Manticores / help? Pastry creates 3 similar Johnny Cupcakes t-shirts. You be the judge...
posted over 1 year ago by Johnny Cupcakes
Randomly putting baked items on t-shirts and having an entire brand revolve around it is free for anyone to do. I dont own food. However, I did indeed start this brand of mine 8 years ago, having its main focus be revolved around cupcakes and anything associated with it. In the independent t-shirt industry, I believe I was the first person to go all out with this cupcake / baking motif. Ive made a tremendous amount of sacrifices and risks to make it the homegrown, family run, fun, limited business that it is, since I dropped out of high school and sold my t-shirts out of my rusty car. With my brands main focus on my customers and their experience, I think Ive been doing a pretty swell job at it.
Last Spring I was alerted by a customer who happened to work at a popular mall sportswear store. This customer of mine caught a glimpse of his manager’s catalog which had various items that were being released in the near future at all of their mall locations. One of the items in this companies catalog was a "Make Pastry Not War" t-shirt. Not only was it a very similar slogan, but it had the same EXACT placement, font, EVEN A CUPCAKE in the center of the t-shirt. This was no coincidence. Weeks later my inbox was flooded with furious Johnny Cupcakes customers who saw this same catalog with the 'Pastry' design in it. I could of made a big deal about it online, making everyone else aware of it. Instead, I decided not to be a cry baby and post it all over the internet, so I sought out a different route. I decided to contact my trademark attorney, who then contacted the owners of Pastry / Pastry Kicks. We got in touch with the President of a certain mall chain-store who ended up declining the order of all 'Make Pastry Not War' t-shirts.

Recently Ive received several e-mails from confused and upset customers of mine. Now, 2 other designs have appeared on their website. You be the judge...

The thing that baffles me, is why would two girls whore famous via MTV, have to stoop so low to create such similar items, never mind brand? Maybe theyre both really great girls who happened to hire some not-so-great designers? Im not sure what the case is, but I do know that this should be brought to everyones attention.
*I obviously know what the situation might be. Like I said, maybe they are great people who happened to hire a not-so-great designer. But I already legally fought one of the shirts that they came out with. So them coming out with 2 MORE similar shirts shortly afterward is way too suspicious. It would be nice if the designer of the t-shirts got called out/fired, and then an apology was sent to me.
70 Comments
Colemadethis said over 1 year ago
lemme call up the Rev.
beth said over 1 year ago
Who are the MTV girls? It better not be LC or Audrina...I freaking love them!
Thats redic...ps
Jamez said over 1 year ago
they probably have a unlimited budget and all the have is type tees, and yes i think the first one is definately a rip
litoQ said over 1 year ago
They are Rev RUNs daughters
Thats craziness bro, any chance u can link the design? I cant find it on their site
beth said over 1 year ago
GTFO! Those chicks annoy me. I moved to LA too...I dont have a freaking TV show about me being lame.
I dont think I would notice the last two unless you showed it like you did with all of them together. seems shady.
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
it should be on their site under tops, you just have to click 'view all'
skull with hair said over 1 year ago
this sucks, ill def spread the word.
you should find out who made this one too, completely tasteless...
CallumGreen said over 1 year ago
What the hell...
Do they think you wont notice?
What have you done man?
collisiontheory said over 1 year ago
Unfortunately, the manticores have disbanded. Id say the designs are definitely based on your brand. THe "make pastry not war" design is definitely a rip.
{miles to go} said over 1 year ago
im sure those girls have no design input, just fund the money, but thats pretty fucked. i saw the war rip a long time ago, but three is kind of ridiculous. especially being such a high profile company to rip is beyond tasteless.
speedyjvw said over 1 year ago
wow dude, that is really bad
litoQ said over 1 year ago
yeah man my bad, your images were blocked for me, just saw em on my phone...
thats crap
jared said over 1 year ago
@Johnny
Do you have a trademark on "Freshly Baked" or "Support Your Local Bakery/Pastry Shop"?
