Comments on: Penultimate spin

By: Linda

Linda — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:23:40 +0000

Thank you for this very interesting analysis. I have spent many frustrating hours trying to find substitute yarns for A. Starmore’s designs and trying to hunt down some of her books or patterns at a reasonable price, all without much luck.

Starmore seems to manifest a combination of classic monopoly behaviour combined with, and supported on, a righteous diatribe against all the greedy and dishonest individuals who want to exploit her creativity and steal from her. Yet people (who must have masses of money) will pay $400 for one of her books, used! She reminds me of the crazy General Jack A. Ripper in _Dr. Strangelove_ who’s ready to nuke the world in order to keep the enemy empire from corrupting his precious bodily fluids!

Anyway, your analysis here has provided an rational and logical explanation for what is otherwise a pretty crazy affair.

Thanks,

By: WonderMike

WonderMike — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:23:46 +0000

Wow!!!! What an amazing read I've had. Thank you so much for your wonderful insight and detective work. As someone who has admired Lady Starmore for a while and even paid for an auctioned copy of "Fair Isle Knitting", I'm happy to say that she's definitely worth the effort but I'm a little hesitant to say that it's worth the crazy money. Even she would agree. In fact, Mairi MacLeod (who works at VY) answered one of my emails (in part, I believe, because I purchased two kits in the last few months), which I have posted on Ravelry, here

By: Deana

Deana — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 07:48:55 +0000

I agree, she is a great talent but she seems a bit odd. I have emailed her asking why she doesnt republish her books, she just ignores the emails. I have emailed a number of times. I have hear of others who have the same thing. I read somewhere she has the rights to all her books. I think she doesnt republish because she gets far more attention if she doesnt. The price of her books soar and she can charge quite high prices on her website. i have asked if i can buy a pattern seperately but she just ignores emails she doesnt want to answer. Think about this if she republished all her books then no one would fight over the books, and she wouldnt get so much attention about it. I think its all about fame and money….

By: Marlene

Marlene — Fri, 26 May 2006 21:35:18 +0000

You know, it is got to be hard to see your intelectual rights been violated… and all, so I understand to an extend Alice actions, but at the same time, there are so many other sucessful designers in the world such as Elsebeth Lavold, Jean Frost, Meg Swansen, and so on, that have found a way to be sucessful and to make their designs available, and make money without having to fall into this sort of controversy with everybody they do business with, that makes you wonder what is wrong with A.S. So, although I don’t know the details of why all this is happening, I do know that it is possible to do business in the knitting industry and be in peace with the market players at the same time.
As far as copy rights, if your designs and yarns are available and the price is reasonable, the chances of people infringing copyrights will be less and vice versa. I think that Alice herself is to blame to some extent for her losses in copy right infringment since she has not been sucessful in making her designs and even her yarns available and somewhat affordable.

By: Honor

Honor — Thu, 25 May 2006 14:37:58 +0000

Thank you so much for explaining the Starmore debacle! I’ve only just found this after searching for some time. I actually sent a long email to Big Alice when I found the harangue about Harris Yarns on her website: I was horrified to find such a malicious and spiteful diatribe against Di Gilpin. I live near St Andrews where Di has her shop and although I’ve only spoken to her a few times, I’ve found her to be a very pleasant, honest and sincere person. My email to you-know-who was long and detailed but (I hope) politely refuting her arguments. Naturally, I did not receive a reply. At the time, I had no idea of the other paranoid wrangles she has engaged in, so I was quite shocked and upset to find a designer whom I admired ranting on like this. With what I know now, I would hardly raise an eyebrow, just dismiss it as the usual Alice eyewash.

By: Violetsrose

Violetsrose — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 10:43:02 +0000

FABULOUS article!!! – thank you

One thing I do disagree with though is the whole big quick knits bring in more money – if someone knits a one skein big knit item per month they’ve spent about £6 per month – £72 per year – if someone knits one cracksilk haze jumper per year they’ve likely spent £120 on yarn for that one project (to get a decent thickness it is knitted double for garments so I’m guesstimating 20 balls) – and if you’re that into knitting that jumper wont be your only project for that year.

