65 freshwater pearl designs

[jshepherd]

Does american legislation allow to put pictures of Mrs Obama n McCaine ?

Only if they are purchased or owned. I think it may only apply to an e-commerce site or a paper. When we post celebrity pictures on our site they are purchased from Wire Image. Even though we are in the pictures and they are pictures of celebrities with our products, we still have to pay.

I think it is okay to use images from Wikipedia. Those are "commons".

 

[pearlescence]

most interesting and informative, thanks Jeremy. I do tend to go into theoretical and lawyer mode when this is the practical way to stop an electonic passing off.
What do you make of this site : http://www.pearlessence.co.uk/
they have been going on the net for about a year according to whois. what do you all think - is this an attempt to pass themselves off as with a C (and therefore can spell) Pearlescence?
Some photos can be used anywhere, depends on what the owner of the copyright wants/thinks/has done. some are the equivalent of open source and can be used. Some should not.

 

[jshepherd]

That is definitely something I would jump on. If another site popped up called pearlpardise.com or pearlparidise.com I would definitely file a DMCA. DMCAs are the easiest way to test the validity of a claim. They are very effective.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/DD1CA29C-2C6E-424B-98702C46192940E4/111/228/195/ART/

I once received a notice of Cease and Desist from a company in French Polynesia. Their company name was Paradise Pearls of Tahiti. They had a Web site, one I had never seen before. When I saw the Web site I noticed that they had a lot of design elements similar to ours. They had a trademark and we didn't. They gave me 10 days to remove my site from the Internet. I hired a lawyer.

It turned out that I had been in business longer than the other company. Although they had filed an international trademark, I had a case to get their trademark reversed. I certainly did not want to get into a trademark fight and they lost a lot of their fighting spirit when they realized the case we had. So we decided to mutually exist. But I spent a fortune on lawyer fees.

It is just not worth opening yourself up to something like this. The company in Tahiti was small. What if it had been Blue Nile we were up against?

 

[la_corsetiere]

Beautiful designs, Suzanne...I just ordered two pieces for myself! Just the beginning of a rather decadent birthday month, I fear... I would suggest you not bother with rhodium plating, but instead perhaps put a little piece of anti-tarnish paper in a small ziploc bag along with the piece, suggesting that it be stored that way to avoid tarnish. Somewhat inelegant, perhaps, but effective. I personally tend to like slightly tarnished silver pieces; I think a bit of patina on your designs would enhance the organic forms, but that's just me. By not plating the designs, you not only save that expense, but leave open that option to other gothlings like me. I would love to see some of your pieces significantly blackened, with the highlights polished, which I think would really set off the white pearls. I, too, like the idea of mixed-metal, with high-karat gold accents. And I love the idea of "edgy" stringray necklaces - I love that texture, and think it would be a nice counterpoint to the elegant smooth refinement of pearls. Can't wait to see more of your designs!

Sheri

 

[pearlescence]

Suzanne you need a way to get the money!

 

[aggiep]

Does american legislation allow to put pictures of Mrs Obama n McCaine ?

Another area I know quite a bit about. As a publisher of a photography magazine, this gets hashed over regularly. When in public there is no expectation of privacy. Thus celebrities are open game for the paparazzi. The only time this can be litigated is when the photo has a minor in it. There is a fine line about minors. The pictures taken of Obama and McCain were both in public. What you would be paying for is the services of the photographer that took the shot. They have a expectation of payment for their services. Now if you yourself took the photo you own the rights to it. It doesn't matter who you took it of. Again there is an exception to this if it is used as an advertisement without permission. IE as a blatant prop for your goods with the persons image in it. Now the pictures in question were not used as advertisement per say, but to show that both women wear pearls. Fine line again, but one where they are not advertising a particular product other than they wear pearls. Those photos would only need to be verified who took the photo and make sure that they are not owned by a third party. I hope I made that muddled explanation clear enough.

 

[pearlescence]

Copyright is simply the right to permit or deny the right to reproduce work. Everything (including this posting) is copyright someone.
So the photos will be copyright someone. Unless they are open source or you have permission to reproduce, no you don't have the right to reproduce them elsewhere.

 

[Caitlin]

I have been under the impression that press releases with photos are OK to use.

 

[pearlescence]

Not necessarily. There will be an expressed (or at least an implied) permission to use them to support the sought publicity.
BUT if you want to use them for another purpose then sit back and wait for the letter and the lawyers.
Because the owner of the copyright is giving permission for the use of the photo to further his aim, whatever it is.
So that, when I send out a press release with a photo of my pearls, I state that the photo is copyright okay for use for publicity for my pearls, but if Jeremy liked it very much and decided to use it on his website I would be having a bit of a conversation with him

 

[Caitlin]

I put up pictures with links to the auction house for the Marie Antoinette necklace and the Arco Valley pearl, from the press releases- before the auctions. They are still up and still in the context of being for sale.

 

[Monty Hall]

Silver cloth easily cleans the pieces between wearings. If you are worried just get a tarnish strip and put it in with your silver pieces while stored and it will be fine. Rhodium lasts a very long time, but will add to the price.

Aggie P. has a couple of brilliant ideas here for "lagniappes" (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lagniappes), enclosed with each piece, along with a nice instruction leaflet describing cleaning frequency and how to know when to replace the silver cloth/tarnish strip.

