Swedish corporation steals design from Sleepy King - Please Help!

Hello friends,

Many of you know by now that the large Swedish corporation - Lindex  has stolen one of my most beloved designs that I created in 2009. I found out about this by one of my loyal fans in Norway. She recognized the design as a Sleepy King original and instantly felt disgusted and angry. If she wouldn't have emailed me about this I may have never found out.

I am heart broken to say the least. I work so hard, and take great pride in my designs. I have many fans who know and love my work for it's originality. It is painful to have my work ripped away from me behind my back by a giant corporation. Who knows how many of these they have sold already? Hundreds? Thousands?  While I sit here in my tiny two bedroom rental, working as hard as I possibly can to make ends meet, Lindex is cashing in on my designs.

Liam the Sleepy Woodland fox was created by me in my home in 2009.  Since then he has been one of my top sellers. It's no wonder Lindex stole my designs without asking .. they saw great potential in this little fox and knew they could make lots of money off of him.

The real Sleepy King Liam: here

The stolen Lindex design: here & here (click on the pink onesie option to see the fox design) They also took GREAT inspiration from my older bunny design: here

I am tired of these big corporations stealing from independent designers and small businesses on Etsy, Big Cartel and the like. You would think that with all of the billions they have, they could afford to hire real designers with original ideas.  Corporate design theft must end for the sake of the handmade community. We should feel safe when we copyright our designs and put them out there on the internet for people to see and purchase.

I cannot close my eyes and pretend this isn't happening, I am getting in touch with a local IP lawyer today. I am asking for your help to offset the legal fees. I would appreciate it so much If you are able to donate anything at all. Even the smallest amount will help. 1$ - 5$ donations are just as important to me.. because I simply cannot afford this on my own. I plan on keeping my fans and customers updated as much as I can on this matter.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please spread the word and share this blog post if you are against giant corporations stealing from independent designers and small business owners!