Pricing Handmade

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 January 2012 08:49 Written by Uniqlets Jewelry by Lisa Sunday, 8 January 2012 07:12

A blog post about pricing handcrafted goods sparked more debate than I would ever have imagined.  So, I thought, why not jump into the fray?  It hadn’t seemed that complicated to me.  Whatever job I do, I expect compensation for my time and my talent.  I demand compensation that includes health benefits, paid vacation, paid sick leave and a salary that allows me to pay my living expenses and generate savings.  Why not expect the same compensation when I design and create jewelry?
To be fair, I know that I cannot expect the same hourly pay or benefits from my new jewelry craft business that I command from my career.  But how much will I lower my expectations?  My question to fellow crafters is  “would you take a job that offered less than minimum wage?  Would you resent competing for a job with someone who will accept less than a living wage because the job is not his or her sole income source?”
My challenge to myself and others is to approach our businesses as careers.   That means, when pricing a piece of jewelry, I take into account the cost of my materials, my overhead – including health insurance, tools, expenses for my website and shop, advertising and promotion.  And, I include $30 an hour for my time.   I only count the hours I spend creating things.  At some point, I would like to pay myself for equal number of hours I spend on all the other aspects of my business.   Enjoying what I do does not negate the value of my time.  I must value my work and my design if I am to expect a customer to value them.  I don’t compare my prices to those in Walmart or Target or a similar store.  My one of a kind products are not comparable to mass produced merchandise and, presumably, my customer is not deciding between purchasing one of my pieces and buying something mass produced in China.
It all comes down to determining who the target customer is and how to make that customer my customer.   I know that my customer appreciates the creativity, time and passion that goes into a handmade object.  My customer values uniqueness and wants one of a kind items.  When pricing my jewelry, I  look at prices in fashion magazines, craft galleries, boutiques and design or craft museum shops.  I know that I cannot command the prices charged for top designer costume jewelry featured in the pages of Vogue or Bazaar.  But those prices (which are often ten times my prices) remind me that there are people with disposable income who are spending freely when they attach value to items.   That is the crafter’s biggest challenge, promoting our creations in a way that will help people to attach value to our merchandise, to perceive our products as exclusive, desirable, luxury items.  We need to show customers what is unique and special about our work, to teach them the difference between handcrafted and homemade.  We have to help customers to attach as much value to what we make as they do to items in boutiques and upscale stores and catalogs.
I don’t claim to know how to do that yet.  But, I think it starts with valuing our work, pricing it accordingly, and not under-cutting our fellow crafters.  We are craft professionals, not hobbyists.

Where do you Keep Your Jewelry?

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 07:27 Written by Chakolota Tuesday, 13 December 2011 07:27

Jewelry is everywhere.  There is estate jewelry, handmade jewelry, costume jewelry, high-fashion jewelry and everyone’s favorite– fine jewelry.  Whatever your style, whatever your pleasure, you can always find jewelry. For those who adore jewelry, they can always find it somewhere.  Even some grocery stores (we’ll keep it general– no free ads here) have a small jewelry counter.

Can you Believe it's a Jewlelry box?

Where do you keep these pieces of adornment?  Do you have a jewelry box?  Do you spend a lot of time and money on jewelry only to have it all over the house?  Perhaps, the top of your dresser is loaded with these treasures and trinkets.  “No, I have a jewelry box,” you say in protest.  But let’s be honest, is it organized?  Is it just as nice as your jewelry?  Was it handed down from your great-grandmother or your grandmother?  Is it as great an heirloom as some of your pieces of jewelry?  Is the quality worthy of your treasures?  I pose all these questions because I know a secret– handmade jewelry boxes!  “So what?” you ask.  Here’s the “so what.” These aren’t just any jewelry boxes.  Read on…

Nestled in Cincinnati, Ohio is RDC (Ramon Design Concepts) Woodworking.   Ramon is the artist who creates these wooden jewelry fortresses.  The boxes are exquisite, unique, exotic and some are just downright cute!  There is nothing typical about RDC’s jewelry boxes.  The designs are mind-blowing and the only thing you can say is WOW!  How did he do that?

The Zebra Jewelry Box

The first jewelry box that was sold was made of tiger wood.  The customer was so excited, she looked at her granddaughter and said, “You can help me take my jewelry out of the plastic bags and put them in my new jewelry box!”  I cringed at the words “plastic bags.”  However, I applauded the customer for the serious upgrade.

I doubt if the little girl knew that one day she may own that same jewelry box.   It will have monetary value and a sentimental value that will be priceless.  That little girl will have fond memories of helping her grandmother to place treasures of adornment in a little tiger striped box that brought so much joy.

This is called Queen of the Nile

That’s the aim of RDC’s creations.  We design and create works of art that are functional, beautiful, and intended to become heirlooms that will be proudly passed down with sweet stories and precious memories from generation to generation.  Most of all, these wooden beauties are one-of-a-kind.  So the little girl in this story will have a jewelry box as unique as her memories.

Creating a Pendant

Last Updated on Saturday, 3 December 2011 08:56 Written by John Atwell Rasmussen Saturday, 3 December 2011 08:52

For those who want to see the basic process for creating a piece of jewelry, here is a chronicle through the creation of a necklace pendant.

First a brass blank was selected to put my design on.  I had an idea about a “drop” of metal with a stone inset at the bottom of the drop.   I drew a stylized drop on paper and then cut a brass blank that would be larger than the drawing.  The blank was 2 x 6 cm.  I cleaned the blank of oxidation.

Filing, a little dapping with an 8 mm punch, and hand polishing with red rouge completes the creation of the basic pendant.  The stone is set into the hole that was pierced in the metal and the pendant is complete and ready to go to the shop.

The shop will be at a “fleamarket” next Saturday.  Locally we have a bike trail that is rather long.  The fleamarket will be at mile marker 31.5 at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery store (205 Cedar Lane Road, Greenville, SC).  Anyone in the area is invited to drop by and say hello.