Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of those that say “you want how much?” Or to take arms against a sea of “I can have someone else make that cheaper” and by opposing convince them to buy my stuff.
All of us that hand craft and have born our work out in to public eyes or better yet have been caught crafting in public will draw some sort of attention. There is always that first person that says “that’s good enough to sell”. The first time that you hear this you immediately consider it, at least for a few seconds anyway. You admit to yourself that what you make is actually pretty damn good and high quality. You start calculating the cost of yarns and time, and eventually you come up with what you think is a reasonable price for your time and effort. You open up that etsy store make that first post and then after a few days you hear the sound of crickets chirping every time you log onto your store because nothing is happening.
Don’t get me wrong here…if you are selling your work and doing it successfully, congratulations you’ve discovered the magic formula that works for you. The vast majority of us don’t.
Many, many moons ago I thought I could successfully sell my work, and some of those pieces are still sitting in a box at my parent’s house 500 miles away from where I currently live. So, yeah, it didn’t go well. I used the classic formula you hear a lot of crafty types use, the cost of supplies x3. I’ve always bought good yarns, red heart super saver has never been, or never will be an option for anything I would consider selling. But let’s base the rest of this conversation on that acrylic nightmare.
Let’s make a alligator scale crochet scarf, a real yarn eater, that uses about 450 yards of yarn in a variegated colorway.
That’s two skeins at $5 a pop. So we’re into $10 in supplies. Using that little formula your finished scarf would be $30.
That’s $20 bucks for your time and effort. If you can’t get that bad boy whipped up in 2.75 hours you are making less than minimum wage. I know it’s not all about the money, but dammit if I am selling something to someone I’ve never met in my life I want to be paid for my time. And I don’t know about you but when you’ve crafted for literally 2/3 of your life I would like to see a little better pay rate based on experience.
Then let’s be even more realistic. Someone may gust all over your work but admit that they are going to go get that scarf they saw down at Wal-Mart for $10. Most people love the look of handmade but don’t want to pay for it.
So obviously I’m not selling my finished products.
Once in a while I’ll meet someone who is truly interested in a piece I’m wearing and will strike up a conversation. There have been a very small number of occasions where I have been convinced to sell it, and I will give them a fair price because I can see they truly love, and want the piece. And when this has happened it’s been less than the cost x 3 concept. I walk away with a bit more than my yarn costs. They walk away with a smile and care instructions.
Now I’m sure someone is scratching their head and mumbling WTF?!? after wading through that tirade above.
Here’s the deal. I no longer look at my finished products as a way to potentially make money. I knit, and crochet because I love it. It’s a good way to calm that twisted, wild mind of mine in the evenings. It’s how I occupy time sitting on a plane, or have a free evening in a hotel room when I travel for work. On the few occasions that I’ve had people stop and ask to buy a piece on impulse you can see in their faces that they love your work, and they understand the value of your time an energy. You know that they will love and care for the hours you spent.
But most of all crafting is how I tangibly show my friends and family that I love them. There is nothing more precious to give to someone than your time. The hours I sink into a project could have easily been spent doing something else, like reading the huge backlog of books sitting on the shelf at the house. That little bit of yarn at the end of the day is nothing without the time and energy it takes to craft it into something beautiful and usable and gifting it to someone who understands that is just a priceless as the time.
Many years after the fiasco that left finished pieces sitting in the garage 500 miles away, I don’t think about sales anymore. In fact I’ve told my family to give those pieces away to whomever they think will like them. I make things without regards to what the yarn costs, well…I take that back, I still won’t buy pure cashmere, that’s still out of the range of what I’m brave enough to knit. I buy it because I like it, or know someone who will. I’m not thinking about my time having a price on it. My only concern is crafting a piece that is made with love, because I believe that it makes that finished piece feel warmer, and more alive when it finally comes off that hook or those needles.
So those of you selling or considering it, good luck! You’ll never find a competitor with me.
Rough Purls 