Joao said over 1 year ago
http://www.pastrykicks.com/pastryclothes/fresh-baked-tee/
http://www.pastrykicks.com/pastryclothes/pastry-shop-tee-black/
I cant understand how someone with a budget like that would have to rip-off someone.
ChristianTW said over 1 year ago
do want.
mbradyclark said over 1 year ago
you can leave comments under the style....
Tonteau said over 1 year ago
Shits whack. Especially the first one.
Oo Lori oO said over 1 year ago
these girls were handed a "brand" and even if they are awesome girls they are still responsible for double checking what they are releasing under the Pastry name. I guarantee they hired some freelance "artist" who just ripped a popular JC design. Although the other 2 are not exact rip offs, it is hard to overlook due to the previous infractions. With so much money you would THINK hiring creative people would not be an issue. tisk tisk
bsig03 said over 1 year ago
Thats crazy! Eveyone on here should take a minute to contact Pastry and let then know your thoughts on this obvious rip... Good luck Johnny!
Benzoe88 said over 1 year ago
i hate them lame ass hills chicks, that show is so fucking fake and you probably didnt get a show cause your a nobody lol
i think they’re both just really great girls who happened to hire some not-so-great designers!
isaboa said over 1 year ago
oh man
cocksuckers
curiouserandcuriouser said over 1 year ago
i just did a drive-by using their comments feature.. looks like some other people have also
CoreyMV said over 1 year ago
Thats so lame Johnny. You would think they might learn after the first incident.
Acid said over 1 year ago
Anyone else think pastry isnt the same thing as cake anyway? Or is that an english thing? Pastry is like, pies and sausage rolls...
Chaddoesdesign said over 1 year ago
I still cant believe I havent seen these rolled out yet.lol
darenisdopeee said over 1 year ago
Sorry Johnny, alot of bigger brands have been copying you. Ever get that thing settled with Billabong?
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
Thank you guys (and girls) - I really appreciate it.
I guess their other contact number is;
212-246-1900
And it looks like these are actual e-mail addresss of people who represent Pastry;
dennisd@vidagoup.com
kimsnow@vidagroup.com
kevinstorch@vidagroup.com
davidm@vidagroup.com
alharris@vidagroup.com
and Im not sure if these e-mail addresss even go to anyone, but its worth a shot;
help@pastrykicks.com
hr@adjmi-apparel.com
Feel free to e-mail them your professional opinions, along with the 3 comparison images.
Let me know if you hear anything back. And again, they might be great girls who just happened to hire some really awful, lazy designers who should be fired.
isaboa said over 1 year ago
pastry does not equal a sausage roll in my neck of the woods
Benzoe88 said over 1 year ago
you should trademark all your stuff so you can sue there a$$ the next time they pull off a stunt like this lol
Chaddoesdesign said over 1 year ago
that would cost a lot of dough(lol)
Birdie31 said over 1 year ago
When you comment on their site it says "pastry shoes fan ______ _______"...
haha
loren said over 1 year ago
Well, Im sure the "Daddys Girls" have absolutely no idea that the designs were stolen because they probably have nothing to do with design process whatsoever, and the scummy designers.. you know they made a pretty penny of this one, so they dont even care.
I just cant believe how close the first one is... Like seriously, who in their right mind would go and do something like that, and not even change the font or anything? Thats just messed up.
GOOD LUCK JOHNNY!
loren said over 1 year ago
By the way, your shirts are obviously by far superior to the pastry ones, so I hope this works out okay for you by bringing you lots of attention in the press/media and such. Im sure everyone will realize that your designs are way cooler!
chalk said over 1 year ago
i know its all a bit upsetting for you but it is actually a huge compliment to your brand
the sincerest form of flattery as they say...
good luck - what pisses me off is that having a cupcake on a pastry shirt makes no sense - cupcakes arent pastry
loren said over 1 year ago
The "hr@adjmi-apparel.com" email address rejected my e-mail. Has this happened for anybody else?
greens said over 1 year ago
1 judging as how grenade had "make gloves not war" as their slogan since around 2000 think they beat out both of you tasty treats
2 i will give you that as a rip
3 lot of people do fresh baked sorry
-smoke purps
beth said over 1 year ago
As the only female above the age of 20 on this site....
