Have you seen me? My name is Commuter Capelet.
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| (c) All Craft Media |
Here is the back story. In early 2011, submitted my design for a hooded cape to Knit Magazine, which was owned by a company called KAL Media.
A few months later my design was accepted. The company had changed hands and was now owned by All Craft Media (ACM). I signed the contract, knit up the sample and worked on the pattern, sending it off in September.
While I was waiting for the publication date to roll around, I was commissioned for two other pieces to be published in the new year.
It was about a month after I signed my additional contracts that some rumblings started on
Ravelry about ACM having issues with payments to their designers. There was nothing I could do, I thought, I had already signed my contracts.
In November, my hood was published, and I was very pleased to find that it had made the cover of the issue!
Yay!
Then the rumblings got louder. More and more designers were not getting paid.
Huh.
I sent in my second design, Commander-in-Chief Felted Handbag in December. More rumblings.
Ok....
I submitted my third design, Playa del Cardi. The rumblings were no longer rumblings. They were roars. They were so loud, that no one could dismiss this as a coincidence. Something was really wrong here. Dozens of designers were speaking up about not being paid by KAL. OK, I thought, I
was paid for Commuter by ACM, so perhaps they had straightened up their act after the liquidation?
In March, Commander-in-Chief was published. I submitted my invoice for it, and was assured that there would be no problems with it.
At the end of March, Playa del Cardi was published. I submitted my invoice for it, and inquired about the payment of Commander, which hadn't been paid in the 30 days that the contract stipulated.
No response.
Three weeks later, on April 26th I re-issued both invoices, and was told to forward them on to the accounting manager. Uh oh. This doesn't seem right at all.
On 4th May, All Craft Media was placed in Administration.
Sigh.
Ok, so it looks like I won't get my money for the last two designs. Bummer. At least I knew that all three of my samples are under my editor's desk, waiting to come home. At least I would get those back, right? Keep reading.
As part of the Administration, I had to register as a Creditor of ACM. Done. Then I found out that all the samples would be available for the owner to pick up on Monday, May 21. Glitch! I live on another continent!
I was able to get two wonderful, amazing women (who happened to be the aforementioned editor as well as the tech editor of my patterns) to go pick up them up for me. After all, they knew
exactly where they were. Monday came, and I received news that they had been able to retrieve two of the three samples, but Commuter was gone. It was there the day the staff (except for Kerrie Allman, from what I understand) were locked out, and was gone the day that everyone was allowed back in. My heart sank. I knew that two people had expressed interest in keeping my hood, but because I had purchased the yarn on my own, it was not allowed to be given away (which sometimes happens when the designer doesn't want the sample back).
I guess that someone then decided it needed to be stolen.
So there we are. My Commuter Capelet is stolen.
The last photographic evidence I have of it is a photo of
Kerrie Allman herself WEARING MY CAPELET.
So, if you find yourself out and about in the UK this winter, keep your eyes open for a very sad, abducted orphan of a hood. She wants to come home where people have morals. I miss her very much, and I would ask that the thief understand that what was done was wrong, and in the end, this wrong must be righted. I will understand.
ETA: thanks for asking about the pattern Cyndi! Here are the links for my
Ravelry and
Etsy shops in case anyone is looking for the pattern!
