hi there! been lurking on these forums for a loooong while and i know the glitterati gives good advice so here's my question:

i've been toying around with the idea of setting up a wedding card business - unconventional cards with tactile features. the thing is, my new job doesn't leave me much time to devote to this biz. i've already got ideas, a plan of what i should do... until it struck me that i could actually put down all these ideas into a book.

however...
1) is it feasible to publish a book? or better to do the biz? or both? i have a seriously short attention span and paper crafting is not my passion (yarn is) but i do have a strong interest for it.
2) one of the cards was inspired by a post on craftster. i'll definitely contact the owner of the copyrighted idea. the thing is, some of the wedding detail ideas will be lifted off webpages (u know the norm like glass marbles and shrinky dinks). of cos, full credit and acknowledgement will be given to the owners. but is it a nice thing to do? will u feel offended? r royalties in order?
3) i intend the book to be a craft book. i think weddings r highly personal... and it's always nice to receive a card the bride did herself. so i will be listing resources and stockists. errr... mine's a small country. if i list out the places that only industry sources know about, will they kill me for leaking out secrets? will the competitive bridal industry have my blood if i give brides an alternative one-stop craft resource index?

appreciate your feedback :))) and thank u soooo much!
- den

I'm a little frightened by your post. It seems to me what you're asking is can I rip other people off and profit from it? Correct me if I'm misunderstanding. Sure, you can do whatever you want, but I wouldn't be asking for advice here!

hi toomuchglue and ursonate, thanks for the input :)

yup the copyright thing is nagging at me too... (i'm no saint, i have ripped off things before, but it's for personal use only!) i realise that it does sound very unethical. my original intention was to have an online shop with the cards, as well as a section with the great ideas for weddings from craft forums (poster is contacted and has to agree) and links of d-i-y items like the marbles and shrinky dinks. i know now that to include those ideas and links in the book is a no-go. online, it's shareware and i don't profit from those links right? :D

it was after looking at a template someone did that really sparked off this card biz. it looked too cute on a card. suddenly, i began to see possibilities in many supplies... all with a wedding theme... i'm not sure how to go about it. it's the only idea that's lifted. if the owner is fine with me using the pattern and technique, i guess i probably won't feel good making money from the same template? or even if i did modify it, it still feels like cheating, cos it ain't my original? it'll probably go into the d-i-y section...

i understand from the numerous posts that copyright is still copyright, irregardless of modification (techniques don't count i gather). so if i'm inspired by something in a book or a post in the forum, does it mean i can't touch the essence of the idea at all? even if i change almost everything? is there truth in "originality is dead, individuality isn't?"

i love yarns and knitting, so i'm trying to incorporate some of it into the cards. i've been crafting with paper for some time, i like it definitely. expertise and domain... i ain't sure. all i know is that i like experimentation. there is a niche market for this, i won't be making much $$ but it's fun. i feel i'm doing this biz in defiance of all the other wedding card stereotypes. juz to shake some things up ya know?

hahaha maybe i'm not ready to do a biz yet. the book idea was an implusive solution to getting all my ideas into a neat tidy package without the extra time and energy devoted to doing a biz. or maybe i should stop procrastinating and finally do something, anything. whatever the case, i want to be a biz owner who is morally at peace with herself and i most appreciate the steer back to the right side of the ethical divide.

thank u thank u :)
- den

If you want to write a book, write a book.
If you want to start a business, start a business.
Be unapologetic about it.

But these things will succeed only if your heart is in it and if you are constantly lifting ideas from other sources, then maybe your heart isn't really in it. It's one thing to get inspired by someone else's idea and then turn it around in a way to make it your own, but if this isn't really your passion, then why bother? What is your expertise? What is your domain?