They're asking what price?

[neotoma]

I was following links to see what the inspiration for a lj-friend's project is -- the original is a caplet from Anthropologie. I was *totally* distracted by the fact that this model is wearing a crocheted necklace.

A crocheted necklace that cost $198 -- and is the Hemp Flowers Necklace that I made this spring.

They're making it out of mercerized cotton and lurex, so the yarn isn't any more expensive than the hemp I used (and quite probably less), and yet they're charging almost $200 dollars for it? bwuh?

Is this highway robbery or am I severely undercharging when I make stuff on commision? Is the Anthropologie brand so prestigious that they can charge just so you have the privilege of saying "Oh, this little thing? I bought it at Anthropologie"?

Comments

[wordplay.livejournal.com]

Anthropologie is just like that. You can tell from the "ie" spelling. :-P

Have you made this on commission before? And how much have you charged for it? I'm always curious about what things like this generally sell for - I have no frame of reference AT ALL.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Well, not much on comission, really. The few times I've tried, the people on the other side did not understand that "just make a vest for my granddaughter from your leftover yarns" is *not* really going to go -- for one thing, my stash is just that, *mine*; I have projects for almost all the yarn in my stash. Also, I'd rather have the person there at the yarn store to select color, because I love jewel tones, and will bypass the pastels the granddaughter would actually like unless told that pastels are the way to go.

That said, I know I underpriced the shawl (http://pics.livejournal.com/neotoma/pic/0002h3rs/g5) that sold at the Strathmore show. I could have tacked at least another $50 to the price, at the very least.

For a plain stockinette sweater that doesn't have cables, lace, colorwork, or mitering, I'd charge about three times the price of the yarn -- and I wouldn't let the customer pick cheap acrylic yarn (because it squeaks on the needle -- YUCK) -- any technique that would take extra time, would cost more, with mitering costing the most.

[zoepaleologa.livejournal.com]

Speaking from a finance background, most people who work in arts and crafts (esp. part time - which is in essence what you are doing if you take commissions) undercharge.

Here's the sort of basis you would use professionally. Sure, you might want to cut this for friends but it is food for thought.

For each item you make, you would charge:

1. The cost of the wool - if you only use part of the skein, and keep the rest for another project, work out a reasonable portion of that cost. Cost if any of pattern.

2. A proportion of the cost of the needles, and any other tools you use. Knitting needles and crochet hooks might need replacing some day.

3. Labour. This is where the cost is often lost. You work it out as follows:

a. Add up all your overhead costs (rent, lighting, heating, rates, etc, food, clothing, going out, everything you need to have a normal life). If you were genuinely looking at self-employment, you'd need to factor in pensions costs, tax and all that jazz. If this seems long-arsed, there is a point. Now, you want to earn money, and not just subsist, so add c. 10-20% as profit.

b. The total of the above is the turnover" you would expect to generate if you were doing it full-time. It does not matter if you are working part-time at this, and still have a full time salary as, say, an administrator, because you will be charging up real hours spent doing this craft work.

c. Calculate the hourly rate as follows: Number of weeks per year x number of working days in a week. Subtract number of days holiday. Multiply by hours in an average working day.

d. Divide total of (a) by (c).

e. The labour charge of an item is the number of hours you spent making it x (d).

This might surprise you and I bet it's bigger than you think.

The link you have shown will also probably have a selling commission and handling fee for a third party and so will be more expensive, but the above figures are a pretty good matrix for calculating real cost of crafted items.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Well, you're almost certainly right that I'd scant the labor costs, but I've *made* that necklace. It could certainly be accomplished in a weekend, and that would include the time it takes to wash and block it.

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thank you for making all of that explicit. Now I don't feel so guilty for my watercolor quilts. I remember when I made several small samples and hung them at a gallery for a quilting shop. Several people approach me for project- and after I told, they said "Yikes, no way!" Others were more understanding. Another story: I went to the farmer's marke last fall to buy lamb, and the stall keepers were selling wonderfully soft, exquisitely dyed wool. It was a bit expensive- but it was so beautifully produced and in such lovely colors tnat I bought several skeins for a friend. I felt good about that; it was lovely, and I know that it took alot to make those lovely varying colors.

[clara-swift.livejournal.com]

Well, fabric and knitted jewellery is *hot* at the moment. My friend is a jewellery designer (http://www.newdesignersonline.co.uk/page.cfm/action=Exhib/ExhibID=00136) and it's all she's been using. So when it's hot, it's expensive! Maybe you can make some money????

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Heck, I'll be content with just looking like I *have* money. This makes finishing the beaded crocheted choker more of a priority.

[twistedchick]

Bear in mind, whatever price the person who made it charged, the store doubled it. So, if it cost $198, the store got $99 and the person who made it got $99.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, $99 is a more reasonable price for that necklace -- at least the version I made out of Lanaknits AllHemp3 (http://www.hempforknitting.com/american.htm).

Still, I think it's highway robbery.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Anthropologie is notorious for that sort of thing, and yeah, it's prestigious enough so that they can get away with it. It's the prestige mass-market brand for artsy girls.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Huh... I've been past the local Anthropologie store, and the window displays look nice, but really, I'd rather look artsy on my own, then go with mass-market artsy.

Plus, it's unlikely the clothes will fit me, considering the dangerous curves.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting store. They carry stuff up to about twelve or so, but most of their stuff doesn't look good unless you're built along size 0 - 4 lines and/or have really long legs. Every once in a while, though, they'll come out with somethig that's just spectacular on short, pear-shaped chicks like me. Cut, fit, color, everything. My favorite skirt is a piece from there that I plan to wear until I explode out of it.

And yeah. Anthropologie's presentation is legendary. I know a rental company that advertises their furnished flats as being like they're out of the pages of Anthropologie.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Carry up to size 12 -- which means they exclude half the women in the country. :P I hate stores like that. Bennetton does the same thing.

[black-hound.livejournal.com]

Living in a virtual cave or something, I had never heard of Anthropologie. Until now. It looks overpriced to me.

I sew up a storm, and I do know how much labor goes into making a garment, but still. With their economies of scale? And industrial technique, etc? Way too much $$$. At least by my reckoning.

The 'what to charge' for handknitting has always been a problem for me. I never know how to value it. In most cases I tend to knit for people in exchange for something. Usually another handcrafted item.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not sure that you can mechanize crochet. In fact, I'm pretty sure it hasn't been done. It's one of those weird techniques that just don't automate easily, like cardweaving.

Yeah, most of the stuff I make for other people are gifts to family members (my itty cousins all have handmade sweaters or blankets) -- and I'm the sort who instead of asking for an item in exchange, usually asks "show me how to do that, please?" -- I am so DIY that my friends tease me about it.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

It's a Philly franchise, actually. :D They moved their flagship up to New York, but they have a beautiful Center City store in a amazing converted mansion with a stained glass ceiling and a fireplace that makes me weep.

[black-hound.livejournal.com]

Shows you how often I go into the city. As in -- not at all. XD

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

I have no idea how to price these things, but I think the one you made is prettier.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that's sweet.

Frankly, the Anthropologie one strikes me as possibly looking tacky, as it's made of cotton and lurex. I'd have to see one for sure, and I'm not going to go to the local Anthropologie store just to check.