Should I leave the tags in a reconstructed garment?

Today’s Crafty Business Advice Question comes from Joy.

I had a question about recon clothing.. I have been purchasing gently used thrift store clothing and or clearance items and refashioning them to sell..Do I cut  the tag out or leave it in?? For example, I have items from J Crew, Old Navy etc. I add things and cut some things out. Do I cut the tag out if I am cutting them up or refashioning them? Not sure what the laws are or etiquette.

I would cut the tags off. Once you recon an item, you’ve made your own unique piece, so the focus and credit should go to you. It’s not illegal either way, of course, so you could leave them if you wanted.

One thing you should be wary of is mentioning the brand names in your item title or description. Calling something a “reconstructed J Crew hoodie”, for example, could get your listing removed on a site like Etsy. While it’s perfectly legal for you to sell such an item, some companies are very protective of their trademarks, and they’ll have your item removed on the basis that you don’t have their permission to use the trademarked name “J Crew”.
Happy crafting!

-Lex

 

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Make a pop-up book!

Fun fact: I graduated from the same high school as pop-up book king, Robert Sabuda! You may have seen some of his books before- he’s done tons of pop-up versions of famous fairytales and other children’s books like The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, etc.

His website, robertsabuda.com, also has a whole bunch of awesome tutorials for making your own pop-ups, including a STAR WARS POP-UP BOOK!!!

The pop-ups make awesome cards for pretty much any occasion. I was in need of a Get Well card, so instead of buying a cheesy Hallmark card, I decided to make a pop-up card using the Bat tutorial here: http://www.robertsabuda.com/popmake/animals/bat/popmake_bat-step1.asp

Not only is it handmade (10 times cooler), but it’s THREE DEE (cool to the third power). So thats like Cool x 1000.

I’d suggest reading through the instructions before starting, and gathering all of the tools you’ll need!

Tools you’ll need:

paper – something heavy like cardstock works well for the base of the card. I used scrapbooking paper to “line” the base, though this step is totally optional. I used black construction paper for the bat.

sharp scissors

scoring/folding tool – I used a knitting needle. You could also use a chopstick, bamboo skewer, and old pen, etc.

glue – I used a quick dry craft glue that’s similar to rubber cement. Glue sticks or double sided tape will also work well. White glue will work if you have the time and patience to let it dry.

printer or markers

extra decorating doo-dads – like googly eyes!


Here’s my finished card!

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