[TheForge] FYI -Armamentarium

[irontree]

This is just for everyone's information

I got a letter a bit ago from some kind of ren-faire/medieval start up store
called Armamentarium.  They sent me a letter with about a dozen pictures of
items they wanted quotes on for me to make for their store.  I looked at the
pictures and planned on making a quote on some eating utensils and some
jewelry, when I came across a website called www.poundiron.com.  Apparently
they had lifted some photos directly from this other smith's site. I assume
that they were trying to find a cheaper source since after contacting the
smithy in question, they hadn't even gotten permission to use their photos
let alone contacting them for a quote.  Michel Olson (the smith in question)
and his wife, Christy Horne were rather upset to hear that some store was
shopping around with their designs.
      The practical upshot of this is that though I would love be a supplier
to some store that would sell my stuff, I feel the method that they went
about finding someone was pretty slimy.  If they had said, "Please send us a
quote for your designs" I would have jumped at the chance.  However, for all
intents and purposes, what they said was "Please send us a quote for copying
someone else's designs" .  Needless to say I don't think that I, in good
conscious, can do business with them.
     I once had a store (Track of the Wolf) buy over a dozen items from me
with the promise that I would be in their catalog. After repeated stalling
over many months, I discovered that they may have taken my work and sent it
on to Pakistan, to be made in bulk (this rumour was supplied by one of their
employees).  Apparently I am not the first smith that they had done this to.
They did the same thing with steel sparkers from the Fort Snelling Smith.
Now, admittedly, in my case,  the designs were historical and copies of
museum items, however that is not how they explained it to me.  They told
me, "We are looking for a smith to make these items in bulk to sell in our
catalog", not, "We are looking for a smith to make prototypes to send on to
a cheap manufacturer in Pakistan."  I may have balked at the idea but I
wouldn't have felt cheated.
    I wouldn't want someone passing my designs around for quotes.  Couldn't
they just go to this smith and say,"We want to sell your stuff, give us a
quote on a bulk wholesale order", but they didn't.

  Anyone else heard from Armamentarium?

Daniel Kretchmar
www.irontreeworks.com

p.s.  Check out The Village Blacksmith website.  Pretty cool work!
www.poundiron.com