Bloomin' Bloggers

I have to say I'm grumpy this morning since discovering someone had hotlinked to one of my images on The Menagerie. Hotlinking means that whenever someone views their page your image is downloaded from your host costing you bandwidth which of course equals money. Now what really annoyed me was that it was an image of one of my rabbit cards and on that page it does state that all the drawings are copyrighted and must not be reproduced. Obviously the individual felt if they were downloading it straight from my website then that didn't count.

I have only been hotlinked twice by bloggers whereas my friend Lea Frydman of Elvis Presley News is constantly targeted. This has cost her a small fortune with her host and no wonder as she tells me that over 12,000 images were linked! Now the techies at Host Nexus have sorted her problem so that it can no longer be done but she'll never recover the money she lost through these bloggers.

Apart from that I have been trying to paint despite the heat (it was 34oC here Tuesday 31st Jan). Creative Hastings just published their February newsletter with Judy and my exhibition listed so now it feels horribly real (and close!). I still have four commissions to finish before the end of this month as well so panic stations.

Also returned to The Craftsman in Taradale, Napier and was happy to learn that the owner is willing to sell my work. She particularly liked the brooches. She's not sure the cards will go as they don't sell many usually but I asked her to try anyway. I can always take them away if no one wants them.

Today I am sending away two articles to New Zealand publications so fingers crossed they sell. It feels really tough trying to break into this market. I guess I just have to find my niche.