do you enjoy rubbing yarn on your face? (I do. :3)

These questions are for people who like what I make:
1. What is your favorite Mystik Designs product?
2. What sort of promotions would you like to see?
3. If you have ever received a product from Mystik Designs, did you enjoy it?
4. What sort of improvements would you make if this was your business?
5. Do you like the newer pictures?
6. Is there an event that you'd like to see me sell at?
7. What do you think about the quality of my products?
8. Are there any products you would like to see me make?
9. Do I need to stop modeling my own work?
10. Just for fun: Do you like buttons? (I do. :3)

Thanks in advance if you did this for me. I'll send a special coupon code to anyone who completes this. <3

RIP Hero of Canton Hats

A few people have already heard, but I wanted to make an official statement regarding the situation involving a certain network banning the sales of a certain hat. If you haven't heard, read this (http://io9.com/fox-bans-the-sale-of-unlicensed-jayne-hats-from-firefly-471820413).

Here's what I have to say:
I depend on making these hats to afford to eat. I depend on these hats to keep my business running. No one really buys anything else from my store. Out of the 125 sales on my Etsy shop 76 of those are Jayne hats. That's roughly 61% of my sales.

When fans want to buy a Jayne hat (oops I said it!) they want to buy a handmade one made by a fan for fans. They don't want a machine made hat from a company that hasn't even seen the show or claim to be a fan. ThinkGeek is not at fault here. Too many people were requesting the hat to be sold on there. They were just giving the people what they wanted.

Here's what I don't get. Why didn't they just get a bunch of people who make the hat already with love and passion for the show and pay them? Haven't we taken away enough jobs? There are too many people who make this hat that would love to work for a company like ThinkGeek and provide these hats to true fans of the show, but no we have to manufacture them with a machine. We can't have independent contractors make the hats for a retail website because that's just too complicated.

Here's what I don't get with Fox. Why after ten years do they just now get around to telling people not to sell these hats? Because someone bought the license for it? Because they realize how much money they're losing not having this licensed? To protect the company that bought the license? Because they're tired of hearing people beg them to bring the show back? Because they're Alliance? Whatever their reason, they still have a legal right to protect, but that only goes so far.

"Although characters have an identity, persona, and other expressive elements, clothing, by itself, is considered a useful article, unprotectable under copyright (a principle that's proven a major irritant for clothing designers). In a 1989 case, a court of appeals refused to protect costume designs even though the company had registered its costumes as "soft sculptures" with the Copyright Office. Other decisions reinforced the rule that costumes are not protectable. There may be instances where a movie company that owns a series such as Indiana Jones could complain that your costume sale -- for example, hat, jacket and whip -- could violate trademark laws if you used the name of the character in your advertising... To be safe under trademark principles, avoid any advertising statements that imply endorsement or an official connection with characters or films." - Posted on Whedonesque.

 With this information it seems that I can still sell the hat so long as I use terms that aren't used in the show. But hold on, here's what Fox told Etsy to tell me.

 Etsy received a notice from Kasimira C. Verdi (foxip@fox.com), Director - Intellectual Property for Fox Group Legal. The notice said that Fox is the owner of copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights in and to the television series FIREFLY (the "Series"), which currently airs on the Science Channel. These rights also include characters, images, designs, slogans and/or other distinctive creative elements of the Series, and the exclusive right to license merchandise in connection with the Series. According to the notice, use of various trademarks, characters, images, designs and/or other distinctive creative elements is not authorized. 

The letter stated that these listing(s) incorporate designs, symbols, language, images, or photographs that infringe upon the concerned party's copyright or other intellectual property right.

So who's in the right here? And who do I talk to so that I can find out? Here's part of the FAQ that they included with the cease and desist letter.

------------------------------

-Q- May I change the design or wording of my listing(s) and
reactivate them?

-A- Etsy cannot offer advice on how to change the listing(s).
Please address any questions concerning this matter to the person
who contacted Etsy (see contact information above) or an
attorney. Do not reactivate these item listings or relist these
items until the issue has been resolved.

------------------------------

An attorney. Because people trying to make a living on Etsy have easy access/can afford those. Oh, but I can try to contact Fox about this matter? Fine. They've been so great about settling this in all of those interviews they've been doing - oh wait, they haven't actually responded to anyone about this situation? Huh.

