I feel like I should start out by justifying the fact that I was even *in* wal-mart. They are not all horrible but the one by me is really really scary. Once a stockboy waited for the owner of a nice car in a nearby parking lot and murdered her for the car. So I'm not a snob so much as a self-preservationist
I needed Halloween candy and printer paper and cheap crochet hooks (I want to learn crochet). That motley little wish list began my quarterly wal-mart trip. While getting those crochet hooks do you know what I saw?
I found a cheap knockoff of an American Jane fabric for $1.50/yard. It felt like a terrible poly blend. It felt nothing like the original:
I also found a ruler print very similar to another American Jane fabric:
This was not as blatant.
I know that Sandy Klop sometimes reproduces vintage fabric just like Amy Butler & Denyse Schmidt. I think it adds a nice depth to their lines versus completely computer generated fabric lines. Let's face it though...even if the fabric is a reproduction of an antique the copycat mills are reproducing it because Moda popularized that fabric just a few years ago...not because they had it in their grandma's house and wanted to remake it.
I also saw some stuff that I'm pretty sure that was Amy Butler Love knockoffs but I'm not an expert on her fabrics like I am with American Jane stuff.
I know this happened with Tula Pink last year or so and I hope this fabric is pulled from the shelves as well. I notified the manager. They looked at me like I had three heads until I said "it's like you are selling coach knockoffs over in the purses section." That's the point where they took it seriously. My friend Andie told me she has seen the same crappy knockoff at Hancock's (not the Paducah one).
This makes me mad. I've used these fabrics in gifts to my family and if knockoffs like this persist it devalues my gifted quilts. If I give you a quilt with fabric in it that you think cost me $1.50 a yard from Wal-Mart, doesn't that alter their perception of how much I put into that quilt... not just monetarily, but also quality wise. We as quilters have to take a stand against these knock offs. It's not just about Moda or even Sandy Klop. This cheapens OUR work. Keep your eyes open for this kind of copying. It affects all of us.
I think this the orange version but you get the idea.
I know that Sandy Klop sometimes reproduces vintage fabric just like Amy Butler & Denyse Schmidt. I think it adds a nice depth to their lines versus completely computer generated fabric lines. Let's face it though...even if the fabric is a reproduction of an antique the copycat mills are reproducing it because Moda popularized that fabric just a few years ago...not because they had it in their grandma's house and wanted to remake it.
I also saw some stuff that I'm pretty sure that was Amy Butler Love knockoffs but I'm not an expert on her fabrics like I am with American Jane stuff.
I know this happened with Tula Pink last year or so and I hope this fabric is pulled from the shelves as well. I notified the manager. They looked at me like I had three heads until I said "it's like you are selling coach knockoffs over in the purses section." That's the point where they took it seriously. My friend Andie told me she has seen the same crappy knockoff at Hancock's (not the Paducah one).
This makes me mad. I've used these fabrics in gifts to my family and if knockoffs like this persist it devalues my gifted quilts. If I give you a quilt with fabric in it that you think cost me $1.50 a yard from Wal-Mart, doesn't that alter their perception of how much I put into that quilt... not just monetarily, but also quality wise. We as quilters have to take a stand against these knock offs. It's not just about Moda or even Sandy Klop. This cheapens OUR work. Keep your eyes open for this kind of copying. It affects all of us.
I have to say I would never buy their fabric just because it feel cheap! I have never seen anything close to usesble there!
ReplyDeleteLol...not at you dear...the people I give quilts to wouldn't know what fabric was in them. All they see is the snuggle they get.....hmmm, mayhaps I give quilts to too many men?!
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that plagiarism isn't taken seriously any more. It should be.
I have seen this before at Wal Mart too! Their fabric is yucky and its hard to believe people would actually buy that crap! You can definitely feel the difference between the two fabrics. No comparrison. I don't know how they get away with this.
ReplyDeleteLast year Joann's had a really close knock off of some moda Christmas fabric from a few years ago. It was one of Kate Spain's lines.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't make me mad because reproductions are already knockoffs. I wish repros were labeled - I'm willing to pay more for original design, not for the name Denyse Schmidt on an old design.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have heard is that the fabric printers use a cheap cloth (like the ones at Walmart/Hancocks/JoAnns) and run the Moda/Whatever Brand print on the cheap material until they get the color and all that jazz right. Then Moda approves, then they put the nice cotton on and run it - that would be the nice stuff we get at our local quilt stores. Then they sell the cheap fabric to those other stores. May or may not be true...just what I have heard.
ReplyDeleteWell, I would hope that a quilt I give would be valued beyond the cost of the fabric, but I wouldn't use anything that felt cheap either.
ReplyDelete