How do you track

[afiberartist]

How do you track the costs of your designs?
Spreadsheet?
Actual prices of goods?
Hourly rate included?

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Have a look at my thread on the Business board  Here  for my answer to this question.  It is extremely unlikely that you'll be able to sell work any other way than at a loss, because I have found that most people expect to pay peanuts for "handicrafts" or something "homemade"!

[MTRuth]

I used to own a fine craft gallery. Many moons ago, I wrote a series of posts called Marketplace Mondays. Here are some of those posts on pricing:

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2012/06/11/everyones-least-favorite-subject-pricing/

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2012/06/25/pricing-the-formula/

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2012/07/09/even-more-about-pricing/

There are many other subjects in the Marketplace Mondays posts. If you click on the link below and put Marketplace Mondays in the search box on the right hand side (or bottom if you're on a phone), you can find a wealth of selling information.

feltingandfiberstudio.com/

[afiberartist]

Aug 29, 2022 18:56:17 GMT MTRuth said:

Thanks for posting the info and links. I’ve read through them.

Here is how I work to get to a retail price. Just FYI-I worked in the retail arts and crafts industry for about 30 years. From ground floor to store manager to regional manager, plus headed up an art and crafts manufacturing facility. Bla-bla

I use a spreadsheet for tracking each of my designs. Since I work in skeins of yarn and rarely use it all I work in percentages to figure cost (I rarely pay retail). However, I am mindful of what the retail price per item is listed as this is to inform those that say ”I can make that cheaper”. I use this information plus hours crocheting/felting as a conversation to that comment. 

I make a sheet (in Numbers (Apple spreadsheet, Microsoft has spreadsheets also and work similar)for each design. 

• The labor has 4 different sections just for figuring labor (preparing project pieces, crocheting, felting and finishing)
  
• another sheet for supplies, this includes pictures of the yarns, hooks embellishment supplies and finishing products,
  
• a notes section, for the pre felted size and the felted size.                                                                                             Now this is the realistic price of cost and labor BUT that does not make it the final price. Two factors come into play for the piece - its worth and actually would sell for.
  
  Now finally… for me I never used my crochet-felting as a means of income. I was able to make it a side hustle and never had to reduce prices to sell.  Of course I sold way better in Dallas, Texas then in small town Indiana but never promoted them too much at either place.  
  I guess this shows you’all I am an artistic geek, Hahaa 
  
  

feltingandfiberstudio.com/

[MTRuth]

Sounds like you have your system in place. It's good to keep track of it all.

[lindsay]

Aug 29, 2022 18:56:17 GMT MTRuth said:

I used to own a fine craft gallery. Many moons ago, I wrote a series of posts called Marketplace Mondays. Here are some of those posts on pricing:

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2012/06/11/everyones-least-favorite-subject-pricing/

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2012/06/25/pricing-the-formula/

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2012/07/09/even-more-about-pricing/

There are many other subjects in the Marketplace Mondays posts. If you click on the link below and put Marketplace Mondays in the search box on the right hand side (or bottom if you're on a phone), you can find a wealth of selling information.

feltingandfiberstudio.com/

Great articles, Ruth. I had t come across them before. 

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

The problems with pricing and the even greater problem of getting people to accept that textile art can be valuable and worth purchasing at a sensible sale price, are what have really decided me against selling. It's going to be even more difficult to get money out of people now that inflation is going mad and many people can't afford food and energy, let alone art.
So I shall make for me and my friends for the foreseeable future.

[afiberartist]

Sept 5, 2022 16:32:33 GMT Ann @ frabjous fabrica said:

The problems with pricing and the even greater problem of getting people to accept that textile art can be valuable and worth purchasing at a sensible sale price, are what have really decided me against selling. It's going to be even more difficult to get money out of people now that inflation is going mad and many people can't afford food and energy, let alone art.
So I shall make for me and my friends for the foreseeable future.

I believed the same thing when I moved to a small town in Indiana from Dallas. However, my art bags sold between $75. nearer a $100. each and that was about 8 years ago. I took them off the market when I closed my floral shop (talk about a tough business). I haven’t had problems getting my price however, where, has been a bigger challenge to me. If I take them into a larger city and pay a % to someone, I relinquish the control how they are sold and the additional % reduces the income. Being retired, I consider any sales an icing on the cake so… I continue to create other than looking for a place for them. I believe I see a new trend emerging that people want quality and uniqueness more these days.
I have a story that for me addresses the financial challenges of others. I worked for the Art Institute at their retail store. I had a student come down from his class because his instructor required him to have a particular pencil for the class. Now it was only .98 for said pencil. He said he did not have the money and gave me his money woes. He opened up his wallet to show me he had no cash but, behind his main compartment was a $20 bill, remember cost was .89. So I said you have a twenty and he said that was his “party” money. He was willing to fail a class to ensure he had “party” money. I do not judge if people can afford or can’t afford an item I am selling.