So here's the thing:
I love to make things and I have a seriously long list of potential makes in my head. The list is like a living thing, in motion, ever changing, and I do not dare to try to write it down in detail. The list includes wedding presents, new baby presents, birthday presents, christmas presents, clothes for me, alterations, repurposings, upcyclings, curtains, re-upholstery of our furniture, experiments, techniques to try, pictures in my head.......
Often when I make things and give them as presents, or use them myself, people tell me that 'I should sell those'. And when people ask me to teach them to crochet or knit they say 'you should teach classes'. I love both of those ideas, but. But but but...
When you make something and sell it you have to put a value on it. The maths is easy:
cost of materials + cost of labour + cost of overheads = value of item
This is where we encounter the first hurdle. If you want to pay yourself a half decent hourly rate, and as far as I am concerned, not to do this undervalues your skill and creative energy, the answer to that sum, even with careful sourcing of materials, turns out to be 'quite a lot'. The quite a lot comes from the fact that to sell things costs money. You need an outlet: a shop will want to buy from you at a wholesale price and mark up the item so they make a profit too. A market stall costs money to hire and time to man (remember the decent hourly rate), etsy or similar, charge a listing fee, plus you have to factor in postage...
The trouble is, there is another, very important way to calculate the value of an item:
what a customer is prepared to pay for item = value of item
It is very very hard to make the two add up.
Let us turn to the other idea: teaching classes... The actual process of planning a workshop or programme of classes, organising the materials and doing the teaching appeals to me very very much. But as soon as I think about the idea properly my head is filled with: venue? advertising? evening vs daytime vs weekend? are there enough people around here who would like to learn? what is a customer willing to pay for the service? am I really skilled enough?
And then, there is all that other stuff, the presents and the experiments and the ideas, where do they fit in? What happens when a Small is poorly? Can I commit to working at the weekend or evenings without destroying family life? Will there be time to do up the house? do the shopping? the washing? cleaning? gardening? help with homework?
I am trying very hard not to be pessimistic, but to be realistic. Why burden myself with a bigger work-load if I am not going to make some pennies, when I could concentrate on the things I love doing for my own pleasure, and the pleasure they can bring to others if I share them.
So you see, working out What I Want To Be When I Grow Up is hugely tricky. Should I attempt to sell the things I make? Should I have a go at teaching classes? Or not?
The thing about the thing:
The thing about the thing is that indecision and uncertainty are not good for me. They make me worry, make me grumpy and make me hide from life behind social media, tv, radio, audio books, magazines, books... I keep the input up so high that I don't have to listen to my own thoughts. So I can block out the worry.
It is ridiculous to be worrying about an idea, worrying about something that exists only in potential. I know I should get my act together and worry about only the really important things, but that does not help in the wee small hours.
That my dear bloggy friends is the thing. I would very much value your thoughts on the thing.
xx
And now the bin-men have been and I have been so busy self-indulgently worrying about the thing that I forgot to put the bin out. Bother.
hello eleanor, blimey this post has really struck a cord with me...only last night i re-opened my etsy shop thinking towards maybe starting to sell a few of my makes again, I have no idea why i have done this, its crackers because the weirdest thing happens to me when i decide to sell my things, my creativeness just flys out the window!! its happened before and its happening now, I'm not sure where this need comes from as I have a full time job and really have no time. Any ways i just wanted to thank you for your post its made me think that maybe I should get my head out of the clouds and just realise that what I have it just grand as it is without being the next Alan Sugar!! good luck with your thoughts, xx ps i do hope this garbled comment makes sense x
ReplyDeleteHello Sophie, Thanks for stopping by. I was thinking of you actually when I was contemplating whether and how to write this post. I remembered your dilemma about the potential to sell some of your beautiful Hettie Brown dresses it was quite eye opening to see someone else thinking about these things. xxx
DeleteWhat's the harm in giving it a go - they are all reversible decisions. Maybe thinking about it is worse than actually doing it! Have a go and don't be afraid of making somme mistakes or changing your mind.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all of that, wish i'd follow my own advice :)
Penny
Ahh ones own advice is often the hardest to hear, let alone follow...
