Making a Living with Your Arts & Crafts

How Do I Price My Work?

Pricing is a frequently asked question.  A short answer to this is, "price your work so that it will sell and leave you with a profit".

You can figure your time, materials and anything else you have in a product to come up with your costs.  I've never done that.  Materials for my work, such as metals and oxygen and acetylene are minor costs relative to my selling price.

How much is my time worth?  Some days a lot and some days not much.  If I'm designing a new series of pieces, I may spend several weeks with no return until I put that series on the market. 

If I am doing multiples of a piece that I do regularly, then I am doing extremely well. Some pieces I make more on than others.

To jump ahead here for a second, I believe in "product lines".  An example would be copper and brass butterflies.  Butterflies that would sell, back in 1975 for $1.75 right up to butterfly trees that sold for $100.00 or more.  

I learned that people like butterflies, so I had different configuration of butterflies for table and wall sculptures.

There was a butterfly sculpture to fit anyone's budget.

I used to do a lot of Americana pieces, such as barns, covered bridges etc., These were relatively expensive, and not everyone could afford a barn, so I made separate sculptures, such as a tree and a windmill which was more affordable.  Or a tree with an old wheel leaning up against it with some weeds in the foreground.

A perfect example of a product line that I just remembered; at an arts and craft fair I saw this couple selling ceramics desk sets.  The best I can remember is they had a coffee mug, a pen and pencil holder, a note pad holder, a coaster (for the coffee mug), and a 5 X 7 photo frame.

All the pieces were in the same ceramic glaze, with the same raised design.  I think it was a woodland scene. 

To me the beauty of this product line was that a customer could buy one item or several.  Also, they might buy one and contact the artist later and order more.

The features of their genius, was 1) Choice:  The customer had a selection to choose from.  2) Price:  The pieces were reasonably priced.  They fell into that category called impulse items.  3) Design:  Appealing design that would fit in most business or home offices.  4) Related Products: If you liked one of their products, there is a good  chance that you would like all of them.

If I had the photos and you could see all the pieces that I've done in the past 30 some years, you would see that they fit into this pattern of a defined price range for a related group of sculptures.

Now back to pricing:  A frequent error is to do a new piece, step back and ask yourself how long did that take me?

If you work this way you will quickly price yourself out of the market.  Working out a new design takes time.  If you'll notice that large companies come out with a new product and it is priced so that they can recover some of their research and development costs.  When competition kicks in then they work on how they can produce the product for less.  Less in this case does not mean making it cheaper in quality.

Once you have a design that you want to produce, start figuring out smarter ways to work.  On my small bicycles I would spend five minutes hand forming the handlebars, plus a lot of them came out uneven so had to be scrapped. 

In the Small Bicycle Video I show how to make a simple tool which enables me to form a handlebar in about 15 seconds.

For metal sculpture you can't go out and buy a "metal sculpture kit".  Many tools I make myself, and it's a creative challenge that I find enjoyable. 

Whatever your art or craft, find ways that you can be more productive.  By this I in no way mean that you or I should become an assembly line.  It's just a matter of being efficient.

To me there is a joy in looking at 50 finished small bicycles.  But there is no joy in making 50 sets of handlebars.  Those are just a necessary part to the bicycle and the quicker and easier I can do them, the better.

A gentleman that purchased some of my videos including the "Making Golf Sculptures" said that the first golf piece took some time to build.  But, when he made ten at one time they went much faster. 

Long story short is that I don't charge the customer for design time.  I set my price after I have learned how to make the piece.

This cuts along all line of pricing:  An experienced plumber is going to charge more per hour, but take far less time than an in-experienced plumber.

Pricing also must take in consideration where you are selling.  When I had a retail shop, people would come in from Southern Indiana and ask, "why does this stuff cost so much"?  Someone from Chicago would ask, "can you make a living at these prices"? 

Perceived value of arts and crafts is largely dependent on one's frame of reference.  If you are used to high prices, like someone from Chicago, then what seems expensive to others, may be very reasonable to you.

A group of stores I sold to in Chicago tripled the wholesale price.  Usually shops and galleries double the price, but in this case they catered to an affluent clientele so they could get these prices.  They also needed this extra profit because they were in a very high rent area. 

In 1973 I was doing a lot of work in New York city.  One weekend I was home here in Southern Indiana and we went out to eat.  I only had $50.00 on me and was concerned that I didn't have enough money.  Our total bill came to less than $20.00 so there was no need to be concerned.  But, it showed how quickly I had become accustomed to New York city prices.

This also means that the cost of me producing metal sculpture here in Southern Indiana is far less than if I had a workshop in New York city.

Your pricing should include the cost of doing business.  If you are doing an arts and craft close to home that costs $50.00 for the show fee, you can price your work accordingly.

On the other hand if the show is three hundred miles away, requires lodging and a two hundred dollar show fee, you will want to increase your prices to help cover your expenses.

The short answer to pricing that I gave in the beginning is still the best answer, "price your work so that it will sell and leaves you with a profit".

The bottom line for me is that I am doing something I love to do, making a living at it, and can work at home. 

There is no driving to work, no boss other than myself and I get to take a nap every afternoon.  It's true that I can't afford a new Mercedes S Series, but I'm not planning on going anywhere so that's not an issue.

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