Here's part of the letter that I found downright insulting and pissed me off more than anything else.

This is a confidential matter, and we request that you not discuss this issue in the Etsy Forums or otherwise violate the confidential nature of this email.

They just took away something that I depended on to provide for myself and keep my business afloat and they expect me to keep my mouth shut? Fuck that. To these corporate asshats a $20 hat might not mean much of a loss for the people who made them. Just like how a certain retro-futuristic sci-fi show didn't mean much to them. All they see is the dollar signs and how they can profit. They don't see how this really affects the people who made the hats.

I've been looking for a job for the past two years and you know how many people actually gave me an interview? One. I got the job, but I only get to work EIGHT FUCKING HOURS A WEEK!!!! I also teach a knitting class every Friday, but I only have two students that actually show up every week and then there are weeks that they can't show up. Not a very stable income. What if these students decide that they're done learning or get to a point that they feel it's too complicated and stop coming to classes? I'm screwed. That's what happens. Does Fox care about my situation? No. Does anybody? It certainly feels that way sometimes, but I do know that I have people in my life that actually gives a shit about me.

I've been paying attention to how the fans have been reacting to this situation and it really fills my heart with pride to be a part of a fandom that genuinely cares for not only the show, but the people who also love the show. The overwhelming support of the Browncoats show that we really are unified and I feel like together we can achieve anything. To anyone reading this, Browncoat or no, thank you. This has been a very stressful couple of weeks for me and my mind is spinning trying to find a way to make this work. There's been a lot of screaming and a lot of tears. Now that I've seen how the fans have been reacting to this I feel like I'm not alone and I might actually be able to find a way to continue making a living.

Contest for Mystik Designs' new logo!

Okay, so I was going to make a video for this, but I think I'll just make a blog instead since I'm all camera shy and stuff. :S

I'm not really happy with my business logo. The background is dark and the letters are too dark for the background. The silhouette has absolutely nothing to do with what I make. It was more of a promise to myself to start making more Victorian Goth/Steampunk looking things which never happened. I still plan to make some things that might be used for that like my cameo chokers, but I digress.

So, the purpose is simple. I need a new logo. I'll be using this new logo for my business cards, buttons, a background for this blog, my business' Facebook profile pic and any tags or displays that I'll put on my products. This is to help establish myself as a brand and make my business actually look like a business and not a hobby. Because you know... it's not a hobby.

Rules:
1. Don't make it look too dark. See what I have now? That's too dark. Don't make the new logo that dark. Anything lighter would look tons better.

2. Don't use artwork from someone else, unless the artist has given express permission to you or to everyone on the internet. We need to respect artists for their time and talent.

3. You can use whatever font you want so long as it's legible. Creating your own font for the logo is highly encouraged.

4. It needs to have both an image and the words "Mystik Designs" and "Magic in every stitch!". You can use the logo above as a reference.

5. Don't make a copy of the logo above. I don't like it. No silhouettes.

6. Make a copy of the logo that can be used for a profile pic. If you want to earn some extra credit you can optionally make a design for business cards, buttons, this blog, or whatever you think I'll need the design for. If you do this, keep in mind that whatever colors you use have to stay uniform. If you make a business card design, I don't need you to enter the info but I will need to see a sample of text.

7. You can enter as many times as you want to. Submit all entries to my business page in a private message. (www.facebook.com/magicineverystitch) I will create a folder on the page that showcases all of the entries.

I encourage all of my artist friends to take part in this and get all of their artist friends to take part also. Usually I have people make submissions and have people vote on it. This time I will be choosing the winner. The contest starts now and will end on June 30th. I will make a decision and announce it that night or on July 1st. The winner will get to choose a hat from my shop up to a $45 value. My cosplay hats are off limits though. Sorry. :(

Here are some size requirements for things that I'll be using the logo for. Keep in mind you only have to make a profile pic and the other things are optional.

Facebook Profile Pic: 180px by 180px and less than 4MB

Facebook Cover Photo: 851px x 315px

Etsy Banner: 760px x 100px and less than 2MB

Blogger Background: 1440px x 720 px  and resolution of 72px per inch.

Price Tags: 2" x 1"

Business Cards: 3.5" x 2"

Happy designing! :D