Everyone knows what we look like, and who we are – it’s difficult to catch someone being that blatant by a staff member. It’s frankly hard to believe someone was that stupid to actually pull from a box within the market itself. But I didn’t witness it, nor did any of my team, and no evidence that it occurred was produced. So it’s a he-said/she-said situation; typically, those remain unresolved until further (future) violations occur. Frankly, we’ve been down this road a hundred times – cheaters always get caught.
The separate of Beadwork from Jewelry was an attempt by the Market 20+ years ago to address this very tension we continue to experience today:
The primary distinction is that beadwork is generally an assembly of components into a new item, while jewelry generally involves the manufacture of the adornment items, or the entire item itself (ie, Dennis Jones Jewelry). I think your work actually contains some uniquely created items, while a pure beadwork artisan can string commercial items together for a sellable product.
The system may be flawed, the Market might be flawed – everything in our society has a defect of some form or shape. The distinction I am loudly pointing out here is that the Market will give you the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise – but the penalty for violating the rules is a permanent ban for life. Drama will not play a role in the decision – this forum is not a mob soapbox – but when caught, the outcome is immediate.
That’s pretty significant consequence, especially if someone is running a lucrative business with us. And all the more reason for a potential violator (who is now likely aware that we are watching them closely) to change their suspected practices in order to remain active with the Market. So be it - everyone deserves a second chance.
Who knows… perhaps they don’t read the forum posts.