When sweet peas go sour

Yes, I'm a very sour pea. I'm named as a defendant in a trademark infringement lawsuit. My copyrighted cutesy "Sweet Pea" graphic design is the issue. I'm not alone, I'm one of 52 defendants listed in a intellectual property lawsuit seeking $16M from each person for using the term "Sweet Pea." 44 are CafePress shopkeepers, and all are micro businesses — some haven't ever sold anything! Short story is that this is an up and coming trend, using the internet to find small targets, filing suit then asking for a settlement to make the suit go away. In my case, my attorney/friend's call to the plaintiff's attorney, Alexander E Barthet of Miami, brought about a demand of a $5,000 fee, plus and injunction from using the image in the future.

Sweet Pea Limited is the plaintiff, note they don't even us a "TM" anywhere on their site. Their products are always referred to as "Sweet Pea by Stacy Frati". Their clothes are feminine, trendy tops sold at Nordstrom. The defendants believe, "Sweet Pea" is a generic term of affection and vegetable, not worthy of protected trademark status, and that applying our designs graphically to a generic t-shirt or baby bib is not a violation of their trademark.

The defendants have worked very hard to organize themselves and went to the press this week, please read our press release at www.sourpeas.org all the sour details are there, including the "Them/us" sweet pea "comparo", see the designs and compare for yourself. The lawsuit and other references are also on the site. Look for us in the news (and wish me luck ; )

Really big drift wood at La Push Washington

That's me standing in front of the driftwood log. The weather was spectacular for the 3 days we were there, not what you expect in February, or anytime of the year actually. Including a ferry ride, La Push is about a 4-5 hour drive from Seattle. The Ocean Park Resort is the place to stay, owned and operated by the Quileute Tribe, they offer lots of cabins on a beautiful beach. Go for the deluxe modern cabins, they're wonderful. No TV, internet or cell phone access, this is a place to get away from technology and connect with nature. Olympic National Park is nearby with more spectacular beaches and the Hoh rain forest. I'm looking forward to our next ocean getaway.

Gesture figure drawing workshop

I was fortunate to participate in Barbara Fugate's gesture drawing workshop last weekend. It was a welcome diversion from a heavy workload of digital design. Barbara posted some our student drawings. (No drawing was more than 3 minutes, most only one minute.) She says gesture drawing is like playing music. I missed out on learning to play an instrument, but doing this type of drawing must be a bit like jazz improvisation, lyrical and very satisfying creatively. I look forward to another taking workshop in March.

Barbara is a figure drawing master and a wonderful teacher. See Barbara's amazing expressive figure work and learn about future workshop offerings at her "From Life" blog.

Matissimo mentioned in Creative Tech Newsletter

Yesterday my CafePress shop was featured on Creative Techs Quicktips email Newsletter. That was nice, Thanks Craig) I got a spike in hits. The Creative Techs newsletter is quick to read and always helpful. If you're a creative type using a Mac I recommend subscribing. Check out the past issues too. (Creative Techs is a Seattle based computer support group.)

15 more minutes (I mean seconds) of fame.

My poster shows up on the third episode of Grey's Anatomy. Izzy and Alex discuss going out right next to the Boats Afloat poster! Now I'm a big fan of the show and of course will watch the rest of the season to see if the poster appears again. The plot thickens... Will Dr. McDreamy choose Meredith or Addison? Will Alex pass his make-up exam? Tune in next week.

My primetime debut

Here’s my Boats Afloat poster in two scenes from the 2005 season opener of Grey’s Anatomy. Good show!




The poster was created in collaboration with Dirk Mynatt of GForce for the Northwest Yacht Broker’s Assocation.

In case you don’t watch TV, Grey's Anatomy is a popular medical drama about overworked surgical interns and their sex lives set in a Seattle hospital. It’s entertaining, with lots of good looking characters. Sunday nights at 10pm (after Desperate Housewives).