I was going to post this on my FB art page, but I have so much in depth info I want to cover I just decided on posting it all here. Over the last couple of months, there have been some changes that I realized I have to make for my own sanity on the wonderful world of social media. I will be pulling back from a bulk of my groups to free up time and sanity.

This is particularly true in some of the communities I am  apart of.

Please read below for some of the specifics.

For those not familiar with me, I am an official OMTech affiliate and have collaborated with them in the past on all kinds of educational resources for community members. It has recently been brought to my attention that because of this, I am viewed as a “conflict of interest” in some groups as they have the impression I am trying to sell machines and directly compete with them because I am an affiliate. While that has never been and is not my intention, unfortunately my reputation and affiliation has flagged me in some groups because of my history and passion for helping OMTech laser newbies (and I do not plan to stop with that either). I will no longer be active or posting in those communities where my help isn’t appreciated nor wanted. Iv’e already received a few messages from people who have asked why I haven’t been active in some communities, and quite frankly- this is why.

I will also be removing myself from some of the other communities as well. While I won’t go into detail, I don’t really have time to argue with people over how they feel they own the rights to generic shapes and feel like starting an argument over me using a circle or tear drop in my design. The best thing I can say if someone is reading this, please do your research. There are so many amazing resources available for copyrights and trademarks. Generic shapes like circles and hearts cannot be copy-written unless it is very stylized. I have had people reach out to me saying “don’t give in- other people are wrong it says a lot more about them than you” (yes, I am fully aware people cannot claim ownership over basic shapes). I don’t believe in bullying someone else who may very well be new to the community and unaware of their rights. We are not as original as we think we are. I honestly do not have the time or energy to patrol these communities because of this.

Aside from that, while yes, I am an affiliate- my main goal isn’t to sell someone a machine. It’s to help someone bring their dream to life. I’m not a sales person nor do I consider myself one in any way. While yes it is always great to get a commission from selling a machine, I also want to watch someone grow their work and business or bring their art to life. I love to follow along on the journey with someone else who ventures into the laser world and hopefully be a guide to them as they grow. I just wanted to clarify this for what an affiliate means to me. 

As always, I’ll still be active in my supplier groups as well as my OMTech groups! I’m just going to be pulling away from a bulk of the others because I want to put my time and energy elsewhere, where it is needed and more appreciated. 

First off, I will be trying to focus on my OWN groups and work. I won’t be posting all my latest and greatest ideas in the hot and trendy groups no more. I might do some kind of exclusive subscription down the road, not sure. Bundled in with knock offs and theft, I feel like it may be in my best interest to try and grow my own community.

I am cutting back my helping directly in all my zillion communities and working more on creating DIY and educational content for community members, especially videos. I’d love to be able to provide more DIYS for members and see how that goes. I want to also show my support to the current artists and communities I follow as well. 

My Request and Receive series seems to be going well. If you want a particular file to be designed, you can request it and I will draw it when I have the time available and list it online. I will no longer be converting and selling files of designs I already have in existence. I will only be selling new illustrated files under request and receive. 

Which beings me to the next section- the messages I have been getting about my files and people asking WHY I don’t sell most of them.

Iv’e gotten quite a few extremely rude messages over the last few months about why I don’t sell a bulk of my files. While I didn’t think there needed to be an explanation, apparently there is. Let me say this has nothing to do with limiting competition. Yes, I am fully aware someone can copy my design/ idea and sell it, when I could sell it right off and just make that money. That still won’t change my mind and here is why.

For starters, it’s my art. Before I got into lasers, I made patterns from my art and sold them on various websites and even licensed them to companies. I have a whole private portfolio area that has thousands of examples of patterns, specifically for licensors to look at and review. This means that I need to have 100% control of the original artwork file. If someone else has access to it, it could cause some serious problems with my licensors as they may license that particular design/ art for a category of products they sell. 

For example, let’s use a cartoon axolotl I drew. I might turn that into wooden earrings and pins, but Company A might want them for their clothing. Company B might want to license them for their mugs. If I were to just openly sell that file, who is to say a purchaser doesn’t put that design on mugs or clothing, which therefore would be directly violating the licensing term of exclusivity? 

90% of my illustrations I make and do are derived from my patterns, so as you can guess- those will not be available for purchase. That is why I will only be making special requests moving forward. Granted, I do have some designs I did that I converted that are far enough away from the originals I am ok with selling files for (ie- going from a watercolor style into a line art). However there are not many of those, and often those are derived from designs I often have not worked into portfolio pieces just yet.. 

Here is a slight run down as there is a lot here. Iv’e been pretty quiet online trying to avoid posting something like this, but apparently I need to address many of the messages I have been getting.

• Remaining active in only a few laser groups, primarily ones through my suppliers and OMTech
• Working on creating and growing my own group
• Spending less time in other communities and working on creating resources when I can, in my own time for community members

This blog is dedicated more towards those in my laser/ crafting communities than customers.