How to Price Handmade - Labour

A lot of people forget, when pricing their work, they have to pay themselves for their time and expertise.  We, as artists, often feel that our efforts in the process are inconsequential. That kind of mentality might work if it is just a hobby for you but if you expect it to become a profitable business you have to factor in your contributions to the end result.

Let me be very clear here. You deserve to be paid for your time, effort and craftsmanship.  You put a lot of yourself into all aspects of your business and you should get adequately compensated for your part in the creative process.

From the conceptual drawing board, through the purchase of materials, down to pulling it all together into the finished product, you spend a lot of time on each project. Your time is valuable. I’m going to repeat that because it is very important to remember. Your time is valuable.

So, how do you calculate the labour costs for each piece? It’s actually easier than you think. Decide how much you want to earn per hour. Then, multiply the hourly rate by the amount of time it takes you to plan and make each piece. That is what you will plug into the pricing formula you are using.

Below minimum wage is not acceptable! You are worth more than that.

As an example, if you decide you want $20 per hour, and you spend 1 hour and 15 minutes in the planning and execution of your design, then you would add $25 to each piece for labour. Don’t cringe and try to tell me that it’s too much! If you don’t think your work deserves the recognition, no one else will either.

Keep in mind, your initial prototype will take more time but once the concept is finalized they will come together quicker. Keep the ‘first’ of any design for your personal collection, or perhaps offer it at a higher cost than subsequent ones...a 'special edition'.

Next week, we will discuss your profit margin and why you have to factor that into your pricing formula.

Focusing on Life - Week 19

"Put the self doubt and worry on the shelf for this week and capture what represents hope in my life!!"

Many years ago, more that I care to divulge, my father planted tulip bulbs in the front garden. They have not bloomed for a LONG time. Oh, the leaves would sprout up as the warmer weather came, but the buds never formed. I'd pretty much given up 'hope' that they would ever flower again.

To my surprise, this April, the first signs of buds began to appear. I was not expecting it at all. I was delighted, yet cautious. I'd been disappointed so many times before.

I continued to watch them, day by day and have been awarded with many blooms in several colours. Proof positive that you should never lose 'hope'.

“Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul 

And sings the tune without the words 

And never stops at all.” 

― Emily Dickinson

Look What I Found Online This Week

This will be a new weekly feature on my blog. I will share ideas, recipes, tutorials and other interesting tidbits that I have found online the previous week.

Say goodbye to soda pop, sugary juices, and bottled water with these refreshing, healthy, naturally flavoured waters.

If you want a little 'bling' in your life, this fun, rhinestone shoe project will definitely provide it. 

These easy to make bug repellent bars seem to be more effective at keeping bugs away than any regular homemade bug spray, according to Wellness Mama.

Or check out these instructions for making Wild Chamomile Body Cream.

I picked up a copy of the Inspired: Spring 2013 magazine at Sobey's this week and found it full of fabulous recipes. You can peruse all the back issues on their website too.

Stay tuned next week for my newest discoveries. I hope you enjoy all these projects and recipes.

Focusing on Life - Week 18

"Take this week and step out of reality and change your view of things! You can have a lot of fun editing in one of the photo editor programs. Play with light, focal blur, liquify, sharpen lines, add color or take it away! You are working in the abstract, HAVE FUN!!!"

That is exactly what I did! I had fun pinching, swirling, inverting, zig zagging, polarizing, dithering, saturating and pixelizing to create the following works of art, suitably framed for presentation.

I used some of the various filters in Photoshop and also a free online photo editor. In case you are wondering what the original photo looks like, here it is...

Yes, folks...all those abstract pictures were created from the same photo! 

How to Price Handmade: Materials

Let’s first examine how to calculate the cost of the materials you use to create a handmade piece. That is easy enough to do, right? Well, wait a minute...are you factoring in ALL the expenses?

Since I am a jewelry designer, we will look at the true costs of that. Here are all the elements you need to add in when calculating the cost of your beads alone:

1. Cost of the strand or bag of beads

2. Taxes paid on them

3. Any postal charges if they were ordered online

4. Gasoline or transit charges if you went to a specialty shop to get them

Add all those together then divide the total by the number of beads in the strand or bag. That is your price per each. I strongly suggest that you do this calculation as soon as you bring new beads in. It will make your life much easier later on because you will only have to multiply the number of beads used for a piece by the cost per each.

Note: I should take my own good advice. I acknowledge that I do not and have lived to regret it.

Next, look at the other supplies needed to create your jewelry piece:

1. The clasp

2. Spacer beads

3. Stringing material

4. Charms

5. Miscellaneous findings

Once you’ve factored in all your true costs, you can plug the total into whatever pricing formula you end up using to calculate your customer and wholesale pricing.

I’ve considered looking into a commercial inventory system for my computer to keep track of all my material costs but you can also create a database in your favourite spreadsheet program. It’s a lot of work at the front end but will pay off in the back end. Trust me.