Cross-Stitch

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Stitchers Share Snarky Reactions to Design Contest

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artist compensation design contest

I don’t know what thread maker DMC was thinking when it proposed a design contest in which the winner’s design would be made into a pattern without compensating the designer, but the design community definitely didn’t like the idea.

Because entry into the contest was to be done through a hashtag, stitchers took to social media to protest the contest, with stitched obscenities and designs related to not being able to pay bills with exposure.

The good news is that DMC relented, and as of May 1 have been promoting the contest as having a $500 cash prize.

It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on the #dmcxstitchcontest hashtag on Instagram (warning: lots of salty language) to see how this all turns out.

Do you think designers should be compensated for work used by a big company? (Or even a small one?) I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: stephxstitch via Instagram]

Looking for more Snarky or Subversive Cross stitch charts and designs? Check these out on Etsy. 

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Comments

  1. Absolutely, a designer should be compensated for their work. It takes a lot of time and effort to create something. At least a small gift would be appropriate.

  2. Good Grief, YES we should be compensated! The time we crafters spend honing our craft and designing for the enjoyment of others is every bit as valuable and anyone else’s!

  3. I absolutely agree that artists need to be paid for their creativity – regardless of the size of the company/organisation. There would need to be a very good reason for why the artist ins’t paid – e.g. terms in the contract/agreement that state that the artist will be compensated in other ways. It’s disappointing that it took such a public reaction for DMC to update the competition to have a $500 prize for the winning design, as they will still make a significant amount of money from the sales of their floss via their website and global stockists.

    I hope that DMC are able to learn from this experience and that in the future, there are similar competitions and ways in which artists are able to get the exposure they want, need and deserve.

  5. Well, of course they should! Even if the company had a good reason for not awarding a cash prize, they could at least have offered supplies in return for the design.

Have you read?

Reasons to Love Small Cross Stitch Designs

This post is inspired by a post I saw over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch about why small cross stitch patterns are great, but I can tell you my own stories of cross stitching woes, too.

I have always been a fan of small projects because I just don’t have that much stamina when it comes to cross stitch (or much else). I feel like an hour of knitting or crocheting gets you a lot more to show for your time than an hour of cross stitch, especially when you’re working on a complicated project.

Which is why a project I started for my daughter probably more than a year ago is still unrecognizable as its subject because I’ve barely done any work on it. (I’d like it to be done either for her birthday in September or for Christmas, so I’d better get over my big-project issues and get to stitching.)

The post covers a lot of reasons to love small projects, including that they are light on your budget (both monetary and time wise). It also looks at the basic supplies you need for projects big or small and gives you lots of ideas for how to use small cross stitch projects as decor or to make into gifts.

There are also tips for success when working on small projects. You might think it’s fine to rush but attention to detail is super important when you’re working on a small scale because a misplaced stitch or two can really make a difference when there are relatively few stitches in your project to start with.

Check out the post over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch, and let me know what you love about small cross stitch patterns. Or if you’re a fan of the epic projects, let me know that, too. Maybe you’ll convince me to give it more of a try!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]