In our latest Member Focus we want to share a fascinating insight into ACID member, Elaine Green of Stylist’s Own. All the inside stories of our amazingly diverse membership all have one common theme – protecting their intellectual property to achieve growth and putting IP at the heart of their business strategy. Stylist’s Own is no exception!  

When and why did you first start creating your products/designs?

l have been designing and making sculptural furnishings and artworks since graduating from art college 27 years ago. Technology and connectivity have radically changed the design world since then but I have always remained workshop based as making is my calling.

Did you have any knowledge of intellectual property when you started your business?

At the start of my career few of us knew how to protect our designs, we would postdate drawings to ourselves and hope that gave us some security when approaching the big names with our ideas, in reality it didn’t and I and others I knew often had our hard work stolen and copied, without any hope of fighting back.

Which ACID Membership services have you used and how have you benefited from being a Member?

Now it’s very reassuring to be a member of ACID and I also have design protection on some of my products and trademarks too where applicable.  I use the member of ACID logo and have also had cause to call upon the advice of the ACID Legal Affiliates in the past and it was great to receive knowledgeable, impartial advice, thank you! I am planning to make much more use of the ACID Marketplace to sell my designs.

Have you brought anything new to the marketplace recently that you would like to share?

I predominantly work in metal but also have a range of linked ball cushions which I am very proud of.  By linking the balls together they form a super supportive and adjustable cushion nest for the body which has to be tried to be fully appreciated. It’s a very simple design but works wonders whilst looking very funky!  In metal, I am in the process of launching my new copper drinking cups, which are my decorative take on traditional ayurvedic vessels and have recently exported an enamelled magnolia tree commission to Froots Gallery in Shanghai.

What advice would you offer to a new designer?

My advice to new designers would be to take your business seriously and protect your ideas with the help of ACID so that you are free to enjoy every minute of your creative journey!

What is the best aspect of ACID Membership for your business?

I feel that by using the member of ACID logo, particularly when showing my work, I am letting people know that I am aware of my intellectual property rights and have taken steps to protect them.

ACID values the support of its members to enable it to campaign for design law reform. Do you have any messages for Government/Policy Makers on IP issues?

Making design law both easier to understand and use would be one of the most pressing issues for reform. More support and protection for smaller design businesses and individual designers is needed to reflect the value of their contribution to the UK economy – existing systems need to be more cost and time effective.

Click here to read more about Stylist’s Own.