Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

When I came up with the idea of my recycled glass soap dishes, I did a thorough internet search and didn’t see anyone else making them. Eventually I did see them being made by other people. Whether or not they saw mine, I have no idea. It is, after all, possible that two people have a similar idea. I am sure I am not the only one to think… hmmm what else can I do with all these wine bottles? I also had the idea to make Christmas wreath ornaments out of them. I made a few, but was never able to get the process down to where it would be cost effective to sell them. I haven’t completely given up on the idea yet, but just recently I saw someone else making them. So I totally understand that someone else can have the same idea.

I also know that a lot of beginner stained glass and fused glass hobbyists search the internet for ideas and inspiration. It is part of the learning process. The internet is a great source of inspiration and there are a lot of tutorials available. I am flattered when someone likes my designs enough to be inspired by them and make them their own. But when someone takes more than inspiration and copies a design and posts it on the internet, it would be nice if they would at least give credit where credit is due. Below is a piece that I designed and posted on my blog in May of 2010. Two months later an identical design using different colored glass was posted on another blog.

Part of the reason I write this blog is to share what I am learning and working on. I appreciate all the people who have shared their knowledge with me and helped me along the way. So if you see something you like here that you copy for yourself  and post it on the internet, please just include a line that says something like, “This is a design by Margot visit her blog at www.glassartbymargot.com/Blog

Stained Glass Beveled Panel

4 thoughts on “Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

  1. mary winn says:

    i’m a hobbiest and i would like to make the rectangler design with the 4 bevels.
    Do you sell your patterns? Please let me know. This is for personal use, not to be resold.
    Thank you
    Mary Ann Winn

    • Margot says:

      Mary Ann – Thanks so much for asking. I do sell my patterns, but this is one you can have just for the asking! I will email it to you, and just ask that you include a reference to me and my website if you should post a picture on the internet.

  2. Kim Pavlik says:

    Margot,
    I have no idea how I missed this blog posting as I thought I had read every single one you have written!

    I have decided that one way to “discourage” someone from taking credit for duplicating one of my ideas is to watermark the photos. I am in the process of changing every one of my photos to have my watermark across them somewhere. At least if my name is on the photo, someone has been made aware that this project idea was MINE! No doubt, I have taken others ideas (such as yours) and used them but with changes and ideas of my own thrown in. Also, I think we realize as artists, that there will ALWAYS be the unscrupulous people out there that think noone will ever find out what they have done. I agree with you that other people can have the same ideas, however, I find it interesting when the project looks EXACTLY like yours or someone else’s with only the colors or sizes having been changed.

    One suggestion to those people who read this and say, “I don’t care!” is that they publish any project they want and perhaps instead of taking all of the credit, say that “this project was adapted from a project by Margot (sorry, I don’t remember your last name:(). She AND her projects can be found at GlassArtByMargot.com”

    Love your Blog, your suggestions, your ideas, your creations, and your ingenuity, Margot! Keep inspiring us all!

    • Margot says:

      Talk about missing things! How did I miss this comment! I usually get an email when someone posts a comment, but it looks like I have missed a few. Indeed, I have taken to putting my name somewhere in the picture. It is a pain to take this extra step, but at least people can’t blatantly take a picture and claim it to be their work. Thank you for encouragement too. I haven’t blogged much lately, but hope to get back to it in the New Year.

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