I think its because the thick bulky yarns with cheaper content are cheaper to make than the fine delicate yarns with luxury content – but they still charge stupid amounts per ball for the the bulky ones – thus upping their profit margin per ball.
(I can understand why cracksilk haze is over £6 per ball – its kid mohair and silk and spun so fine it must be a nightmare for snapping if you haven’t got the spinning tension right – but I cannot understand why the big knits stuff is that price – its just wool and hardly spun at all!!)

By: j.

j. — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:21:09 +0000

Well, she hasn’t complained about sales of her original books to my knowledge — historically, she has had auctions shut down in which people were selling competing brands of yarn for her designs, even when a pattern is not included in the sale (i.e., just providing a yarn pack and suggesting the pattern), or in which it was not clear that the pattern for sale was a legitimate copy.

But why not reprint a popular book? Two possible answers:

1) She doesn’t want to.
2) She can’t.

This assumes that AS is the appropriate “they” in your question. From a business POV, if she had the rights to reprint her books or patterns, it seems she’d be crazy not to; but if she doesn’t want to do business with any of the likely distributors, then she’s stuck fulfilling orders herself from Scotland, and books are heavy. Maybe she has concluded that it’s not worth the investment.

Or maybe she’s tired of providing such active support for them. Or maybe she just wants to put her memory of bad business associations behind her. Or maybe she wants to steer customers towards new designs where substitute yarns are not as easily sourced (except for Rowan’s Scottish Tweed line!), which means that all of those patterns must be reworked for her new yarn and she hasn’t got around to it yet/lost interest?

Or what if she can’t? What if she didn’t have the right to republish those patterns or books? I think AS might have said that she does own the copyright, at least with respect to certain works, but it’s possible to license partial rights, and not others. What if actually taking the step of reprinting might trigger a legal fight she’s been avoiding? Who knows.

You could try asking her, but I’ve never heard of anyone reporting a definitive answer.

By: Marlene Donahue

Marlene Donahue — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:12:24 +0000

Can somebody explain to me why her books are so ridiculously expensive ?

If the Aran Knitting book and the Fair Isle book are so popular why they just don’t reprint them ?

I heard that she complaints all the time about Ebay selling her stuff, but what option do her fans have if the books are out of print ?

Right now there is a copy of “Charts for Colour Knitting” selling on Ebay for $ 300 and the auction is not closed yet!

Regardless of her excentricity regarding copy rights, you guys have to admit that she is incredible !!! Otherwise why would people pay so much money for one of these books. I am among those whishing I got the Lotto so I can purchase them…

I don’t mind that she might seem… let’s just say not very humble at times… But hey, she is you know who… I mean, as a knitter I pay my respects to her. In my opinion, she deserves to brag, and she deserves to be picky on her copy rights.

ANYWAYS, I just want to know why the books are not been republished instead of letting the used-book market party with the profits on them.

Anyone?

By: Lola

Lola — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:45:03 +0000

Well, my guess is that her creative energy has been 100% directed into nursing grudges, which could explain the lack of new designs. As for Jade Starmore . . . maybe she’s lurking, biding her time? Or moved on to anything that does not have to do with knitting? I know that if I had a mother like She Who Shall Not Be Named, I’d want to put some distance careerwise.

By: Stephanie Earp

Stephanie Earp — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 20:33:16 +0000

In a way, if Berroco et al have dreamed up new yarns, created a market for them, created patterns for them then are they not innovative? I’m not saying I like the stuff, but those hedgehogs look pretty innovative to me.
On the subject of simple patterns, I’m torn. Now that I’ve been knitting for awhile, I’m flabbergasted when I see people knitting garter-stitch scarves from a pattern. But I also remember needing those patterns when I started, and that working on them gave me the confidence to move on to more complex patterns, like charted colourwork. You know, the kind that makes Starmore all her money.