as an artist, i have come across this problem a few times and i often hear about it from other artists"OMG, that person copied my design!"
and yes, i must admit when i come across that problem, it annoys the crap out of me but i have come to learn to look past it
here are some tips that have helped me(the irony, my *copycats* will probably read this, but thats the fun in life, eh?)
WHAT DO I DO?
here are a few tips, to help you get over that panic attack after seeing your design being copied and things you can do to prevent being copied
1) find a few local suppliers
become friends with them
i say "few" and i will expand on that reason in my next point
i have one supplier that i go to locally who also happens to have a successful etsy shop
i have become friends with them to the point that, everytime they get new shipment of new supplies in, they show me first WEEKS before they even list it on etsy
the advantage?
i get to play around with the supplies and design something FIRST, before they list it on etsy and before anyone else gets a chance to buy them
2) create something using supplies from multiple suppliers
sounds logical...
if you mix up your supplies and design something using supplies from different suppliers, you are giving someone else a much harder time to figure out where they could get the supplies from
3) stay ahead of the game
there is a reason I didn't say "stay on top of the game"
you dont want to be on top
you want to be AHEAD
in order to do this, get familiar with trends
learn to predict trends...before they even BECOME a trend
you dont want to be a follower...you want to be a trend setter!
4) offer your clients magic
you often hear someone say "EVERYONE else sells that, there is no point in me selling that"
thats not true
i mean, look at what i sell
how many other artists sell jewelry?
how many walmarts/ardenes etc do i have to compete with?
the trick is to offer your customers MAGIC
offer them something that NO other jewelry store can offer them
work on MAGICAL packaging, customer service, MAGICAL items
sound MAGICAL in your e-mails....how do you do this?
be PASSIONATE about what you do...show that in your e-mails/interactions with your customers
customers CAN feel the MAGIC through e-mails
5) lastly...dont stress
seriously, its not worth ityou can stay up all night worrying and panicking about what someone else is doing or you can dream up of new designs
HAPPY CRAFTING!