Pieced Heart #4. This is my submission for the Lovely Hearts benefit show being put on by the absolutely delightful Susan Larochelle, owner of artstream gallery (her blog is Art Esprit). A bloggy connection I feel very fortunate to have come across. I can tell by how she writes that she really cares about all the artists in her gallery. She enjoys teaching art, writing about art, doing art. I can’t imagine a better resume for a gallery owner.
After finally coming up with a piece I felt was good enough to submit (weren’t you wondering about the fate of Pieced Heart #1, #2 and #3?), I went over to fill out the online form. Happily typing along and then there it was…Price. I knew it was coming but actually having to put the number in always makes me pause.
I put a number in. $45. The emotion of it being both too high and too low washed over me instantly. This happens e…v…e…r…y…t…i…m…e I try and put a price on something I make.
What’s it worth? Time, materials, expertise, blood, sweat, tears. I used to bill my clients $90 per hour for doing their tax returns. Does that have any relationship to the price I put on a zippered pouch. Of course not, but it sure pops in my mind as I think about those little numbers that will follow the dollar sign. For me, pricing my handwork is one big exercise in thinking about my self-worth. The value of women’s work. Work we traditionally have not been paid to do. Work that is now done for pennies in factories on the other side of the world. Work I have the luxury to do for personal enjoyment rather than to make a livelihood or keep my family clothed and warm.
A woman I recently met at the guild called me yesterday. She was on her way to Esther’s to look over the new spring fabrics and wanted to know if she could stop by and show me her handmade dolls. She wanted my opinion about pricing for the Member’s Boutique which I’m managing for this year’s quilt show. Beautiful handwork. Vintage linens for the aprons and underclothes. Wool yarn for the hair, each strand individually applied to the scalp and knotted. She hugged one of the dolls as she talked to me. She wondered if buyers would appreciate the work that goes into making each one. Is it worth it to even try and sell them. She makes the dolls because she enjoys it. If I had to guess Jean is in her late 70’s. I was hoping to learn something from her and I did.
There is a good article in Quilting Arts Magazine this month (February/March 2007) that discusses all the factors that go into pricing an art quilt. Things like having a clear style, a body of work, acceptance into juried shows, awards received, name recognition, and unique techniques.
Great! Now I know how to price my work once I’m famous. What about right now? They took care of that in the article too. Right at the end. A square foot calculator for Beginner, Emerging Artist, Established Artist and Master Artist. Beginner – pricing starts at $50 per square foot. Seems a bit silly but at least it’s a ballpark definition. Does 9 x 9 mean I should have priced my quilt at $37.50?
I NEVER know what to price my own things at. I hem and haw and eventually charge what I think people won’t balk at, all the while feeling like I didn’t charge enough for all the work I put in, but still thinking I charged too much and that people will think I’m trying to swindle them. It’s awful.
I totally understand- I’m having some art confidence issues myself. But good grief! Don’t sell yourself short. Your beautiful little quilt is worth way more.
Good article on pricing. I do not believe that you will ever get your “hourly” rate for your handcrafts, but you can figure some workable tables to go by.
Your heart quilt is absolutely stunning. Everything about it. Colors, style.
Thanks for sharing.
yes, i do the same thing, and always wonder in the end. first rule of thumb… always round up. i was just wondering this morning, after having two people contact me about selling wholesale, if i priced my items too high, and even then i wanted more… i had to remind myself that if i am going to feel bitter and even a little resentful when i sold something i made, it meant i had priced it too low. i often see etsy sellers price much too low for the amount of work they are putting into an object and i want so badly to email them and tell them to raise their price, to give honor to their work, their imagination and the beauty of the handmade. i have found that the people who squawk about price usually will no matter what.
i am blushing. thank you kathy for your kind words. i can not wait to see it in person.
pricing is the hardest thing to do.
it’s really lovely! I would have done 50 to 75 though as it IS really ART, and good art at that.
“The emotion of it being both too high and too low washed over me instantly.”
That sums it up perfectly for me too. I really haven’t started selling my work and this post gives me so much more to think about should I ever do.
And your heart is stunning!
I think you’ve expressed the quandary perfectly. I like what Stephanie S said about giving honor to your work.
Quilting is expensive. True beautiful hand-made good craftmanship, that is. Crap from Sears is cheap. Art is expensive. That is beautiful art and beautiful quilting. I think it is worth every penny of $45 and more. I love the original style and colors.
Oh Kathy, I feel your pricing pain. It is the single most difficult aspect of selling something handmade. You just cannot apply normal pricing formulas.
I love the mini quilt. Simply stunning.
Wow, wow, wow! Kathy, it is really stunning and $45 just isn’t enough. But I can relate, in a way. I just sold a bag for at least 50% less than what I thought I could have gotten for it just so that I could sell it and get my name and work out there. And I’ve seen others who have bigger names sell something very similar for much more. Pricing and worth are so hard to determine.
