Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching wrote to me recently, about her discovery about the new indie stitching site Urban Threads. Jenny says that Urban threads’ has disingenuously positioned itself as a small “indie” operation, that it is actually an “indie” front for a bigger, machine/digitized embroidery stock art company, Embroidery Library Inc. And says that “Urban Threads” appears to be their attempt to enter the “indie” market with hand embroidery, complete with a supposed “indie crafter” for a figurehead.
Jenny is indignant that Urban threads appears to be copying her business model and even some of her designs. Jenny feels these actions are willfully deceptive and that Niamh O’Connor, appears not to have any history as a crafter, or needleworker. Furthermore there are significant errors on technique for hand embroidery in her instructions , and she appears to rely heavily on [Jenny's] text and instructions, which are unique explanations of embroidery technique based on years of research and personal experience as a passionate embroiderer.
Jenny is making this information public as she believes that credibility and authenticity are the cornerstones of the DIY craft movement, both for independent business owners and the customers who support them.
If you wish to know more about this matter please email Jenny directly jennygirlATsublimestitching.com or contact her through her website sublime stitching.
Read urban threads response to Jenny Hart and Embroidery designs open letter to Jenny here.
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Thank you for this information. It’s important to know.
We have addressed all the concerns raised by Sublime Stitching in a public posting. If you would like to hear our response, you can see it here:
http://www.urbanthreads.com/content/view/326/
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
I adore sublime and even have her book. A copy cat company such as this will not have any success as news like this travels fast but it is disappointing to hear.
Thank you for sharing this with us. It’s so disturbing. I’m new to the embroidery world & might not have known any better.
if urban threads are really ripping off someone else’s designs, that is totally horrible! i just hope facts were verified before publishing this information. just b/c a company has “inc” on the end does not mean it’s a big large company that employs thousands and tries to bring down the small companies. my husband and i are a two-person small business, but we are incorporated. hope the conflict can be resolved!
“Pretending to be indie” I could give a rat’s ass about. But after reading Urban Threads’ response, I think she put herself into deeper dookie.
I hadn’t yet read these original posts about the likeless of the sites, but it’s undeniable. She tried to argue that these are very populur figures, but there are many popular hip things in society, and the aren’t directly posed the same way or obviously conceived by the pieces from Sublime Stitching. I’m a big fan of Jenny Hart and I’m really sorry she’s going through this. She’s the one that got me into embroidery in the first place!
I am having a problem wrapping my head around one of your advertisers, URBAN THRREADS. If they are a big business trying to run the indie business under the bus, and you accept advert money from them to be on your website, aren’t you in the same boat? Just a question.
Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching has retracted these accusations. In her statement, she withdraws her claims of copyright infringement, reveals that she edited and manipulated patterns in side-by-side comparisons, and apologizes. More information, as well as Jenny’s retraction, can be found here: http://www.urbanthreads.com/content/view/603/
All of us at Urban Threads and Embroidery Library would like to thank Jenny for making this public statement. We’re happy to have this matter settled, so that we can look forward and fully focus on making awesome and unexpected designs for hand and machine embroidery.
If you have any comments or questions, please drop a note to support@urbanthreads.com. UT exists because of the hip stitchers of all ages and backgrounds who dig it. We value tremendously what you have to say, and we love to hear from you.
thanks so much for clarifying
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