So, I am a little tight on money right now, and I figure that I can fix that by selling some of my crafts. I knit and draw, so my question mainly focuses on those two areas.

How should I price my artwork, and my knit-work? Several sites online state that you do the following:

(Cost of Materials)+(Amount of Time)*(Living Wage)= (Subtotal)*10% + (Subtotal) = Final Total.

Living wage would be not minimum wage though.

For example, let's say one of my artworks cost me about $20 for materials, it took me about 10 hours to make, and if I use $12/hr as my "living wage", I should get a subtotal of...

20+(10*12)=140

$140, and then add ten percent of that to get...

(140*0.10)+140 = 154

a final total of $154. Does that seem reasonable to you guys and gals? I'll post the piece of art here later.

As for my knitting... I have no clue. Do I use the same formula and what not?

I don't know either, Chris, but I hope somebody here does. I have been contemplating making stuff and selling it on Etsy. I'm trying to think of creative things to make that people would buy, that would be cost effective. My biggest problem, though, is that I spend too much time thinking about how I'm gonna do it someday, and then I never do it.

--J--

You will end up selling for what the market will pay. This may be 2(materials) or slightly more. What you do should be unique, and above all, NOT COPYRIGHTED. Practise your crafts and try to perfect them before you start selling. People won't pay for the kind of quality they can get at Wal-Mart.

Another thing to remember: People seldom get rich selling crafts OR art. Art is always undervalued until the artist is dead. Knitting is the worst for that. Make unique things if you're knitting.

Exactly-I'm in our cities' art club with many wonderful artists. We also live in one of the poorest counties in the state. Unfortunately, no one sells anything for what it is worth. With what materials cost now and the time involved, you could never make a living. You have to do it because you love it. Although some people do okay with craft items, if they are cheap to make!

Elfie's right: it's what the market will bear. I was in business for 15 years (technically I still am 'cause I haven't cancelled my business liscense...long story) with custom/handcrafted jewelry and later incense, oils, and milkbaths too. The "rule of thumb" was a 3:1 - 5:1 mark-up. Doesn't work.

You need to really know your market area. Scout out shows--everything from church craft shows to county arts festivals and major promoter's venues. Check pricing on and quality of items similar to what you make. Ask yourself if you would buy it for that price. Why or why not? Are other people buying the product?

Also remember display counts. Depending upon what your artwork is (what medium/s is your drawings in--ink? charcoal? colored pencil?) and the type of knitwork you produce, investing in quality props helps. As does advertising, particularly unique points. For example, do you dye your own fiber for your knits using plants in your yard/garden? Are your themes inspired by your gardening?

And be sure to check with your state revenue department. Taxes are..well you fill in with your choice descriptors...But they're critically important too. In PA, for example, income from craft sales is taxable whether you lose money or make it after deductible expenses; it impacts your state income tax. Likewise there are federal guidelines regarding hobby vs business and what's reportable, what's deductible. Start right and you don't have damage control later.

Sometimes community colleges offer continuing ed classes on pricing-starting a craft business, entreprenuerial tax laws, etc. If you're serious about this, take them. If you change your mind you've still learned useful info.

Elfie's also right about uniqueness. However, also remember the lemming mentality: fit in with the crowd. It's important to be different and unlikely to be easily found elsewhere, yet not too far out in left field. A fine line...

I'd have to see your items to comment further.

My biggest sellers are the washable menstrual pads. That's not exactly fitting in with the lemmings. The cloth diapers are starting to pick up, too.

My table-draw, the thing that gets people to approach the table, is the fortune cookies. I spend about 2 hours making each one, from cut to finish (I do them in batches, assembly-line-like), and I can't sell them for more than $5 each. Why? They're useless little novelties - they're used like greeting cards, Christmas ornaments, jewellery gift wrapping. They're super-cheap to make, not including my time, because I can use up scraps of fabric from other projects... but I pay myself next to nothing for each one. Still, it's a hook, and then people ask questions about the other stuff on my table.

I also make washable produce bags (to replace the plastic bags you have to take if you're buying green beans or snow peas at the grocery) out of really lightweight fabric. It takes me about an hour to make 15 of them (assembly-line again), and I sell them for $1 each - not quite what they're worth, but again, it's what the market will pay. My draw is that they're filling a niche that hasn't yet been discovered by the large department stores. Once you can get these things at Wal-Mart and A&P, at 25¢ each, I'm going to stop making them.

