A Treatise on Artisan Pricing for Your Handmade Work

This is not to be a blog on how to price your work. If you're looking for that, check out Laura Bracken's jewelry and craft pricing calculator.

What I wanted to talk about here is a bit about the vagaries of pricing artisan handmade work. Yes, you need to take your supply cost and time into account. Also all the training you've done to get to where you are today. But there are other elements that can come into play. I think of it as the 'because I say so' factor. I have jokingly said this to customers from time to time (if I think
they will understand that it IS a joke), but there is a big element of truth involved in that statement. Only I understand exactly how a particular bead was made and what it took to do it. There are pieces I love because I am so happy with the success of the technique involved. But the customer has no clue about that. If you meet me in person at a market or show, I am likely to try and encapsulate the technique used that I am so delighted with. But as a customer, you'd probably have no clue what I was talking about. Most folks smile and nod~ their take away is probably something like 'well the artisan is pretty excited about that piece, so there must be something special about it.' ( I hope they're not thinking- 'well SHE'S certainly proud of herself!).

Does size matter? Well, in perceived value, it probably does, but in reality, size is not the main determining factor in my own price structure. If you look at my etsy shop you will see that most pieces of the same type are pretty close to each other in price. Even though there are some pieces that I am really happy with and some that I feel are more average, I determine a basic price for the type of item and then stay within that range. The base price is pretty much a result of the time I normally spend making a piece of that type. Some pieces take a little less time, some considerably more, but time is not the only thing that makes a piece more or less valuable to me. And since I'm the one making the decisions around here, the prices I determine on are the ones I'll use. Why not charge more for the pieces I like better? Well, as my mom used to say 'it all comes out in the wash.' It is true that, just because I like something, that doesn't mean it will be a customer favorite. And just because I am not impressed with something else doesn't mean it is inferior. Again, perceived value comes into play. What the customer likes will seem more valuable to them than the pieces that didn't catch their eye, regardless of what I tell them. I would never say- 'oh I hate that piece, you should get this one instead, it's nicer!'- regardless of what I might be thinking!

Prices for each type of item will rise over the years as I feel that the pieces in general are nicer, larger or more complicated and therefore worth a bit more. One other thing that I am aware of is what I perceive as the value of the item. If I were out shopping, how much would I be willing to pay for something like I make? What would I think of as a reasonable price? I want my work to be affordable. Maybe something you wouldn't buy every day, but something you're not kicking yourself about buying later because of the price. In the spirit of keeping the joy of owning a wee bit of an artisan's work alive, I'd like customers to remain happy with their purchase on all levels. It is also a reason that I am not a 'hard seller'. If you like something, can afford it and want to take it home with you, then I am on board and happy to help you out! If you want to just stop and chat and look, that's good too. I have gotten so many ideas and suggestions from window shoppers and customers alike~ I consider getting out of my box a bonus to setting up for in person shows.

I am a 'bail as you go' bead seller. When I am at my table, I have a few pieces bailed and ready to roll and a lot that can be fixed up on demand. It is true that folks tend to buy the bailed pieces first (so I probably should have more of them ready to roll). I can sit at my table and do a few more throughout the day, which often brings folks by to see what I'm up to. I've also had folks who want to watch the bailing process- a mini class if you will. I'm just fine with giving out some pointers. If they're serious about it, they may learn a little something.

Here's a little pricing trick I use at my table when selling in person. I use signs that show a range of prices rather than pricing each item individually. After years of hearing folks say 'oh it figures I would choose the most expensive one' I have made my price signs so the highest possible price is a little more than the most expensive piece on the table. Silly? Yes, but I'm much happier not having to hear folks say that so often.

Lampwork Glass Ornaments for the Blog Hop and How to Make Them

Ah, so, the other day I was inspired to make some glass bird beads. Yes, I've tried this before and not been completely pleased with the results. This time I came up with a couple of different styles that I rather liked. Some were turned into earrings, others into ornaments~ all ready for the ornament blog hop! Click here to see other wonderful artisan made ornaments.

