Pricing question and critique needed...

(wood) (plastic) Barbara Beader and Polymer Clay Crusader

In message , Su

Well I am hoping that DH will get around to making them for me in the same wood as he made the frame. He has a pattern to go by. Now he has finished cleaning is work shop out he may get round to it. I mean to say he has 2 lathes, a band saw. a planer/sander and goodness knows what down there in the workshop.

I must remind him again. Shirley

In message , Barbara Forbes-Lyons writes

In message , snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com writes

I know how you feel Christine, here where I live in Uk people expect to buy my things for less than the price of the beads. They do not get them. If they want it they must pay the price of it or it goes in my collection. I must have the most jewellery in the village. When I made the bracelet that was portrayed on the front of B&B. I wore it to my computer class. Now one of the tutors very fond of jewellery was looking at with great interest. I said don't ask you cannot afford it. Taken aback she said why. I said it would cost you 200 pounds. I had to go to Sheffield for some of the beads. I had to send to London for the

200 Swarovski crystals and to Germany for the clasp. Then it took me many hours to make it. Even then my hourly rate would only be a third of what you earn for teaching this class.

I left the class because she wanted exotic things for nothing. She was replacement for my tutor Martin who had suffered a heart attack.

Shirley

OMTP*

SoftFlex, to me, seems to drape better and feels stronger. I've had far fewer breaks as well (only one that I know of).

(*official 'Me Too' post)

When I was really having a serious mad desire for a marudai I thought about asking your fantastic, talented DH to make one for me!

Bobbins can be made from empty film canisters weighted with whatever as long as they weigh the same.

I managed to acquire a set from someone getting out of the braiding lark. Now I just need time to do something with them!

-Su

That reminds me... when I first came here I had some ebay listings that were getting zero bids but had a lot of hits and quite a few watchers. Several ladies here jumped in *quick* and told me that I should be asking more for my work and to raise my prices... a lot! I cringed, upped the prices by 30-50%, relisted and sold, IIRC, 9 of 10, several with 'Buy It Now'!

I look at the work I did then (shudder) and what I design/create now and know that a LOT of the difference is simply from being challenged right here in r.c.b. Not so much overtly challenged but challenged by the wonderful quality and passion here.

These guys are contagious and always amaze me! (I still feel leagues away in skill and ability some days, but not so much as I did!)

Hi Patti,

Heheh! Happily, my day job pays much more than minimum wage (I catalog photos), but I think I have resigned myself to thinking that I'll always be an artist with a day job. I don't know if it is the local market or not, that's why I was hoping to reach more people through the web.

Good idea, I'll try that out on my friends!

You know, that doesn't seem too unreasonable to triple the cost of the materials, especially since I had to pick them out and drive around :-) I think I may also have to put more work into my table this year too. Last proved that Mom and I couldn't share one table anymore, so I asked her to book two tables for us. I assume too that if I make things look more fancy, they will be perceived as such :-)

It's funny, I most totally not have the same mindset as the average consumer...maybe by the time the last show rolls around I'll price things up. It sometimes surprises me what sells one year and than doesn't the next :-) I can see people being a little more skeptical of something low priced.

Thanks Patti :-) I can't wait for November. I wish there were more craft sales the rest of the year :-) I looked at your website last night, and I must say you have some very pretty work. I liked the big pendants, especially the Christmas star one.

Best, Christine

Christine -- for some reason, my website is still up (I haven't had AOL in a while) so you can see more about me if you wish:

Becki

It sounds just like it looks (IRL). ;-D

Yes -- I often give discounts, if I like a customer or they're buy> > People HAGGLE?!?!? Oh my GAWD!!

I KNOW! Shirley, if I charged for all the hours I spent tracking down the unique little vintage bits I add to my bracelets and earrings, people would have a coronary at the price. They just don't get it. And a solid sterling silver clasp costs quite a lot, even at wholesale prices. Do they never go into a fine jewelry store, where gold and silver things are sold? Do they only shop at Target? It is *very* trying.

