Thursday, May 12, 2016

Why I do what I do... And why I'll keep doing it.

Recently, I found myself explaining to a friend why I reproduce sewing patterns for a living, and it got me thinking. Why do I really do what I do? As a pattern seller on Etsy since 2008, I've had lots of opportunity to get to know the pattern selling field in depth, both as a seller of original patterns, and a "reproductionist," as I call myself. Those who sell reproductions often find quite a bit of ire directed our way. Some of it is justified, and some of it isn't. Some of us are very careful, have researched our rights meticulously, and even have copyright lawyers. Some are less honorable, or less informed, and sometimes blatantly illegal.

As a member of two very large vintage pattern seller teams on Etsy, I became well acquainted with the reasons some people really don't like reproductions, and it can sometimes be hard to belong to a field that can sling quite a bit of undeserved frustration your way.

You would be surprised at some of the angry comments directed towards myself and others by those who only sell original sewing patterns (though, I must point out, they are not necessarily a majority in the field, but a very vocal minority.) I heard things like, "You devalue our sewing patterns by making copies," or "You're violating copyright law and stealing" and a few other arguments. And over the last 5 years or so, I've spent a lot of time explaining myself. Recently I was asked to leave the largest pattern selling team on Etsy, Pattern Patter, because a change of leadership and team policy decided that suddenly any PDF (digital reproduction) seller on the team was not allowed to compete with other team members in the marketplace. So for example, if someone from the team were to list an original sewing pattern that I was selling as a reproduction, I would be required to take my reproduction down. This was impossible due to the time and money I spend developing a pattern - money I need to recoup by selling that pattern. I tried to negotiate this point and others but the leadership, though they tried to reach a solution, couldn't and instead asked me to leave if I couldn't comply.
I don't blame them. They're doing what they can to protect their businesses from what they see as a threat to sales. That's ok. Misguided, but ok.

I feel compelled today though to explain once and for all, why I do what I do, and what I've learned doing it for as long as I have, and why some of these detractors are quite mistaken.



The main argument I get from pattern sellers (and very rarely, from collectors) is that by making a reproduction of a rare sewing pattern, I'm making all surviving original copies less valuable. So anyone who might be selling that pattern from their collection for $200 worries that it won't sell if I have a paper copy available for $20. To that, I say, don't worry - your pattern is still worth the same! Allow me to explain. There are mostly 2 kinds of sewing pattern buyers.
The person who buys a PDF nearly always can't afford an original and wouldn't buy one at all. This person wants to sew the pattern for themselves or a friend, and likely has a small budget for buying patterns.  Then there is the collector, like myself. The collector will almost never buy a PDF copy.
In all my time selling patterns, I've gotten to know my customers very well and there is very little cross-over between these two buyers.
Buyers like myself, for example, are die-hard collectors and really don't want a copy. Believe it or not, I've never bought a PDF pattern. I can't take a PDF out and admire it, and enjoy possessing a rarity like any other collector would. But I spend thousands each year (don't tell my husband!) on originals just for my own collection. The same goes for some of my biggest customers - they buy originals and almost never buy a PDF. They're just two different species of buyer. A die-hard collector once told me that she would only ever bother buying a copy if it was of a rare pattern she already had in her collection - just so that she wouldn't have to go to the trouble of tracing the original to sew it for herself. That collector is still going to pay $200 for the original, and the seamstress on a budget; that student sewing her first prom dress or stay-at-home mom making a house dress - they are still not going to buy a $200 pattern. They will simply buy something else.

As for pattern copyright law, it's complicated, cloudy, and frankly dry as hell and I could write for hours everything I've learned doing research, attending law classes, and consulting with lawyers. But I won't. Suffice it to say, if I have bothered to make a reproduction of it, you can be sure I've covered all of my bases, sometimes including buying licenses to do so!

But lets really get down to it. Why do I do what I do? The answer is more simple than you'd think. It is pure, unadulterated love. Many of you know that I grew up in an antique shop.

My sister and I playing dress-up in Mama's antique shop.

One of my earliest memories as a girl is of my mother pulling a beautiful Victorian ladies' magazine carefully out of a box. It was stunning, and I remember the look of awe on her face as she leaned towards me to give me a better look. As she carefully opened the first page, she explained to me how treasures like that should always be treated with care and reverence because you never knew when you were handling the last existing copy of anything. As we opened the second page, the magazine started crumbling in her hands, almost as if to emphasize her point. I remember how sad we both felt, watching a treasure crumble to nothing. The same thing happened to me with a rare old sewing pattern in 2009. I cried ugly tears, collected myself and decided "This is not ok."