These are so easy to make~ you just need a rather heavy weight, long headpin and some complimentary beads. Line 'em up, make a loop and Bob's your uncle, you're ready to roll!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and enjoying making loads of cool things!

Handmade Lampwork Glass Pins! For scarves, shawls & sweaters

The other day, while showing off a couple of felted scarves on facebook, someone showed me a nice pin that she'd made with her own lampwork beads, which got me thinking about the different types of pins I make with my beads and why.

First is the fibula pin, which your leg bone was named after, not the other way around (or so I've been told). Mine are made on 16 gauge brass wire, which is pretty thick~ so that it won't bend out of shape easily when used. Brass is nice because it doesn't patina like copper and it is cost effective. Because these pin wires are so thick, they should really only be used on loosely woven things like shawls or sweaters. Otherwise they might make big old holes in your lovely scarf! Fibula pins are rather time consuming and tetchy, so I've come up with two different options.

Next came the fork, which can also be used to hold hair back (mine works best when put in while my hair is still wet~ I have the thin, slippery kind of hair, so it will slide a bit as the day progresses otherwise). I was happy to find that these had two good uses. They are also quite thick as they are made on 14 gauge brass wire. So, again good for loosely woven items.





Then came the simple bent stick. Really cool because it is so simple and it works quite nicely! This is very similar to the hair stick option, but with just one wire to thread through the shawl. Another 14 gauge choice, so still not great for a scarf.

Once I started making felted scarves, I got serious about stick pins again. The pin part of these is quite slender and, after searching high and low, I found some hat pin blanks in stainless steel that were nice and strong. The bits and pieces to put these together come from about 4 different companies~ yikes! I find it easiest to insert the stick pin in and just leave it there, putting the scarf on and off over my head.

Making a Wet Felted 'Tulip' Bowl, A Quick Tutorial

Well, weeks ago I promised to write down directions for making this type of wet felted bowl. So, finally, here we go. I'm not going to give you detailed instructions for basic wet felting here- hopefully you've got that bit down. I refer to these as 'liriodendron' bowls, named after the tulip tree or yellow poplar.

This bowl began with a couple of layers of white wool, placed perpendicularly to each other for the base. Wool was added on each side in some pretty contrasting colors. Four layers of wool were used; more would make it even sturdier. Since both colors would be seen on the finished piece, I wanted something a bit showy~ the colors are so nice and vivid when wet! Colors were added to one side, some warm water and natural dish soap was sprayed on, then it was covered with plastic and rolled flat with a pool noodle until it was sticking together well. Then it was flipped over and colors were added to the second side, another quick roll with the noodle, and then it was all wrapped around the pool noodle with a towel around it and rolled about 100 times in each direction (Roll 100 times, unwrap, turn 90 degrees, wrap up, roll again, etc. Then flip over and do it all again). At this point things should be holding together pretty well.

When everything looks as if it is felting together and shrinking has begun, it's time to shrink it the rest of the way. This is done in different ways by different people. Here the piece was first rubbed all over and the edges were kind of rolled and rubbed to be sure they were fairly straight and well attached, then it was rinsed in very warm water, rung out and tossed against the bottom of the sink  100-150 times.
It was then rinsed in cold water with vinegar to neutralize the soap, then really hot water and then once more in really cold water. This shrinks things up a bit more.

While still wet, the corners were sewn to shape the bowl. The orange and pink side is meant to be the inside of this bowl, so the seam was sewn with that side out. Seems the inside of the bowl is what will be seen most most often, so it was bright side in! This will be flipped after sewing, but for a different look, it could be left with the sewn bits sticking out.

So here it is before the flip and after. With the corners to the inside, it kind of reminds me of a tulip.

The final step is to steam the bowl into shape. A heavy pottery bowl was placed inside this bowl to shape and weigh it down, then it was placed in a strainer over a bowl of steaming water, covered and allowed to steam for a couple of hours. After drying for a couple of days, it was ready to show off!


The idea for this type of bowl came from Lark Books '500 Felted Objects'. Sadly, I don't own this book so cannot tell you the artisan's name.