5 Amazing Independent Designers to Support Instead of Zara

Fashion retailer Zara recently faced allegations that the brand had stolen and reproduced the work of at least 20 independent designers and artists.

Although large companies knocking off indie artists is far from a new thing, it was designer and illustrator Tuesday Bassen who brought widespread attention to the issue when she posted Zara’s dismissive response to allegations that it had copied several of her designs.

She posted side-by-side images of four nearly identical designs, writing, “Over the past year, @zara has been copying my artwork … I had my lawyer contact Zara and they literally said I have no base because I’m an indie artist and they’re a major corporation and that not enough people even know about me for it to matter.”

While an investigation is ongoing, according to Zara’s parent company Inditex, the site ShopArtTheft.com, created by designer Adam J. Kurtz following the blow-up, shows the scale of the problem. On the site you can compare the originals to the Zara products.

Many of the independent artists who allegedly had their designs copied sell their products online and have devoted followings. You can support the creativity and hard work of these independent designers by purchasing goods directly from them, such as the original “Girls” pin by Tuesday Bassen.

Here are five independent artists you can support instead of Zara.

ADAMJK

Who he is: Adam J. Kurtz is a graphic designer with a background in advertising and media. His ADAMJK brand focuses on “gift shop” style souvenir items, like balloons, pencils, and keychains, but with a quirky twist like party balloons that say, “Sorry I am such an a**hole.”

While Adam is lucky enough to be a profitable, full-time artist, he still hustles. “I work full-time small-business hours, aka all the time, through weekends and late nights. This has been my full-time day job for over a year, and even when I’m on vacation, it’s for work, taking meetings and doing pop-up shops.”

He created ShopArtTheft.com as a resource guide and call to action. In response to having his work imitated, he says, “When you share your own personal artwork, it is a part of who you are. My actual style is very simple. The art is about the larger connection and messages.”

Referring to his “Thank You” bag design, he says, “We all know that those bags exist. For me it was more about taking a minute to stop and think about how wonderful that ubiquitous statement actually is. Zara could have made their own “Thank You” bag art instead of tracing mine, and then this wouldn’t be happening.”

Best Buys: The “Bottled Up Feelings” enamel pin , the “Verified” pin for social media climbers, and “1 Page at a Time: A Daily Creative Companion,” an adorable (and helpful!) diary/creativity guide. Get Adam’s original “Thank You” bag design here.

“Protect your art, your brand, and don’t be afraid to speak up,” he says.

Big Bud Press

Who they are: A Florida-based brand launched in 2015, Big Bud Press features apparel, accessories, and stickers in an array of bright colors with mod design elements. Zara allegedly copied its “Why” enamel pin and Planet pin.

Best Buys: For the beauty lover: the compact and lipstick lapel pins. The latter come in black, pink, or red.

Coucou Suzette

Who they are: Coucou Suzette is a “kitsch and quirky accessories brand with a Girl Power spirit,” according to Juliette, an artist and musician who runs the brand from Paris. She got started when she posted a “boob ring” she’d made just for fun to her Instagram and her followers clamored to buy it. From there, she started turning her illustrations into pins, patches, jewelry, and socks.

“It is honestly so much work,” she says. “I have less time to see my friends. I think about my brand all the time, and I’m never really on vacation since I m alone dealing with everything. But I love it! So satisfying to make whatever I imagine come true.”

Best Buys: Some of her bestsellers include the “Love Pin,” which is also one of the items copied by several fast-fashion chains) and her Glittery Eye Socks. Food lovers may also need the burger pin.

While she finds Zara’s alleged use of her design “unbearable,” she plans to keep creating. “My friends keep telling me: If my designs are copied, it means they worth it.”

Sara M. Lyons

Who she is: The green-haired illustrator has been making the weird and witchy palatable since 2014. Her most iconic image is her adorable “Whatever Forever” design, which you can get as a print, pin, or patch. She’s actually had the illustration ripped off more than once, including allegedly by Zara.

Best Buys: Make sure you get the original “Whatever Forever” pin from her website, in either white or brown. (Can we also interest you in a sparkly pink witch’s hat?) You can get Lyons’s distinctive art prints at Society6.

Robin Eisenberg

Who she is: An illustrator, designer, and shop owner in Los Angeles, Robin sells pins, patches, keychains, and prints inspired by aliens, animals, food, and pop culture. She went full-time and opened her online shop last November.

Like many of the other small-business owners, she says she works pretty much all the time. “I work nights, weekends, and vacations. Since opening a shop, I have to invest a lot into my business, and I am constantly balancing every aspect of my work. I really really love it, but it can definitely be overwhelming at times.”

She feels “incredibly frustrated” and “saddened” by the allegations against Zara. A different company owned by the same parent company sold a nearly identical version of her “Feeling Myself” design.

Best Buys: Anything “X-Files” or pizza-related!

Despite the disappointment in seeing your hard work ripped off by a giant retailer, Eisenberg isn’t letting the whole thing get her down.

“If anything, it motivates me to work even harder and make my brand and business even stronger. I refuse to let a big company make me feel small,” she says.

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