DeleteWell I could have written that post.....maybe not as eloquently as you but still..... for every positive aspect there are 10 negatives that just pull me down.......... Everybody wants a piece of the pie...... And in the end i think it just makes no sense to try to sell my things.....but oh how i would love to find them homes..... to think of my art or crafts gracing someone elses home is just a magical idea to me..... My art out there in the world. And i tell myself if nothing else...make just enough money to keep me in art supplies...... :) But how to go about it? Here in California ... you have to have a business license and seller's permit...more $$$ .......so for now i just sit and stew about it.......make things...decorate my home with them......give a few to friends and family or have a giveaway on my blog now and then...... Either i'll figure it out one day or i won't but i refuse to let it steal my joy... :) Hugs! deb
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is that I have been letting steal my joy. Not anymore, from now on if I am sharing the joy then it is on my terms. xx
DeleteI couldn't teach , I just have no patience, ask the kids....but I love to make , sometimes I get a bit carried away and there's half finished stuff everywhere, but it's winter soon so I can kid myself I will have more time
ReplyDeleteYes time is a very illusive thing. Sometimes too much and often too little. xx
DeleteI'm nowhere near talented enough to sell my makes, but even if I were, I doubt I'd do it because of the worry of it all. I'm such a worry wart, I'd stress myself out. I think you have to be very lucky to make a decent living out of this game, but some people are willing to pay what a hand crafted item is worth because they value that item and realise the work that's gone in to it. Unfortunately, many others won't pay it's worth because in this day and age, most people are after something for nothing, sadly. Good luck if you do decide to go for it.
ReplyDeleteYes, all these are indeed difficult issues.....Etsy might be a good place to start as the overheads are minimal?! Glad you're settling back into life here, what a lot of boxes! There's one thing, a great opportunity to de clutter! :) xxx
ReplyDeleteWe have been on decluttering acid these last few weeks. The chaps at the tip think I am moving in and the ladies at the salvation army thrift shop fear me darkening their door with another load of stuff!
DeleteSimple really, if you need to then do. If you don't need to 'financially' then don't. You are lucky if you don't need to as then you get to keep it all, give it away etc. Money doesn't validate you and your worth although all too many people think it does. If you sell then do so at the proper price. No, many can't afford it but that is it's true worth and why should you do it for free? They can take it or leave it.
ReplyDeleteHow sensible you are! Sometimes it takes someone else to state the blooming obvious. Thanks for stopping by. xxx
DeleteI think you are more likely to make money from the teaching route. The problem with making to sell is people do not appreciate the time and work that goes into creating the item unless they stitch themselves and if they do they are more likely to make the article rather than buy it ready made does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteI am sure there will be an opening for you to do classes as the colleges do not seem to offer anything for the stitcher and there seems to be more interest in learning to stitch, I think the tv channel create and craft has helped here. Best of luck to you whichever path you go down.
Thanks. A lot to think about! xx
DeleteI've got a friend or two stuck with the same dilemma but seem to have found ways through it. They are all based in Sussex so no competition. Would you like me to put you in touch? I think all of them would say, push the door and nothing counts as a failure just a lesson learned or a memory made. Ceri x
DeleteA brilliant mental workout this and its resonated with so many of us lol I took a break from selling on stalls to make things for myself and now, 2 years on am not sure I can be faffed by all the logistics and hassle again!
ReplyDeleteI recently fulfilled my first ever commission and frankly loved making the items but again, the cost was actually greater than the payment : )
OK…so it sounds like I might be a bit late to offer my thoughts but for what they are worth, here they are.
ReplyDeleteI too am a person with a billion ideas (many more than I have time in the day to deal with) and I feel unhappy and unfulfilled when I am not making or thinking about making or having just finished making something. This is me since I was a kid. Its what I AM, not just what I do. I like the idea that what I AM can be a job but the most important thing, is to make stuff, money or no. (why my parents were willing to send me off to get a degree in art with ideas like this I have no idea…but God bless them!)
This is the formula I use to price my work now.
materials + labor +overhead = wholesale x 2 (at least) = retail
And yes that makes an item even more expensive but here's the thing, you are correct, the value is actually what the customer is WILLING to pay. So you could say, "that item isn't worth £100 because the customer at the market won't pay that amount". OR you could go to the customers who do value that item at £100 and you do that with great design, marketing and advertising. I know the arguments against this because they were my arguments too when I first started selling my work. But there are people who value the work precisely because they can NOT do what you. And they are the customers you want to reach.
But the first joy must always be in the actual making and I think making does not need to mean selling.