Lauren and Audrina were nobodies too....LC got a show in High School with The OC was the show to watch and she was some kid who just gota show about high school.
I highly doubt that the Runs DMC show is any more realistic than the hills! At Least the Hills isnt obnoxious. If I wanted to hear parents Nag I would move back home with my parents.
Mess of Me said over 1 year ago
True dat...Ive seen a lot of fresh baked ones..
but for sure the 1st one is full rip..and second...like almost full rip..:)
I need to make a progress bar about this one day!
Benzoe88 said over 1 year ago
im not trying to hijack this post but the hills is fake, when the camera is off and miss a argument or fight they have to re-act the shit in front of the camera. i know most of reality tv is fake but the hills is the extra fake runs house is as real as it gets.
newy 51st state said over 1 year ago
I just feel like starting a brand with the name Pastry, is already stepping on toes . With the name Pastry branding is going more then likely going to be based around baked goods/dessert type stuff. And if there is someone out there (johnny cupcakes) already taking that route then should of gave their brand name a 2nd thought. I guess the girls didnt do their research enough. So its bound to happen where they are going to bite shirt designs and concepts, deliberately or by chance, its the nature of the beast that could of been avoided if they did some research or took a different route.
derekdeal said over 1 year ago
the grammar doesnt even make sense!
Backfire said over 1 year ago
The thing is Johnny, they are copying your designs and making them look crap.
The originals are miles better!!
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
Thank you everyone. Let me know if you get any responses back. This blows..
Quest said over 1 year ago
Wow, i hate to see this Johnny. The fact that people are attempting to bite off of your success and make knock offs that dont even do the brand justice is bad enough, but i imagine that the time and energy involved with trying to prevent this type of blatant image and idea stealing must be quite costly to you as a business man.
skullface said over 1 year ago
!
EnveeApparel said over 1 year ago
That is just crazy. They have a similar brand which is fine, but come out with your own original designs. Take $5000 from daddy and get some designers from emptees to make some amazing shirts LOL. There are some really great original designers out there that can knock some really detailed designs off.
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
edword said over 1 year ago
thats some high profile rippin!!
Benzoe88 said over 1 year ago
damn that was a fucked up move i lost a lot of respect for them
i just emailed them and blasted them lol
bandwagonmerch said over 1 year ago
THIS SUUUCKS. The similarity in the first shirts is so close I cant even believe. Im sorry Johnny. BUMMER. I wonder who prints pastry. I wonder if they know of JC.
derek said over 1 year ago
Well i would say it was a savoury pastry along with a pasty :)
But hey im British .
Maybe they should have shirts on with Dont Be Nasty Have A Pasty
On a more serious note some dicks broke into my storage place an pinched some of my stock so i can only imagine how it must feel to have your designs stolen...
edword said over 1 year ago
So I just read on a blog that you were taking legal act on the firsts one. Is that true?
Suck! Clothing said over 1 year ago
I have written now to pastry! Thats really crazy!
but...copiright has a function? -.-
loren said over 1 year ago
Well now thats just straight wrong. Id have more respect for them if it was just a designer that works for them that stole your designs, but seeing the design themselves and creating or having something created based off of it? Thats messed up!
WhoreCore said over 1 year ago
I made the same mistake once, but 3 times in a row, wow he doesnt get the picture
Coty said over 1 year ago
That is such a shame. Helping to spread, posted on my blog and on Twitter:
http://www.cotygonzales.com/2009/01/15/pastry-tries-to-imitate-johnny-cupcakes/
quakerninja said over 1 year ago
One year ago / In 2008, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court ironically for plagiarism. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security starbucks to the interwebbernets underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as designers of fortunes.
If you have a grievance, if no one else cares, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...
The Westside Mordore Manticores.