You may want to take a failed "trash piece" and provide it and your instruction leaflet to a non-jeweler friend to test out your instructions.

This may sound like overkill, but being Samsonite-gorilla-esque when handed new things, no matter how "obvious", I like to have instructions about what and what not to do....

CarolK (hurling luggage about)

 

[Monty Hall]

I could see your pieces in high end museum gift shops!

They are *easily* more lovely than a lot of the junk at the Met and at MoMA. That's a GREAT idea!!! There are oodles of smaller natural history museums and ***aquariums*** that would love to have more unique items such as this.

I'm excited for you!!! Congratulations on surviving teaching!!!

Here's to Round Two (or Three, Four???) of Your Life!!!
CarolK

 

[suzannelowrie]

65 pearl designs-update

65 pearl designs-update

Dear Friends of the freshwater pearl:
I am overwhelmed by all your kind comments. I wondered if anyone would like the designs. I wasn't sure. I especially thank Jeremy for his comments- he was my inspiration- now he is a kind friend, helping me out. I emailed my webmaster in Thailand, asking him to set up a link for all of you: suzanne@lajollapearlcompany.com. In a day or two, you can create your own "interest list". You can't buy anything because the website is not open, however you can "reserve" some pieces. I have wire transferred $7,000 to my assistant in Thailand and she will order "your" pieces made. There is no obligation to buy. I just want to have these pieces you like in stock so that, if you feel like buying, when the website opens, you can all get what you want. Why do I only have one of each now? I was scared. That's why I made only one of each type. But, now I feel more confident. I don't have a brick-and-mortar store for you to examine the work in person. If you order something, and you don't like it, of course you can return it. I will be at GIA-Carlsbad September 12. I could take 3 or 4 pieces there so you could examine the quality of the work.

 

[suzannelowrie]

Last night as I was falling asleep your comment about doing the line in gold struck me again. You can do a partial gold/silver setting. If not a marriage of different metals in full, you can do Kum Boo where you literally adhere gold foil to the surface with high heat. I personally like gold and silver together. I also like Mokame Gane as the base metal used. Mokame would would look spectacular in some of your pieces. OK this is just me. I can't look at anything without my mind thinking of how I would change it. That is what I love about pearls. They give me such possibilities with their varied shapes.

Reply: I love Mokame Gane! I didn't know anyone else did. I know where to get the laminated material- I have to think about it for a while- I think it would look great with the stingray necklaces, but I have to think about how to use it with pearls.

 

[suzannelowrie]

The designs are cool. Definitely a brandable line.

One thing on the Web site though. It is not live yet so I would strongly suggest changing the template. You might have Blue Nile coming down on you hard if you go live with what you have currently.

Dear Jeremy:
Thanks for the advice. You have rescued me! I will forward your comments to my webmaster in Thailand.

 

[suzannelowrie]

I don't think so. I would be very surprised with a company their size. But I'm not referring to the e-commerce solution. I'm referring to the design. In the Web-world, such a close copy can get a new company into hot water, especially considering the product mix is similar.

http://www.lajollapearlcompany.com/catalog/
and
http://www.bluenile.com/

There is a real chance of having Blue Nile go after the site for infringement. I think it would be a lot safer without the "floating" script in the header. Then it would not seem like such a copy.

Dear Jeremy: I wondered about that. I have already talked to my British webmaster in Thailand and asked him twice to remove the script. Do I also have to add an orange stripe or something to change the color scheme?

 

[Monty Hall]

How about subtle, grayed-back, stingray leather margins and solid dark gray behind the type?

CarolK

 

[callire]

Question-- If we reserve the pieces, can we use the 15% off (assuming we signed up for the club)? I'm just wondering because it affects how many pieces I can buy within the budget Thanks so much for offering this for us! I'm def. going to start making my list.

 

[aggiep]

Aw shucks, I thought I had completed my purchase. At least I hope you got my reservation on the one I liked.

I have some Mokame kicking around out in my bench that I made years ago. I'll see if I can come up with a good setting for you from what I have.

 

[suzannelowrie]

I am so so grateful for your comments

I am so so grateful for your comments

The designs are cool. Definitely a brandable line.

One thing on the Web site though. It is not live yet so I would strongly suggest changing the template. You might have Blue Nile coming down on you hard if you go live with what you have currently.

Dear Friends of the Freshwater Pearl:
I am so grateful to Jeremy and all of you. I emailed Jeremy's comments to my webmaster. Jeremy was right. The white script behind the blue heading had positive remarks about pearls, but it was too close to Blue Nile's format. So the webmaster removed the script and we are working on a color change. Pink? Lavendar? Yellow? We'll try pink first. Last night after I read and reread all of your comments, I sat down and cried. You all are so nice to me. I was profoundly touched by your kindness. You have saved me from errors, and pushed me forward. 2) I have started drawing the first pendant that could be suspended from a string of pearls per your requests 2) I have made an appointment with the Silver Box in La Jolla to talk to the owners about the tarnishing problem. They are experts in polishing silver (that's what they have in their store) 3) I am measuring the length of each necklace 4) I have sent more money to the bench jewelers and they will make more of whatever items all of you want. I only made one of each design because I was afraid no one would like them. So, go to suzanne@lajollapearlcompany.com and express your interest (no obligation) and I'll order additional pieces. Thanks again.