The lesson in the above paragraph is that you have to listen to your customers, and PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR STUFF. They remembered the few produce bags I made last year because I'd stencilled "Elven Hands UPCYCLES" on them (they were made from the unseen fabric of bedskirts which never get used in my house). Two weeks ago, THREE PEOPLE who bought one or two last year, and liked them, asked me if I was going to bring them back this year. Unable to find suitable bedskirts, I ended up buying a length of cheesecloth (and subsequently had to raise the price because the new fabric was more expensive than the used). I had 5 of them finished in time for last weekend's market, and I came home with one.

I just sold a beach-wrap made from 4 squares of fabric. It's a really "out there" design, and it's been hanging on my display for about a month (or four market days). The colour makes it attractive, and finally the right buyer found it. Same day, I sold a "tea wallet" - something to store your teabags in if you're the kind of person who brings his own tea to restaurants and orders a pot of hot water. I've had that on my table for A WHOLE YEAR.

That's the nature of the crafts business. People come to my table for the quirky things. They go to the other sewing-crafters' tables for "normal" totes and tissue holders, or baby quilts, and such. I am not in any kind of competition with the two other sewing-craft vendors in the market because we have such different aesthetics and colour senses. There would be hell to pay, however, if one of them started making and selling fortune cookies.

Elfie-they are adorable!

Elfie- How much do you charge for your cloth diapers?

And I LOVE your fortune cookie..since I won't be making a trip to ontario anytime soon, where is your online store?

I really wish I could find my camera, but I can't so I'm sorry for the delay. I should have the pictures up later tonight.

Okay, Elfie, so no lemmings for you. But I think you know what I mean... That's one mean lookin' fortune cookie I bet they are terrific novelty draws! Very nice.

Where you sell, Chris, is a big consideration. Elfie's found a good fit for her items and also makes a good point: branding--some sort of tag or card--is essential.

Duckfish - I've got an Etsy shop: elvenhands.etsy.com - go there and "convo" me so I can spiel you on the diapers. Or if you don't wanna sign up as an Etsy shopper (you need an Etsy account to buy stuff), just email me: elfie_laa (at) yahoo (dot) ca. It's bad form to do it here.

Chris - I would like to add (again) that I found Etsy first, made a couple of sales, and quickly realized I needed a physical presence to turn over some real cash. Etsy's kind of like fishing, and works only as hard as you make it. I then got a table at a flea market for three months, and though I had considerable passing traffic, and fielded a lot of questions, I NEVER made up my booth's monthly rent ONCE. When I opened up a table at the local farmers' market, I made up my summer's table fees IN THE FIRST DAY. You'll have to try different things. Maybe you want a wage job to support the crafting business at first?

Elfie, thanks for the info. And I do have a wage-paying job: I'm a cashier at my local grocery chain (Wegmans if you've heard of it).

At long last, here are pieces of art.:

This one is a chalk pastel butterfly, on pastel paper, and in a solid wooden frame.



This is my other work. Originally it was a graphite sketch which I then went over with watercolors.



A slightly better picture:

Are you in any local art groups? They might be able to help you with outlets, too. Mine did... But most people around here think the only "art" is painting. You need to check around.

Thanks everyone for the tips, and advice.

I looked into doing a local Farmer's market, but it turns out that it is currently food-only vendors, for now. The organizer/volunteer said that she is looking into adding a crafts market in the near future. So I'll just go there next weekend and figure out something.

Oh, and Elfie, do you think a $35 membership fee and then $10 a week for the weeks you choose is reasonable?

$35 membership fee is more than reasonable. Find out what rights you will have as a member, and what obligations (e.g. will your work be used in their advertising, or will you be charged more for "pride of place" in their ad spots?). Find out how much you can produce for sale (volume of work), and see if there's a "season-long" rate you can pay. It commits you to the market for the entire summer, for instance, but it would save you money on day-to-day fees. (E.g. $80 for the summer, versus $10/weekend for 16 weekends.)

The market itself is hard work, though. I have to bring my own tent (with cinder blocks to anchor it on the pavement), table, and chair, in addition to my inventory. I enjoy it enough to keep doing it even on my "networking" days (translation: $0 in sales).

Art is a hard sell. Lotions are known as "artisanal crafts", but will be subject to regulation under the FDA, I think. (I hope I've got that right... there's some department of the government that determines whether your skincare stuff is safe, and your production line is up to its hygiene standards, and it costs money to get certified by it.) It's likely the lotions will make up the bulk of your sales. Figure out what kind of start-up costs you can handle.