Recently received a comment on face book that my dresses are too expensive. A fan responded that people often don't understand or value the time and work that goes into making my dresses. This is a long time discussion among crafters and consumers. In truth creative types most often undervalue their work. They tend to make sure they cover materials, but they don't charge a working wage for the time spent creating.This is one reason it is so difficult to make a living from art and the handmade. This is why stores like Target, Walmart, JCP have almost all of their goods made abroad where an hourly wage is $1.50 or even less.
It's an ongoing problem. Do I make a shoddier product with less quality in materials and workmanship? That would take less money in materials and less time to produce. I could cover cost plus make more than $4 an hour. Whoo whoo! Sorry a bit sarcastic. But I really don't know sometimes. I love the process of creating. Into every garment I put some of my artistic voice. I hate the idea of not being proud of my workmanship. I want my pieces to be around for several hand me downs. I want them to be sturdy. So I try to walk the fine line between being affordable yet valuing my work and making a bit of money.
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| sundress $42 |
One of my long term dreams is to support a very simple lifestyle with Annarella Girl. I'm working hard this year to explore avenues in that direction. I will continue to struggle with pricing. But I think I can't change my mind about quality; I have to be proud of what I'm doing.
What are your thoughts on the whole pricing issue? How do you artists and artisans out there handle the issues? Is it possible for most creative businesses to make money?
1 comment:
The reason places like China are so inexpensive is that they mass produce items and IMHO sacrifice some quality.
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