This weekend I finished up a new batch of sweet Flower Crown Fox Pillows for my little Etsy shop! One framed with my Luminous Field print and two with more Wanderer and Wild & Free patchwork, which I can't seem to get enough of these days! I love combining these two collections!!
I'm planning to add these pillows, along with several others and possibly a few quilts to my shop later this week. My sewing room is overflowing with inventory at the moment and each item was made to sell. It's just so difficult to put a price on handmade items. Do you feel that way? I feel that pricing is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make as artists. I've read so many powerful articles over the years on the value of a handmade work, posts encouraging us to see exactly how much our creations are worth, as well as dozens of breakdowns on how to formulate the cost. In the end, I rarely can settle on a fair number equivalent to something handcrafted, knowing how much love and heart and soul I put into it.
Do you sell your work? Have you done a cost break-down for any of your handmade items? I'd love to read your thoughts on this, please feel free to share!
♡ Maureen
SOOOOO cute! I don't sell crafts but I would love to buy one of these!
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks Crystal!
DeleteThese little flower crowns on the foxes are so sweet!
ReplyDeleteI don't sell a lot but I did list my first quilt for sale last week. I used a pricing model of:
material costs + (hours to complete * hourly rate)
I will admit I adjusted the hourly rate to account for what the market will bear for the item which ended up with my hourly rate being less than minimum wage. I know that's not smart long term but it game me a good perspective on what to do next time which is:
- Track hours better
- Try and find ways to cut down material costs
Thank you for sharing!
DeleteI think its a really hard decision and one of the reasons I don't make to sell. Check out this post... I think the We are Sew Worth It campaign is really important http://huntersdesignstudio.com/ew-worth-it-2/
ReplyDeleteI just have to say that these little fox pillows are the cutest! I love them! I don't sell a lot of my things but when I do I usually look on etsy or another place for a similar item and see what they are selling for and go from there, keeping in mind how much the materials cost me. However, I don't think you'll find anything similar to your pillows as they're so unique and so cute!
ReplyDeleteI've read all those articles too, but it still comes down to what price the market will bear. Perhaps, given the time and creative originality, you think your pillow is work $150. And it may be. But if the general public is only willing to pay $40 for a handcrafted pillow, then that is all you're going to be able to charge. I generally try to look for similar items on ETSY and price my items similar to similar items.
ReplyDeleteIt is very difficult to price handmade items. I don't often sell my crafts but I work as a graphic designer and for graphic design work would normally charge (hourly rate x hours spent) + overhead cost/profit (This should cover cost of marketing, time spent running blog & include some sort of profit). I would price my crafts similarly, but maybe have a slightly lower hourly rate because I'm not as educated/practiced in crafting. We, as artists and crafters, need to price our items in a fashion that allows us to make a profit. We should not under sell ourselves, handmade items often take lots of labour, high quality materials are expensive, and special thought goes into making each one. This being said, a handmade item purchased by a customer is much more valuable, unique, and likely to last longer than something that is store bought, so it is worth the extra cost. (I didn't expect to write so much about this.... can you tell I'm an optimist?)
ReplyDeleteYou are most correct - if is a difficult process and one you may change as time goes on! I have done my pricing based on cost of materials. I have a formula for figuring how much fabric and such is used and then I typically take that number and times it by 3 or 3.5. I also do some scouting on etsy to see what others are charging. Mostly if I am at peace with my price, then I stick with it. Hope that helps!! Love your items and your blog! Wish you all the best!!!
ReplyDeleteI just love these fox pillows with the crowns, so much cuteness in one place! I know there are formulas in place but I think it comes down to your gut. Think about a price, then whether it would feel right to you to sell at that price. Does it feel like you are getting ripped off? Raise it. Feel like it's too much? Do some market research and see if you're right. I'm sure there's a sweet spot in there somewhere! You should definitely charge more than your basic fox pillows, though, there's a lot more work in these! Anyway. I don't sell anything on etsy so take my advice with a grain of salt. ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is something I struggle with a lot. I know I price my stuff pretty low, because I don't want to price myself out of the market. But at the same time when an item doesn't sell, and has to be re-listed several times, and then you add the fees that get taken out once it does sell, I don't make any money at all, and just hope to recover my costs for materials. I try to look at it more like this, I get to do my hobby, and get paid back for my materials when done. But this has made me consider on several occasions that it won't be long term for me, and I probably will not be able to make a living doing such.
ReplyDeleteThese are so adorable. I love the flowers on their heads. I have sold handmade greeting cards and have found it hard to put the full price on them. Everyone I know said I was cheating myself. Sigh. I didn't do it to make a huge profit, just enough to get more supplies and a little for my time.
ReplyDeletePricing is just so difficult. I had to come up with a formula and teach myself to stick to it. Basically, I do this: ((Material Cost x 3) + (Hours x Rate)) x 1.25 = Sales Price. I figure this out with a base pay rate of $10 per hour, and adjust as necessary - smaller items go up a little, larger items go down a little, and I hope it all balances in the end. :) Basically the tripling of my materials cost is to account for incidentals - thread, needles, sewing machine maintenance, fuel to the store, etc. The 1.25 multiplier works in actual profit, and gives me somewhere to go if I decide to sell my work wholesale, or put an item on sale. I don't cut out the profits completely if I decide to knock a few dollars off at a show. Very cute foxy pillows!