My dear, late Mama in her wonderful antique shop.




I started carefully tracing copies of the first few rare and old pieces in my collection for my own use, and little by little, my pattern reproduction business came into being. I do what I do because I love vintage sewing patterns. I want them to survive so that the high school student and stay-at-home mom, (and broke young military wife, like I was when I first started sewing) can enjoy them just as much as the die-hard collector with a larger pattern buying budget.

Honestly, I got a great education in something else, and could be making more money doing just about any other job. But I love this, and my husband loves me enough to have told me the other day, "I'm so glad that you love what you do. One of us should, and I don't care if you don't make much doing it. I can't put a price on how happy you look working in your studio every day."

And he's right, that wonderful man of mine. In my studio, reverently handling a rare sewing pattern, I feel close to my mother - the last of her kind and also gone, and I feel joy, and that is priceless to me. That is why I do what I do. And that is why, no matter how many times I hear negative comments from people, it doesn't phase me.
I have joy in what I do each day. I have found my bliss, I know I've made my mother proud and I wouldn't trade it for all the paychecks and accolades in the world.

Me in my happy place.

I wish you very happy sewing, my dears.





23 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing this, Anna. Not going to lie, I've not been a big fan of reproduction sellers because I worry about how it will impact my business but I have to believe there is room for all of us. Thanks for writing because it helps to hear from your perspective.

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  2. I buy reproduction doll clothes patterns so I don't have to cut my Originals. I love patterns too.

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  3. I buy reproduction doll clothes patterns so I don't have to cut my Originals. I love patterns too.

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  4. This piece is just lovely. I'm so glad you love what you do. I'm currently making a capsule wardrobe for fall--and three of your patterns are on my list of garments to make! I can't wait to start making them. <3

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  5. What a fantastic and enlightening post. I had never even considered how people would react to reproduction sewing patterns like yours and I'm actually quite shocked! I love what you do, it allows me to make the vintage clothes I want but certainly cannot afford. I am definitely in the non-collector camp and won't ever spend more than £30 on a vintage pattern but if it's an original I take great care of it and love that I have a little piece of history in my hands.
    Thank you for doing what you do, you and other reproduction sellers keep me from going insane because I hate modern clothing. I can be happy and be me thanks to you guys!

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  6. You know, I think I straddle both categories!? If I had the cash I would definitely spend $200 on a pattern. I spend as much as I can and make a point of acquiring something new and different each time I buy a pattern.
    But I also love it when there are repros available of those really rare patterns and I will buy those too.
    For me, it's all about the design, construction and finished garment. I really want the dress! I want to preserve the patterns and I will trace everything before I make it, but ultimately it's about the finished garment. And I want that finished garment to be unique. That's why I don't go for indie or modern patterns - it has to be as authentic as possible. Repro sellers like yourself, wearing history and EvaDress are my favourites, because you keep to the authenticity of the original pattern and don't modify it very much.
    It frustrates me that those collectors who can afford those beautiful $300 mcall 30s gown patterns will put them away and never make them available to others to sew from. That makes me sad!
    So please keep sharing!!

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  7. Even those of us who draft our own patterns, to our own measurements, like to look at vintage patterns to see how in the world someone else solved a design problem. I'd never in a million years spend even tens of dollars for a vintage pattern, but I'd buy a reproduction pattern so I could study the shapes and darting and inside construction techniques. Am now old enough that patterns from my childhood are more than vintage -- they are antiques. So, 1960s patterns sometimes find their way into my stash just for the collar or cuffs or pocket details.

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  8. Your description of the two types of pattern buyers is spot on. If I had a ton of money, I'd buy both the original and the reproduction. Because I would want to archive and save the original, but cut and work with the reproduction. In real life, I can only afford the reproductions. On the very rare occasion I will buy an original, but never for more than $30, so they are never rare.

    I feel like you do as much for conserving these treasures as sellers of the original patterns do. Maybe more.

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  9. Thank you for your post. Admittedly, I became somewhat misty eyed just hearing about how much you enjoy what you do. It's a wonderful gift to be doing something you enjoy for a living and your offerings in your shop and blogs are a gift to anyone who stops by. Personally, I think it's awesome that you make paper patterns of rare patterns that I most likely will never see in real life, so, to be able to make a garment from a pdf copy is a great service. Thank you. I also agree with you that owning a paper original vs a paper copy comes a completely different mindset. I don't think that someone who has an original pattern should really worry about a threat to their business if a pdf copy of the same exists; owning a piece of history just doesn't compare to a pdf. Besides, who would feel completely comfortable cutting up the original to make a garment? Anyway, thank you for all you do!

