all patched up

I thought I’d make another puppy doll, this time with a patch over the eye. Unfortunately, a millimetre too thin, and the legs turned into a bit of an ordeal to turn right side out. A case of “death by chopstick” … Continue reading

wine o’clock & cold tea

When I started making this, it was going to be another Dobbit. And so it is, although this dobbit-y thing is more doggity than rabbity – on purpose, I hasten to add. I got as far as completing the body and face, apart … Continue reading

fairy tale

Once upon a summertime, a plan was hatched. But as some plans do, this plan kind of stalled a bit. The plan was to make a fairy doll. Things started well. But there were things about the fairy doll that needed to be worked out. … Continue reading

not remotely flattered

modflowers: not my dollsI am definitely not the first.

And I am absolutely certain that I will not be the last.

Of course, I could be just imagining it. Flattering myself. But somehow, I don’t think so. The coincidence is too great.

What am I waffling on about? Copying, that’s what.

The pictures in this post are not of my dolls.

I found these photographs on Instagram the other day, whilst checking out the profiles of people who had recently liked my own photos.

I was looking for new and interesting folk to follow, but I got more than I bargained for, interest-wise.

These photos were posted just a few days ago. The dolls in them look, to my eye, interestingly similar to my own recent creations…

modflowers: not my dollsBut is it also just an interesting coincidence that seven weeks ago this person happened to like one of my photographs of almost-identical dolls? Or that there are no earlier examples of similar ideas or designs amongst their own photographs?

I have a feeling… not.

The maker of these dolls seems to follow an awful lot of doll-makers on Instagram.

And whilst that is no crime, and nothing is truly original, and everyone is influenced by the work of others, there are… limits.

So what can be done about this sort of thing? Well, not a lot. To share your work is to invite imitation, apparently. They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, don’t they?

I didn’t know you could block people on Instagram. But I do now.

And just for the record, I am not remotely flattered. ♥

dots

the joy of mistakes

It’s funny isn’t it, the way that sometimes the things that happen just by chance (otherwise know as mistakes) turn out to be better than the things that go just as planned. Yesterday’s Dobbit was a perfect example of this. If … Continue reading

dobbit

Yesterday was the last full day of school before the holidays. I’ve been feeling a bit under par this week, just exhausted and probably fighting off a cold or some other minor ailment, so I haven’t actually done much making for a … Continue reading