Welcome to the Cool Side of the Lake art was stolen. Instead of just playing whack-a-mole, I put my original art on everything I could think of: doormats, mugs, signs, hats, flags and shirts.
I Made the Cool Side of the Lake 10 Years Ago. Here’s the Real Story.
I used to live on White Bear Lake, on the Mahtomedi side. The town across the water is called White Bear Lake. So naturally, our side was the cool side. 😎
I came up with the saying “Welcome to the Cool Side of the Lake.” I put it on shirts that said “Mahtomedi, Welcome to the Cool Side of the Lake,” and my daughter sold them at the little farmers market. Signals catalog chose the design and sold it nationwide. Since 2018, it’s also been one of my Swedish dishcloths.
The not-so-cool part
It got copied. My art and words now show up on Amazon and Temu. Amazon hasn’t taken the copies down. Temu removes them, then they pop right back up like whack-a-mole, sometimes with my art tweaked just enough to call it their own. Some people have even bought the Temu copies and resold them on Etsy.
So I made the real thing easier to find
Instead of just playing whack-a-mole, I put my original art on everything I could think of: doormats, mugs, signs, hats, flags and shirts. They live in the Cool Side section of my Etsy shop. Want your own family or lake name on it? Message me and I’ll help set it up.
How to know it’s the original
If you see my Cool Side of the Lake art anywhere but the Cool Side section of my shop or here at soakitup.shop, it was taken without my permission. When you buy here, you’re buying from the person who thought it up.
While you’re there
The Cool Side dishcloth is still right here, replacing a stack of paper towels at lake places everywhere. And if you’re bringing a hostess gift to the cabin, a Clard is a greeting card that turns into reusable, washable, compostable cleaning cloths. The card is the gift.
Thanks for having my back. 💙