On Setting a Price
As I start to try to assemble my plan to turn bags into money for charity, inevitably, the issue of pricing comes up. And now that I’ve been sharing pictures of my bags on social media, friends are starting to hit me up to make things for them, it’s becoming more of an immediate concern.
I don’t really have an answer yet, but here are the things that are weighing on my mind.
- We live in a world of fast-fashion, and where most of our goods are made overseas, often in places with dodgy labor practices. As such, we’re used to getting things at a particular price point.
- We’re also used to thinking of things like sewing, knitting, and other types of crafting as a hobby instead of a skill. And for me, it is mostly a hobby. I might do it for a living if the opportunity arose, but right now, it’s a mental break from all of the terrible shit going on in the world.
- The fact that it’s a “hobby” doesn’t mean it’s not labor, or that the skills required aren’t considerable.
- The fact that it’s a “hobby” also doesn’t mean that the labor to make something doesn’t have value. It also takes a lot of time…
The Companion Carpet Bag took me a total of 17.5 hours to make (not including preparing the pattern, which I didn’t include because I only have to do that once for each size). The leather wallet isn’t done yet, but so far, I’ve sunk 11.5 hours into it.
- I strenuously object to pressuring any craftsperson into undervaluing their labor. There are a lot of folks who do this for their livelihood, and they deserve to make their money, and not subsist on what equates to minimum wage for their time. I don’t think the person flipping burgers should be paid so little, and I don’t think the person crafting and selling their items online should be expected to accept that, either.
- I also feel a bit queasy at the idea of making things that the majority of my friends couldn’t afford to buy.
- The reason stores like Walmart survive, the reason they sell cheap-in-quality, and cheap-in-price goods is because that’s what people can actually afford to spend. I don’t believe people would buy those things if they could really afford better. Those companies are exploiting the economic desperation of working people to stay in business, and they’re exploiting the shitty labor practices in other countries to produce those goods so cheaply.
- I’ve always sneered at designer labels and their designer price tags. For most of my live, those items were totally out of reach to me, until they ended up in a second-hand store. I figured they were made the same way, of the same materials, and were expensive primarily because of the brand stamped on the side. Sometimes this is true. Even now that those things are not so far out of reach, the prices still seem amazingly frivolous.
- I got my first Coach bag this year, when the NASA collection went into the clearance section. It still felt super irresponsible and frivolous. After starting to make and price out my own leather bags, however, the price seemed less ridiculous. And the quality on that bag is honestly amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything so well made before.
- I still haven’t been able to bring myself to actually use it. It seems too fine and costly a thing to expose to the world.
- I want to make things that are functional and beautiful. They are artistic, but they are not art. They are meant to be used. I pick my materials to be sturdy, to hold together well, to fill their purpose. And yes, to be cost effective.
- I’ve thought about going through with multiple paths… One where people can commission a bag for a specific, agreed upon donation, and one where I have Facebook fundraisers and then draw names out of a hat and make a bag for that person.
I started on a much larger version of the Companion Carpet Bag, one that will fit an 18″ frame.
Meanwhile, the leather wallet/purse is nearly done. I got the closure, but I don’t have the right anvil to set it completely, so that’ll be here in a couple of days.