The Collective March 15, 2015 Art, Geek Chic

Geek Chic: Tadeudz Creations

One of the reasons I love blogging is that I get to share all the amazing things I find on the internet, at conventions, or just when I move about life in general. A while back, I became acquainted with the Etsy shop of a Twitter friend, Ally (Tadeudz), and her jewelry is so lovely that I immediately contacted her with a request for a commissioned piece. She made me a lovely Black Widow inspired necklace that I’ve worn practically nonstop since receiving it.

Let me tell you a bit about Ally and her shop, Tadeudz Creations. Ally began making jewelry in early 2014 after a discouraging search online for a Supernatural charm bracelet. “Of the ones I found, none fitted the aesthetic I had in mind; most were very plain or masculine looking. I wanted something that would show off my nerd passion but would also be feminine and pretty to look at,” says Ally.

Price was also a big motivator for Ally to create jewelry for herself, and later for the rest of us passionate fangirls. Fandom jewelry can be expensive (ever feel the need to sell a kidney to afford that Galadriel pendant? I have), but you won’t need to barter your firstborn for one of an item from Tadeudz Creations. All of her jewelry is priced so affordably, you may need to cry from the happiness that comes with knowing you can commission that Black Widow necklace for less than 10 GBP, or approximately $16 USD (I did cry big fat tears of joy). From personal experience, I can tell you that Ally is a joy to work with. I told her what I wanted, showed her my favourite images from the Black Widow comics, and she produced perfection.

In addition to making affordable jewelry that a fangirl can squee over (see Castiel charm bracelet pictured left), Ally really enjoys the creativity that comes with the work, saying that the money she makes from the endeavour is “a bonus really.” She loves to share her design with other fans, and to bond with them over the common passion of fandom. Her designs include such fandoms as The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Final Fantasy, etc. (She also has non-fandom related designs, if that’s more to your taste.)

Looking at Ally’s creations (see gallery below), it looks like she no longer has a problem finding nerdy jewelry! Yet we all know the struggle of finding fandom merchandise that’s both chic and geeky. Isn’t this a problem every fangirl has encountered in her life? We’re in an age where women are engaging with fandom in a way that was previously held by men; we’re the consumer, the promoter, and now because of people like Ally, we’re also the creator.

You can find Tadeudz Creations on Etsy, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-The Collectress

Ally has generously donated some of her creations as incentives in our fundraiser for SDCC. You can find the details here.

The Hobbit charm bracelet

Supernatural charm bracelet

Bellatrix Lestrange necklace

Impala charm bracelet

Castiel Charm Bracelet

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1

The Collective Blog on March 25, 2015 at 7:39 am
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To those concerned about the legality and copyright included in these pieces: the Black Widow piece created for me was done so outside of Etsy as an independent commission, and any of the other pieces features in this piece are advertised on TadeudzCreations as “inspired by.” Although I am currently living in the United Kingdom, I am from the United States, and I am very familiar with copyright laws in both countries. I have studied and currently work in publishing; it is my job to be familiar with these concepts. But to assuage any concerns, I have removed the photo of my necklace.

The charms used in the bracelets and necklaces featured here are not copyrighted, because they do not contain any intellectual property other than that of Tadeudz herself. In case you need a reference, this is the American copyright law referencing cartoons and comic strips (or other recognisable images), as quoted from the government website: “U.S. copyright law (title 17 of the U.S. Code) provides for copyright protection of literary and artistic works. Copyright protection begins automatically when a work is first created in a fixed form. Cartoons and comic strips are among the types of works of authorship protected by copyright. This protection extends to any copyrightable pictorial or written expression contained in the work. Thus a drawing, picture, depiction, or written description of a character can be registered for copyright. Protection does not, however, extend to the title or general theme for a cartoon or comic strip, the general idea or name for characters depicted, or their intangible attributes. Although the copyright law does not provide such protection, a character may be protected under aspects of state, common, or trademark laws, and titles and names may sometimes be protected under state law doctrines or state and federal trademark laws.”

In fact, characters are not copyrightable under American copyright law; cartoon characters (as well as literary characters) are trademarkable, but not copyrightable. You can copyright an entire comic book, but not Superman or Iron Man. This of course, makes it very confusing when it comes to the realm of public domain. Because Tadeudz created works ‘inspired by’—for example, her “The Hobbit” charmed bracelet contains several charms that COULD pertain to the novel, such as a barrel or an axe, etc.—they do not violate copyright law because the idea itself is not copyrightable. She does not have the specific titular font from the film, or anything else that is trademarkable or copyrightable, included in the pieces featured. Also, American copyright laws allow “fair use”, which grants rights for transformative pieces—such as fan art or fan fiction—as long as the ‘transformed’ piece is significantly different from the original. These jewelry pieces, however, do not even need that protection because one cannot copyright fashion. I hope this addresses your concerns about copyright and trademark.

Now, lastly, let me say that the Collective team will not approve comments containing offensive, libelous language. The legal definition is: “Libel is any Defamation that can be seen, such as a writing, printing, effigy, movie, or statue.” By posting such comments, we would be opening ourselves, as well as the commenter, to legal action. Freedom of speech is only certain when it does not damage the reputation or livelihood of someone else. As for concerns about the creator of this Etsy shop’s interest in writing fan fiction: that is none of my business, as it is not directly relatable to her Etsy shop or my interest in featuring her on this blog.

If you’re interested in reading more about copyright, trademark, and other legal issues, here are some helpful links:
http://www.ivanhoffman.com/characters.html
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Libel+and+Slander

Click to access circ44.pdf

http://kirawra.deviantart.com/art/The-Truth-About-Selling-Fanart-212570726
2

Fashionable Librarian on March 15, 2015 at 3:07 pm
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These are lovely

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