Running Ink Icons has always been about one thing: creating artwork that makes people smile, feel something, or remember a moment they love. Every print we make starts with an idea, a sketch, and hours, sometimes days, of graft behind the scenes. That’s what makes this business feel so personal.
But over the past year, we’ve been hit with something no independent artists ever want to face: repeated copyright theft.
It’s been rough.
Designs we worked hard on, including some of our most popular pieces, have been copied, uploaded, and sold by sellers on fast-fashion platforms and TikTok Shop, completely without permission. No credit. No licence. No payment. Nothing. Just our work, taken and sold by strangers.
We’ve followed every procedure, submitted official takedown requests, provided proof of authorship, and jumped through every hoop these platforms ask for. Some platforms have helped. Others… not so much. In fact, a few have rejected the paperwork entirely, even when we’ve sent them everything they requested, including original files, dates, screenshots, and proof that the artwork is ours. Sometimes back and forth for numerous emails until they realise yes the work is ours.
It’s disheartening. It’s stressful. And honestly, it hurts seeing something so personal become disposable to someone trying to make a quick profit.
But here’s the good part:
You, our customers, our supporters, the people who choose to buy from small creators, are the reason we’re still here. Every purchase on our official channels keeps the lights on, the designs flowing, and the passion alive. When you buy from Ink Icons, you’re not buying from a faceless corporation. You’re buying from a small group of UK artists who genuinely put heart into every piece.
So if you see our work on random websites or TikTok Shop sellers who aren’t us, please know:
It isn’t authorised. It isn’t genuine. And it doesn’t support the artist who created it.
If you want to support us directly, here are the only official places you can buy our work:
• Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/InkIconsStore
• Website: https://www.inkicons.com
• eBay: https://ebay.us/m/FK2EXb
Thank you for sticking with us, for spotting fakes, for messaging us when things look off, and for continuing to support independent artists. It genuinely means more than you know.
Anyway more art is coming, and we’re not letting copycats stop us!