My in-laws are my biggest fans. My MIL is always saying she wants to be my sales rep for the newly-retired folks in Florida. (These people have MONEYYYYYY) I'd love it, but I can't work enough to open that particular can of worms. Hopefully my health will get better and better and I will someday be able to produce more -- maybe I'll even go into remission! I would so love that. I have so many things I want to do.

But Christine, upgrade your materials bit by bit -- use us as mentors

-- and I bet your business will do better and better. Write up your repair guarantee on your business cards. (I give a lifetime guarantee on my pieces -- if it breaks, I'll fix it for free, unless of course you're going to throw it in the path of a locomotive or something equally stupid!) I make sure people know this. I also write up what materials I used on each piece, and attach it to the piece on a decorative little price-card with a bit of thread -- you'd be shocked how effective THAT is!

I talk a LOT to my customers at shows -- not pushy, just chatty, informative..... interesting stories about the materials I use, and I try to make them laugh. I wear a good deal of my own work so they can see how it looks. I always provide a mirror so they can see how things look on them. Etc. I KNOW what my work is made out of -- that's EXTREMELY important (see price-card description, above). If you don't know if your materials are silver or silverplate, you need to pay more attention in the future. Keep your receipts, take notes when you order (if necessary), etc. Use the same sources over and over -- build good business relationships with your suppliers. It will make you feel secure, and you'll grow to trust your suppliers, which is lovely.

If you look > In message ,

Problem is most ppl at craft fairs don't know the difference and would wonder why Sally at the other booth is selling "pretty necklaces" (that she probably bought wholesale from China) for $7.95, while yours with artisan beads sell for $150!!! One year we were in a booth beside someone who claimed to be selling sterling silver jewelry with gemstone cabs and her prices were lower than the glass jewelry we were selling. PPL never stopped to wonder why!

I'm not saying don't use the nicer beads, just don't be surprised if you have a hard time selling that jewelry to the craft show crowd!

Having said that, we decided that the time, effort, and expense of doing craft shows wasn't worth the minimal profit we received - assuming we did more than break even. Your experience may be better, I hope so! :)

That's a very nice way of putting it, I never thought of it like that before! I have always thought I was worth spending big bucks on, LOL.

Best, Christine

Cool :-) I hope to make it to California one day. So far I have been to Lexington and Seattle (Seattle was so nice!) but California has always been the mystical land of sun and glamour :-D I probably watched too much TV when I was a kid :-) I'm glad you have such an available market. I think it will be a while before it is like that here, although it has gotten better in the 12 years I have lived here :-)

Best, Christine

Thanks Becki!

That was the next thing I was going to ask you via email :-) Thanks for posting that...goodness you are a busy beader! I have to hit the hay now, but I spotted the cow skull on this page:

I love that skull! Just gorgeous. I'll have to peruse more tomorrow :-)

Best, Christine

I LOVE Seattle. But where I live is not the land of sun and glamour -- we're more like Portland and Seattle. You're envisioning the southern part of the state. San Francisco is the land of fog and cold summers. Everyone always makes that mistake....it's really hard for a lot of people to feel how big California is. (Not people from Texas or Alaska....they think CA is small!)

Visitors often write to me, "I'm flying into L.A. -- can you meet me for coffee?" Well, I could -- if I drove for seven hours! (one way) As for people raising their consciousness about artisanal work, it's happening a lot of places -- it's improving. I think it's best in towns that have big universities, personally, but that's just my observation. Well-educated people tend to understand the long path and hard work that goes into a subtle piece of craft. (Or an obvious,

*garish* piece! Which is fun too!)

```````````````````````````````` snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

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Seattle is such a great city, I want to go again :-) It had so much vibrance. We went to Mt. Rainer as well and I have never seen anything so spectacular in my life!

Haha! That totally puts things in perspective! I didn't know it was so foggy though.

We have an art college here, the university, and a technical college. I moved here before waves of Vancouverites and Torontonians did, so I think that's helping as well. The cost of living here is expensive, but still relatively inexpensive compared to other places, and a lot of head offices came out this way. There is also a building called Art Central that showcases local artists and they have a First Thursday night every month. There seems to be more festivals going on too and lots of farmers markets. I really like seeing people embrace things that aren't mass-produced.

Best, Christine