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

[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.