Designer accuses Claire's Accessories of copying her work

Posted by Dan Martin in Business trends on Fri, 21/01/2011 - 12:30
Claire's shop

An independent jewellery designer has accused international retail chain Claire's Accessories of copying one of her designs for sale in its UK stores. 

Laura Figiel, founder of SheDraws, was first alerted to the issue by a contact on Twitter who spotted an item of jewellery at a Claire's Accessories shop which was similar to one designed by Figiel.

Posting on her blog, the designer said she visited her local store and discovered the necklace in the shape of a telephone was on sale for £2. 

"I know there is not much I can do about this right now," she commented, "but yet I feel I need to do something...to let them know they have sloppy designers and the big boys at Claire's need to be more aware of this kind of thing. They should be ashamed of themselves for having to stoop this low."

The designer has received extensive online support for her cause with more than 200 comments on her blog and hundreds of tweets.

 
Many people have urged Figiel to take legal action against the retailer which was founded in the US in 1974 and now has outlets around the world including several in the UK.

The incident echoes a similar case last year when an artist accused stationery business Paperchase of using one of her designs on products. After huge attention on Twitter, the retailer eventually admitted that it was a copy and apologised.

BusinessZone.co.uk has contacted Claire's Accessories via email and telephone but the company has yet to respond. 

 
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