Hop in The Van
N.Guenzler said over 1 year ago
I sent them a nasty email haha hopefully that helps. Theyre just a couple rich girls trying to be richer, Im sure they know what JohnnyCupcakes is.
Time Without the E said over 1 year ago
Here is my 2 cents before everyone starts to rip the owners...
1. the owners are not always involved in every detail including the designs parts. As weird as it may sound they really might not know there ripping someone.
2. lets face it everyone on Emptees knows who JC is but JC is still an indie brand and if you went around asking who Johnny Cupcakes is 95% of the people you would ask wouldnt know.
3. Also I hope you handle this well because we tend to forget because we love you so much but you were in the same shoes as these chicks a little bit ago when you were accused of ripping someone and remember how it made you feel. So do take that into consideration with how you handle this situation. Unfortunately, I dont think this time around it is going to be as smooth as the other incident because the group your working with is a little more "hollywood"
Also I know you are probably pissed/ angry/ wondering why the hell someone would do this to the company that is your life? Well there is one way to look at it right now that at least might help you for now to "cool off" is that no one rips a shitty company. So be honored that someone would go out of there way THREE times to rip you cause they clearly envy you and your work! So keep your head up! JC is and always will be better then mtv pastry shit.
quakerninja said over 1 year ago
Something more practical, have you tried contacting MTV News with this. Yes it s mud and gossip, but handling this like a gentleman out where everyone can see, would do great things as far as promotion and what have you. Personal feeling aside. This could be the underdog story of the year. GO Johnny.
Benzoe88 said over 1 year ago
extra extra read all about it JC and pastries is going to war lol
redemptionclothing said over 1 year ago
sue them??????and when you win, ill take free JC clothes for life? Seriously lame of them, their show on MTV sucks too!
Time Without the E said over 1 year ago
no offense but JC is not going to sue them. Nor should he. It would cost A LOT of money with lawyer and court fees over 3 tees?
that would be a pretty big risk.
jumpy said over 1 year ago
who needs lawyers when u can have manticores
Oo Lori oO said over 1 year ago
Not true! Im 23
edword said over 1 year ago
thats why I was asking.
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
1.) That is true. Thats why I said, "they might be great people/great girls who just happened to hire a not-so-great designer. The only thing that makes me upset is the fact that we already legally battled the Make Pastry Not War design, so they are well aware of my brand. Those other two similar shirts were slaps in the face.
2.)Yep.
3.) I know, and I didnt design that t-shirt that had similar + exact letter stylings of another. Thats why I had some sort of sympathy for Pastry when I first went after them for the Make Pastry Not War shirt. I did this without telling anyone. Without posting about it anywhere. It was a hard thing to keep my mouth shut about. But I did. I did until I recently caught wind of these t-shirts that are already in stores. Like I said in 1.) - it feels like a slap in the face.
Im not looking for much, just for people to be aware. I wouldnt of said anything if I didnt get hundreds of e-mails and questions from confused Johnny Cupcakes customers who think I collaborated with Pastry, and who think that I sold out to mall-stores across the nation (which totally tarnishes my brand because this entire foundation and brand that Ive built is based off exclusivity.)
Its hard to be honored that someone is ripping me off several times and getting away with it.
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
Nah. Im more concerned with just letting my customers know about it. I dont want them being tricked into buying the similar t-shirts or being upset at my brand for seeing / thinking theyre seeing, Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt in malls across the nation.
Johnny Cupcakes said over 1 year ago
Im not sure what Im going to do or what I want to do? Honestly, like I had mentioned, I just want my customers to be aware so theyre not so confused and didnt think I sold out to mall-stores. An apology from Pastry might be nice. The t-shirts are already being sold and the damage is being, and has been done, to my brand already. It would also be nice to know that the designer of the t-shirts is called out and fired. If for the slightest reason Pastry doesnt know about me (which I highly doubt) - I sorta feel bad that their brand (even though its super similar to mine) is getting a bad rep because of their half ass designer(s).
dobi said over 1 year ago
fuck mtv news! contact perezhilton!
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