One Little Bow

Posts Tagged ‘originality’

“Imitation, if noble and general, insures the best hope of originality”

I can’t tell you how many times a day I get asked the question “How did you get where you are today?” The answer is simple. I was original; I was noble; I was general. Not with the bow or opening a boutique but by not ‘blatantly taking bow designs and ideas’ from people.

When I started the bow of the month program, I had only seen it down one other place. I called the owner of the boutique and talked to her about it. She was fine with the idea of me using ‘Bow of the Month.’ The only thing that was the same was the name. My idea of the program was completely different. Sure we all get ideas from each other, and we are all aware of the fact that there is only so much you can do with printed ribbon!

 
Boutiques feed off each others’ ideas. One always wants to be better than the other, and the owners seem to have a huge problem giving each other credit where credit is due. Yes I admit. I have been there. It’s not something I am proud of but I have. As my business has grown and matured, I’ve realized it is not important to be the best, what is important is that my customers are happy.

I owe probably 85% of my growth to my husband. He built my whole website from the ground up! Why do I mention him you ask? Because he has spent hundreds of hours writing ‘code’ to make my website what it is. All the time he has spent and much of the code designs he has written are published on a website for the whole world of developers to see and use FOR FREE! That is AMAZING to me. By contrast, we boutique owners tend to get upset when people ask where we get our tulle or ribbon from. Or we just completely ignore those messages.

My reason for writing this post is because I recently had a girl order almost 1 of every style of bow from me. She opened a boutique shortly after and has all of them on her site for sale. Was I upset? Sure. Not because she opened the boutique itself, but she literally used my designs verbatim with no deviation from their originals. Soon I got over it realizing that all of the successful boutiques that started on MySpace have succeeded because they were original! So props to each and everyone one of you! I know firsthand how hard and stressful this business is. When I sat down and thought about the time I spend away from my family to do what I absolutely love (making bows), the idea of being mad about somebody using my ideas to create their own seemed silly.

I wish all of you boutique owners out there the greatest success! This is a tough job! Keep your head high and don’t let the little stuff get to you. Even if it seems like a big deal, I promise it will soon pass and seem petty.

And most importantly if you’re starting a new boutique, don’t get mad at the ones who gave you the idea to start your business. Don’t be bitter or jealous. If your designs and ideas are original, you will one day be where your inspiration is. I now buy 90% of my girl’s clips, bows, and clothing from other boutiques. Why? You ask? 1) Because I don’t have time and 2) Supporting the industry I love is the greatest feeling in the world.