Local celebrity couple Edwin Goh and Rachel Wan revealed that a pattern from their crochet business was stolen and resold.
In a joint Instagram reel today (May 4), Edwin said that a seller on online marketplace Etsy had sold their pattern and even altered his photos using artificial intelligence (AI).
“The person did not even bother to change my shorts. It was still my leopard shorts, but they just changed my face and skin colour,” he laughed.
The two actors, both 31 and set to marry this year, co-own crochet business The Club Made and frequently model their products. They also recently released crochet-themed pimple patches.
The digital crochet pattern that was stolen is listed for sale at $12.90 on their website and includes the grid pattern, crochet chart, photos, written instructions and standing stitch tutorial.
Rachel said in the video that as a crocheter and photographer for their business, she doesn’t know whether to “laugh or cry”.
The worse part of this situation, as both of them believed, was that the seller profited from selling the stolen product.
They said: “Getting my work as a photographer stolen and ruined by AI, and having my pattern stolen by a thief who profited off it was really frustrating.”
They reported the account, known as Urbanintl, to Etsy, but not before sending them a message, telling them that they might find investing time in creativity “more fulfilling (and sustainable) than outsourcing it to AI and other people’s work”.
According to checks by AsiaOne, the account has been removed.
In the comments section of the post, a netizen notified the couple that another seller on Etsy is also selling that same crochet pattern and using AI to generate a model wearing the shirt in different colours.
Rachel thanked the netizen and added: “When will it stop!”
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