Whoever gets your quilt is getting an amazing piece of art.
I think that article in QA was a good one but I don’t think you can apply that $50 a square foot formula generically for each piece of work. You have to also take into consideration the market that you’re in and what the market will bear for pricing. If you’re in a heavily traveled tourist/art area than your market will probably tolerate a higher pricing. You need to consider what other artists are charging so as to not undercut or overprice the current body of work out there. At the very least you should get back what you paid for the materials and an hourly rate that your comfortable with for the time spent creating the work.
Hey, Kathy! I was wondering what you’d been up to. This is beautiful: the colors, the quilting, the excellent wavy frame. Just beautiful.
Pricing. Ugh. I never feel like I get it right, and it gives me a headache just thinking about it. In fact, it probably is the one thing that keeps me from attempting to sell my work more often. I agree that it’s better to be a little “too high” than too low, but it’s hard not to cave at the last minute. (For the record, your piece is certainly worth the extra $7.50. That’s nothing! Of course, I’m not sure that this should be considered a “Beginner” piece….)
I love your heart. YOur design is very appealing, I love the “border” and your quilting is beautifully done. I think $45 is a great deal for someone. Good luck!
Fabulous!! This is so wonderful. I think everyone that makes things by hand feels that pricing dilemma… For what it’s worth, I would have expected that to be more than $45!
It’s beautiful, Kathy. I never had to give a price to my quilts until I donated to the Kim auction — and that was a totally different ballpark. It was hard though (and I agree with Meg – you aren’t a beginner!)
I believe this is my favorite piece for the Lovely Hearts show thus far. Gorgeous! Nicely done.
$99!
Wow – that is totally stunning! And worth more than $45, but I know how difficult it is to price things. I always have that combination of guilt for charging too much and stupidity for charging too little.
Oy. Just thinking about pricing gives me a headache. Unlike you, I tend to try not to think about the actual worth of my work–time, skill, materials, etc.–because it is just too depressing. I always think to myself that I do what I do because I love it and I’d do it if I never sold a thing. But that’s really a cop out. Ultimately, I usually try imagine what someone, or I, might be willing to pay for the thing and this always leads me to the price for something comparable at retail which, as you know, this devalues the whole handmade, artisan side of the deal. And after all of that, I err on the low side because deep down, I believe others will look at the thing and think “oh, I could do that myself”. It’s not so much that I don’t think my work is good, that is just often my response to things I see and like–how could I make something like that? But then there’s the whole “if you don’t value your own work, how can you expect others to” thing. No wonder this all gives me a headache–geez, thanks Kathy!
so lovely.
Kathy, I love the quilted piece. It’s a beauty. I appreciate how the colors & quilting brings out the heart shape and make it leap off the whole piece. I just began piecing & quilting so I greatly appreciate you sharing your work.
Great square! I think pricing is hard for everyone. You don’t want to go under or over. I guess if people will like it, they will buy it or ask for you to lower the price.
A beautiful quilt and a beautifully expressed post. Pricing of handmade goods really is such a conundrum in today’s marketplace. And even though it sounds like you’ve done your research, $45 sounds low to me! It is such a beautiful thing!!
Best of luck!
A beautiful and stunning heart quilt plus a marvelous piece of writing. Your observations on pricing brought to mind an elderly gentleman in our community who has done some very nice small intricate wood carvings and would like to sell them but has no idea how to price them. What a quandry for artists! Lots of Love.
[...] This was #2 in the series of pieced hearts I did on the way to creating Pieced Heart #4 for the Lovely Hearts show. My Out of the Box group meets this evening and we’re trading valentines. Why did I toss this by the side of the sewing table on the way to creating #4? I looked at it and thought it looked like it was in jail. Caitlin saw it on the design wall and said it looked like it was in jail. Greg came in and said it looked like the bars were a jail cell. Consensus. The heart is in jail. I still like it. I like the colors. I like the the whole ‘Be Mine’ aka ‘Be in Jail’ theme. I’m certain the humor will be appreciated by the person who takes it home tonight. [...]
I agree with the masses, 45 dollars seems a little low but Im not an expert in the area of pricing. I used to balk at the price of some hand crafted items, until I started really crafting and or attempting to craft….and suddenly I took a new view on the how subject. Where once 75 dollars for a hand knitted sweater didn’t seem so bad when I think back to the 3 months I’ve been working on my itty bitty scarf (ohhh the time involved no one could really recoup, could they or am I just really really slow;)….not to mention the cost that goes into fabric/yarn/materials.
I guess when it comes to hand crafted work, the consumer looks at quality (of work and materials), uniqueness, color combination, and degree of difficulty, and price should reflect accordingly. Any way you look at it though, its a topic close to heart that is hard to separate business from personal. I wish you the best in that process:)
lucy