09/02/2026
I come to you tonight with a little bit of a broken heart.
Over the past few years, I’ve watched my prints be copied more times than I care to count. I have continually turned the other cheek, but I guess my cheeks are just too old and tired tonight…. This month alone, I’ve now seen it happen multiple times not only reproduced overseas, but appearing in stores that carry House of MBR and may not even realize the artwork they’re seeing originated with me.
But this one hurt differently.
The picture above is me as a toddler at my granny’s home. I wanted to share it because that home, and that woman, are part of the story behind the latest print that has been copied.
“Aramenta” was named after my granny.
She had a living room painted the most particular shade of green, and in that room was a floral vase that has stayed in my memory all these years. When I painted Aramenta, I was thinking of her. Every part of this print came from a memory of someone I loved.
So when I see not only the artwork copied, but the silhouette of the dress as well, it feels incredibly personal.
When I say my prints are original, I mean original.
I am not buying artwork from someone else or selecting prints from a catalog. I paint them. My hand is in every one. They begin with a memory, a place, a person, a feeling, something from inside of me that eventually becomes something you wear.
That is why this matters.
I don’t like negativity, and this is not normally how I use this space. I believe far more in creating than complaining. But tonight, I had a little meltdown. I’m human. And this one hurt.
So when you see a “dupe” of one of our designs, please remember: it may look similar, but it isn’t House of MBR. It doesn’t carry the hand, the story, or the heart behind the original.
And with that, I’m going to bless it, release it, pick up my paintbrush, and keep creating.
Because they can copy what I painted.
They can never copy why I painted it.
Smiles,
Michelle
