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Yoho: Pattern Now Available
February 13th, 2010
As I already blogged, I’ve spent the last few early mornings working on sizing the Charisma sweater pattern. While I worked, I pondered how it’s a good sweater for both men and women, and provided the sizing for both.
So, that brings me to the conclusion of the morning. I needed to change the name. This is a great sweater for everyone, and Charisma sounds, well, a wee bit girly.
I spent some time this morning brainstorming and the first thing that came to mind was the mountains, specifically the Rockies that I miss so dearly. So, the new name is Yoho, after the beautiful mountain park just across the British Columbia border.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE:
The pattern is provided in four sizes, spanning finished measurements of 40 to 52 inches. I’ve worked the sizing for both men and women in terms of length and sleeve length.
5.00 USD
No Really. I heart The Gladstone
February 3rd, 2010
Earlier today, I made a comment on twitter about my favorite memory of the Gladstone Hotel.
@gladstonehotel Our first (only) stay convinced us to move to Toronto. Took us four years, but now we live up the street.
It may seem a little flippant. After all, there are a lot of reasons why we moved to Toronto. For example, location, job availability, culture, diversity. Both of us liked the city the first time we visited together.
But we really and truly fell in love with it after a night’s stay at the Gladstone in October 2006. It wasn’t exactly the hotel itself. Although super cool, with artist designed rooms and a funky ambiance, it was more what the hotel represented; this wacky mix of locals, artists, hipsters, lesbians, families… you name it.
We spent the day exploring the neighborhood, going in furniture stores and galleries, checking out lofts and condo developments. But we spent that evening in the Melody Bar, largely people watching and listening to some live bluegrass. We fell in love with the whole thing. The wood panel walls. The hand-cranked cage elevator. And Hank, the Gladstone Cowboy, who is so very missed. The idea that the Melody Bar had been there – and open – for so many decades. And too, the way the hotel had been both preserved as a piece of Toronto history and reinvented to highlight contemporary city life.
So, it’s probably no coincidence that when I chose a place to live last December, part of what drew me to the craigslist listing was the location; near The Gladstone. After all, I already knew a little about the neighborhood. I could already picture that part of Queen Street. And I knew I’d be “home” there.
And then too, when we bought our house, a big draw was that same neighborhood we fell in love with three years ago.
It’s funny how things come full circle like that. And now we’re two of the locals who go there on occasional evenings.
Sponsored Ad Drama in the Yarn World
January 6th, 2010
On Ravelry today, I stumbled across a forum thread discussing a recently filed lawsuit between Cascade Yarns and KnitPicks. (Full suit information here).
I won’t lie to you. I skimmed the forum posts and clicked through to the lawsuit, assuming it related to KnitPicks’ reputation for ‘knocking off’ designer yarns at lower prices. (Ironically enough, some might say the same about Cascade.) Cascade and KnitPicks have also been at odds for some time, with at least one previous trademark related lawsuit which was dismissed when KP voluntarily changed the name of the offending product.
This one is something new. It specifically relates to one business booking a sponsored ad for a competitor’s keyword, something that the business has never – and likely will never – carry.
In this case, Cascade’s suit is based on Knit Picks sponsored ads appearing for web searches of trademarked terms, “Cascade”, “Cascade 220″, “Cascade Yarns”.
I doubt this practice will benefit KP in the long run. There’s little more frustrating to a possible consumer than clicking through an ad to see no evidence of what was sought. For me, at least, it would devalue my opinion of the brand, and I’d be even less likely to click on future ads from the business, believing them to be a waste of time.
Whether or not it’s ethical, should it be legal?
Techcrunch has an article about a larger Google AdWords lawsuit. Rescuecom vs. Google complained of exactly this practice of selling ads on trademarked keywords to competitors. A final decision has not been reached, and the case is likely to go to trial unless there’s an out of court settlement.
More than anything, I think the results of these lawsuits (and probably countless similar ones) could change the way we think about search engine use, both as consumers and as web developers. And does the responsibility lie with the search engine to police their paid advertising links? Or with the advertisers themselves to “play fair”? Or, is it simply Cascade’s fault for not buying the keywords already?
I’m trying to think of a scenario in the non-webby world where using a competitor’s trademark would be ok. There really are few ‘keywords’ in real life. And the law seems pretty clear that one can’t use the word “Kleenex” to advertise facial tissue not made by Kimberly-Clark. Likewise, you’re not generally allowed to operate a business under a name that could be confused with a trademark holder in the same line of work. KnitPicks went after KPixie (formerly KnitPixie) for the same thing several years ago.
What do you think? Should it be legal to buy paid ads on a competitor’s keywords or SEO your site for a competitor’s product?