Unfortunately, we are living in a copy-cat world where everyone wants to make a fast dollar by copying creations by artists and designers. I hear horror stories from people who think they’ve purchased the real thing and later find they’ve purchased a copy of inferior quality. It’s become quite rampant in the textile industry. Don’t be surprised if likely half of the people running around North Iowa with designer trademarked clothing are nothing more than cheap copies. Some of the copies are so good, you almost have to have an expert judge the difference.
A dear client of mine has a gift for “knowing” what is the real thing and what isn’t. She can often tell the difference by merely feeling the material. Now that’s a gift! Because I am so used to being around homes all these years, I can almost always tell if the home’s original structure has been altered—especially the woodwork. The natural aging of wood is extremely difficult to copy. Another one of my clients used to collect Fiesta Ware but has now stopped because she is so afraid she’s purchasing copies.
I had an interesting conversation today with a gentleman who is going on a hunting excursion after Christmas. I was shocked to hear that some of the Southern States are having a real problem with Coyotes in that the packs are getting bigger and attacking and killing calfs belonging to grazing herds of cattle. He also said that the price of pelts have skyrocketed lately. I asked why, and he said China and Russia can’t get enough fur pelts. The first thing I thought was, “Hmmm… It seems they want real instead of faux furs that we don’t realize are non-earth friendly materials coming into our country.” My dear Mother owned a most beautiful Mink coat for many years and wouldn’t wear it due to her fear of someone challenging her for wearing a coat made from animals that were killed. I just touched on reading an article several days ago that was published by a major news source. It looks like our country will have to re-define our laws on animal protection and preservation because some of the once protected species have now acclimated to our environment and their populations are getting out of control. Yes, we all must work to keep Nature in harmony yet we must remember that we as humans have altered the course of natural selection in a big way.
I have combined these two subjects together because they are connected. There are many people in countries around the world who could care less about protecting our environment as well as what is real or not.
In closing, I was in a restaurant over the week-end and an elderly gentleman came up to me and showed me a newspaper clipping that was speaking about someone taking monetary advantage of another. He said, “Is this world all about money now?” I looked at him and said, “Most of the time, it’s unfortunately so.” This year, I have seen exactly four authentic Coyotes running across roads that I have traveled, and they are big! Long ago, I came to the conclusion that Iowa always seems to grow bigger and better.
