Next weekend is the annual Valdez Christmas bazaar (more properly called the Valdez Emblem Club Christmas Bazaar since the Emblem Club, the ladies side of the Elks, hosts it). I've been busy trying to get an assortment of glass pieces completed for it. Today, I spent hours soldering six stars made of beveled glass together. I enjoyed doing it, but I'm exhausted. Photographing them laying on a table doesn't show them to their best advantage, but it's the best I could do at the moment.
So, what's my dilemma, you ask. I'll tell you: I hate trying to price items I've made for sale. It's always a conundrum to decide what price will be attractive to customers, but at the same time make it worth my while to create the pieces.
Growing up, I always heard that you should charge three times the cost of the materials. Huh? What if you spend 20 hours making something fabulous out of $20 worth of materials - about what a canvas and paint might cost before a masterpiece was painted? Clearly, charging $60 for the finished painting won't cover the time, effort, and talent put into the final art. On the other hand, if an artist charges a reasonable per hour wage plus materials and profit (the way a manufacturer would), the final cost often ends up being beyond what the market will bear.
I think the problem is twofold. First, customers often don't realize the time and energy that goes into creating a handmade item, whether it's a crocheted hat or a watercolor painting. I believe the thinking goes, "I can buy this at WalMart for $10. Why would I pay $40 to buy it from her?" Nope, I can't compete with the big box stores that pay a pittance to have items made en masse in Asia. I can, however, provide you with a unique, handmade item I hope you'll treasure for years.
The second half of the problem lies with crafters and artists themselves. Some are desperately trying to make a living, or at least supplement a "real job" with their creations. These souls need to charge prices that reflect the real time and costs that go into creating their works of art-craft (I write it this way because sometimes the line between art and craft is very fine).
Others, however, are known to say, "I love knitting baby booties, and just want to get a little money to help pay for materials." Okay, that's your perogative, but consider what that attitude does to the rest of us. If you're only charging $10 for booties that took you five hours to knit, there's no way another person will be able to charge a price that really reflects what goes into the booties.
Of course, no one is likely to pay $100 for baby booties just so the artist can eat and pay rent. Hence, the crux of the conundrum. Every artist has a different way of handling this problem. Personally, I keep track of the time it takes me to make something, how much the materials cost, and then usually end up lowering the price a bit from that calculation depending on what I think the market will bear. I'm lucky that I don't have to figure overhead into the equation since my studio's in my home.
What's my point with all of this rambling? With the Christmas gift-giving season fast approaching, I hope that all of you will make an effort to shop locally and to support the independent artist-crafters out there who are trying to make a living. Visit local galleries, bazaars, and craft fairs, but don't go in with an attitude of trying to find something cheap. Trust me, you'll get more than you pay for.
If you're in Valdez next Saturday (December 1), come see me at the Eagle's club, 9:00 - 3:00. I'll have tables with a wide variety of fused and stained glass gift items for sale, all at a reasonable price. If you've "liked" my Sea Turtle Arts Facebook page, I'll be posting photos this week of some of the items I'll have for sale.
Additionally, Rowan will be selling pretzel sticks hand-dipped in chocolate and other baked goods to help raise money so that she can go to Australia next summer as a People-to-People student ambassador. Yummy!
