confession: 5 things not to do.

There term us and we is used loosely.

5. You learn a new craft, and instantly think you're the best at it. So much so that you open up shop on Etsy and think you're going to be a millionaire, not realizing that there are already a thousand shops making the same thing, and have been for a decade. Nothing will get you a bigger eye roll. It's kind of a slap in the face to those of us who have busted our asses to network and build up a customer base for you to think it's as easy as 1-2-3.

4. Calling a someone a copycat for copying a handmade shop, directly or indirectly. (Side note- keep your passive-aggressive comments to yourself, because we see through them and know you're not as innocent as you try.) Everyone's copying someone. I hear someone say something and think, YES that would make an amazing card! You see a dress at Anthro and make a Anthro-inpired dress (you do know that a real designer made that design, and that you're knock off is a direct copy?!). So many handmade shops rip off big designer names, and think it's totally fine, yet when a handmade shop expands on the idea off another handmade shop, everyone gets their panties in a bunch. You do know that these big designers are people, real people making a living off their designs?! SMH.

3. Claiming to be an original. Take moccasins for example… a well known mocc maker claims to be the original baby moccasin.. They're stating they came up with baby moccasins, an original is the first one ever made! HOLY SHIT?! It's a conspiracy!!! The government must have photoshopped those photo's of the American Indian's in my US history books. ((eye roll)) YES even indian babies wore mocks. And for the record, Minnetonka has been making moccs since 1946! Or take the baby clothing shop, that is constantly complaining about being copied, and being the first person to make a knotted headband and baby leggings. WHAT?! They have not even been opened 2 years… yet I have pictures of Adelyn as an infant, who is FIVE, wearing identical (IDENTICAL!) knotted headbands and modern simple patterned baby leggings… I guess those designers that designed their own fabric for their baby legging line I bought for Adelyn were copying her idea 3 years prior to her thinking it. OR take the camera strap girl, who was viscously attacked and threatened via email for months by a cheerful God loving ruffled shop, … even though camera strap girl had been making straps before the ruffled shop learned to sew. (YEA, the handmade business is a bitch… or at least full of them)

2. SELFIES. Selfies are ok, you're having a good hair day… you feel pretty, document that shit!! But when I scroll through your IG feed and you have 495 photos and 425 are pictures of you, even if you're a fashion blogger, means… well… you know.

1. Welcome to I Just Bought a DSLR Photography. Lets get something straight, just because you have a fancy camera, does not mean you know how to use it. And you are definitely not a photographer if you can not shoot in manual mode. If you use the flash that came on your camera, you should not be charging people for taking their family photo's. I see it way too often, and you are hurting the reputation of ACTUAL photographers! Most of the time, I can take a better photo with my iPhone than these people take with their $1500 lens. Note, that if you open a photography business… you are calling yourself a professional. An amateur is not a professional, and someone who doesn't know about composition, f stops, aperture, shutter speed, iso, white balance or can correctly tell you what the term exposure means, is not an amateur, and definitely not a professional. Also take note that Photoshop is not meant to doctor your photo's, to make them look professional, Photoshop is meant to enhance your photo's. There is a difference.