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  10. I'm a pdf buyer. My budget woukd never stretch to originals, much as I woul wish otherwise. So, no seller of originals is losing my business. And their product is not devalued if I buy a reproduction. Artwork (and these original patterns are an artform) is reproduced constantly for the masses, and that never affects the value of the original. If logic was taught in schools, we wouldnt need to have such illogical disputes!

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  11. I'm a sometimes buyer of originals, but nothing at the high end of the price bracket. I'm slowly copying them so that I can use a copy for sewing and preserve the original. I have a streak of the collector/preserver and sometimes I'd much rather indulge my sewing self by buying an affordable PDF if it's in my size.

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  12. Anna, my heart is warm and fuzzy as I read your story. Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart for all you do. Your patterns and this blog have given me oodles of noodles of hours of pleasure and therapy. The process of learning to understand amd sew your vintage repro pdf patterns has done wonders for my anxiety and ADHD. I get lost, consumed in the process and gain so much pleasure in completing each step and learning (after some mayhem ) to figure a certain step or trouble spots. Re training the brain and changing brain chemistry is the answer for me thru sewing. And to be honest I treausre my vintage patterns and what I have made, it is so special to have a piece of history that you have made available and affordable. I am a living historian or re enactor as some call this hobby so my impression wardrobe is complete because of you. Andrea.

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  13. Anna, my heart is warm and fuzzy as I read your story. Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart for all you do. Your patterns and this blog have given me oodles of noodles of hours of pleasure and therapy. The process of learning to understand amd sew your vintage repro pdf patterns has done wonders for my anxiety and ADHD. I get lost, consumed in the process and gain so much pleasure in completing each step and learning (after some mayhem ) to figure a certain step or trouble spots. Re training the brain and changing brain chemistry is the answer for me thru sewing. And to be honest I treausre my vintage patterns and what I have made, it is so special to have a piece of history that you have made available and affordable. I am a living historian or re enactor as some call this hobby so my impression wardrobe is complete because of you. Andrea.

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  14. Dear Anna, This is a very wonderful and heart warming story. I'm saddened to hear that you've received a lot of negative comments. I think you are preserving history! Even if I had $200.00 extra I would never buy an original pattern so the original sellers aren't losing me. I love buying PDF's because they are affordable and fun! I like supporting people like yourself. If I can buy what I consider a rare pattern, on occasion, I will, but it has to be for around $20.00 or less. Thank you so much for doing what you do! I love patterns AND PDF's. Thank you for this posting. Kathy from Arizona

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  15. Anna, I do wish you the best as I have been a huge fan of your drafting patterns. I believe both responses were very professional and I am truly impressed. You will be missed but change is what we make of it and I hope you don't mind if I stop by to snatch up a few more of your drafting system patterns in the future.

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  16. Oh Anna, this is a lovely post, thank you for writing it. And thank you for making vintage sewing available for the masses, including me. Have a nice weekend, dear. :)

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  17. Thank you for doing this. I'm the collector of original. There is room for all of us. Don't stop. You're such a treasure. This post brought tears to my eyes.

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  18. This is a marvellous post. You could not be more right. Keep doing what you do—it's a gift to so many people, one well appreciated, and something necessary, too.

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  19. Thank you for what you do! I do buy like to buy vintage patterns, but only when I feel like it's a great deal. Not everyone can spend hundreds of dollars on an original and I feel like we all have the right to access our fashion history (especially if we want to sew it!) which is why I buy many reproduction patterns. From you, wearing history, eva dress, and the big 3 with their archive reproductions. Are etsy shop owners going to tell Vogue, Simplicity and Butterick that reproducing from their archives are threatening their business? Silly. We need more companies to reproduce rare patterns for everyone's enjoyment. For when all those fragile originals have crumbled, what will we have left?

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  20. I agree that a pdf repro does not devalue the original pattern. If I were working my budget would still keep me from buying the originals. But I do enjoy browsing through original patterns.

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  21. I agree that a pdf repro does not devalue the original pattern. If I were working my budget would still keep me from buying the originals. But I do enjoy browsing through original patterns.

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  22. Loved this!

    Keep doing what you're doing! Because yes...the buyers won't really cross over. I have a limit that I'll pay for patterns (originals, vintage, repos or even new releases) but I do consider myself a collector. (Probably...because my stash is much too big to be "sewable" ;P) But I cannot afford to pay $30 or more for one pattern.
    Which is probably why I love sewing with my Grandma's patterns. They aren't "worth" anything except to me. They are my most treasured because it makes me feel closer to my Grandma.

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