ReplyDeleteI do a craft fair at a large University every ear and do sell many items. I do not have a formula for any of my items and setting a price is always difficult. I try to see what other are selling and look at the quality of the fabric and also the item itself to compare my item with theirs and I either match their price or if I feel mine is of better quality I do price somewhat higher. I belong to an embroidery group called Embroidery Garden and she has a price list of her design items and what the majority are selling for . I also take into consideration if I e.g. make a purse and what embelishment I have on it or if I include anything with it like a cell phone case to match or coin purse and then I would charge more. Items like Home decor sell very well and very quickly. Seasonal items sell well and so do smaller quilts e.g. baby quilts. Time is never something I include in my price because I do not really keep track of it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Maureen! As I was sewing your QAYG strip/diamond pattern quilt yesterday, I thought about selling it. I looked at all the designer fabric and all the time that goes into piecing, etc. If we priced the items as they are truly worth, would they sell? Do people recognize the value of a homemade item? Not always. Even when I gift a quilt or something I've made, I often wonder if they "get" it. If they get how much time and love went into making that item. I often want to make a gift but don't sometimes because I don't think the person would feel it was better than if I just bought something. I say go for it with a price to reflect all the time and materials you use. You have a great following and your items are beautiful. They will sell as all your others have. I remember a while back you were struggling with the same thought with your crowns. I think you raised the prices? and I don't think it hurt your sales at all. You just have an eye for design and color which make your things stand out from the rest. With pillow covers you could forgo the insert which makes shipping and packaging easier (and cheaper for the buyer). As long as they are a standard size it's easy to run into Joann's or wherever to grab an insert. Some of the other blogs I follow sell their quilts in their Etsy shops. One of them in particular looked like she charged properly for her quilts and they sell. They were in the $250-$350 range and people were buying them. Catalogs have quilts for more than that and they aren't one of a kind. Your neighbor next door might have the same quilt on her bed. Your items are one of a kind and unique. That's worth the up charge right there!
ReplyDeletelove them, don't sell anything online, not as good a sewer as you are.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, your work is amazing. I am constantly having a time with this topic. In my Etsy shop, there are so many brides that try to get me to give my work away because they feel I am a one-woman shop and work at home anyway. Sure I can work for next to nothing! Grrrr!
ReplyDeleteI have bought your crowns (on sale) and thought they were good value. I think another factor to consider is how easily can your items be copied? I see lots of foxes around the blogs and the design can be copied (or close proximity)by your audience--who I guess are mainly sew-ers as well.
ReplyDeleteYour new fox pillows are lovely--but you have feminized them and have lost half of your audience--my twin boy grandsons.
I have sold items in the past--at craft fairs--and it was very discouraging. People maul the items. I have found that people, in general, are very, very careful about spending money.
Totally cute!! I know this may sound base, but I figure the price of my quilt for sale by square inch. Seriously, I have figured other people's quilts that way and figure mine accordingly...higher than some, not as high as some others. I am fairly clueless as to pricing pillows, tho :) Also, as much as I want to sell a few quilts, I am unwilling to "give them away", unless I am actually giving them away :)
ReplyDeleteAdorable!!!
ReplyDeleteI cant get the backs of my pillows this tight.....
ReplyDeleteJeannie's formula for price calculation intrigues me. I'm looking forward to applying it to some items I hope to sell. One day. As my day job and my full-time family allows. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great series that I think might interest you in your pricing journey http://huntersdesignstudio.com/ew-worth-it-2/
ReplyDeletecute pillows :)
He can have a powerful, are we discount ray ban sunglasses not discount ray ban sunglasses afraid of him. discount ray ban sunglasses A younger cheap discount ray ban sunglasses Wen could not help but ask, you do not destroy their own power and prestige long ambition of others is good. That is, we took the machete iron bar, beat his grandmother. Another cheap took a whirl bottles http://www.kennadyco.com a bit, quite inspiring said. cheap thought for a discount ray ban sunglasses moment, but soon recovered intact.
ReplyDeleteHey, great blog, but I don’t understand how to add your site in my rss reader. Can you Help me please?
ReplyDeletechenlina20150711
ReplyDeletecoach factory outlet
imitation watches
louis vuitton
mont blanc
coach factorty outlet
replica rolex watches
burberry scarf
coach factory online
lululemon
toms shoes
coach outlet
celine handbags
abercrombie
lv outlet
nike air max
christian louboutin sale
louis vuitton handbags
tory burch outlet
tod's shoes
ralph lauren outlet
concords 11
abercrombie and fitch
ghd straighteners
burberry outlet
oakley sunglasses
fake watches
coach outlet store online
abercrombie fitch
air jordan 6
louis vuitton uk outlet
lululemon outlet
louis vuitton online shop
louboutin
coach outlet
michael kors outlet
louboutin
true religion sale
ralph lauren outlet
p90x
christian louboutin outlet
as
Nice pattern!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to have to tell you that Swedish organization Riksäcket (Swedish quilting association) has completely copied this idea and published it in one of their latest printed newspaper. There is no reference to you or your work.
If you want more information you can contact me at
agnetastickar@gmail.com