Crafty Tuesday: Answering some Questions
Mar. 4th, 2014 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerI got a few the last time I posted a request so I will answer those and get back to secret project #1.
How do people price their artwork?
Boy that is a big “it depends” but I can give you the formula so one doesn’t sell one’s skills too short.
The simple formula is materials cost + labor cost = price of object.
Materials cost is what you spend that goes into the object. Some things you have to price out over time so the initial investment, say a really really good set of markers, is a lot but if you figure that you can get 50 to 100 drawing out of a marker then you divide the cost of the markers into each drawing. Same goes for wire and beads if you are making jewelry or yarn for knitting. Each project has a basic materials cost.
Labor cost should be simple. Federal minimum wage is 7.25 an hour. I live in New York where it is now 8.00 per hour.
So it takes me 4 hours to make a very basic puppet and another hour to two hours for very basic clothing. The least I should make is 40.00 in labor costs.
Take a Phluzzie.
These are my signature puppets. I have been making them for almost 20 years now.
Material cost is foam +fleece + fuzzy fabric +Ping Pong Balls + rhinestones +black dots + cardboard or tag board + red fabric for the mouth or about 20.00 to 25.00 of materials total.
4 hours of labor to make the puppet is 32.00
So it is 20.00 +32.00=52.00. I tend to sell them for 50, which is the Federal Minimum Wage.
However I am short changing myself a bit because along with the puppet comes the skill and experience that I have learned over the years.
How did I start making puppets?
Well the current versions I enjoy making came from working with Peter Hart at the Center for Puppetry Arts. He needed 12 puppets for a hand and rod course so he taught me the pattern he used and I made 13 puppets and got to keep one. It was a crash course in making puppets but I learned a lot that week and have been making them ever since.
But over all puppets have always been part of my life in one form or another. I can’t remember a time that there weren’t puppets in it. I have enjoyed learning about how to make all kinds of puppets. I have enjoyed experimenting with various kinds of puppets over the years. I have created at least 4 sets of Titania and Oberon for various productions of Midsummer Nights Dream mostly rod puppets. I would love to explore tabletop puppetry more.
Puppets hold a fascination for me that I don’t really have in any other art form so they are my source of expression.
Next week I'll talk about how I got into costuming.
I am grateful for getting paid what I am worth.
How do people price their artwork?
Boy that is a big “it depends” but I can give you the formula so one doesn’t sell one’s skills too short.
The simple formula is materials cost + labor cost = price of object.
Materials cost is what you spend that goes into the object. Some things you have to price out over time so the initial investment, say a really really good set of markers, is a lot but if you figure that you can get 50 to 100 drawing out of a marker then you divide the cost of the markers into each drawing. Same goes for wire and beads if you are making jewelry or yarn for knitting. Each project has a basic materials cost.
Labor cost should be simple. Federal minimum wage is 7.25 an hour. I live in New York where it is now 8.00 per hour.
So it takes me 4 hours to make a very basic puppet and another hour to two hours for very basic clothing. The least I should make is 40.00 in labor costs.
Take a Phluzzie.
These are my signature puppets. I have been making them for almost 20 years now.
Material cost is foam +fleece + fuzzy fabric +Ping Pong Balls + rhinestones +black dots + cardboard or tag board + red fabric for the mouth or about 20.00 to 25.00 of materials total.
4 hours of labor to make the puppet is 32.00
So it is 20.00 +32.00=52.00. I tend to sell them for 50, which is the Federal Minimum Wage.
However I am short changing myself a bit because along with the puppet comes the skill and experience that I have learned over the years.
How did I start making puppets?
Well the current versions I enjoy making came from working with Peter Hart at the Center for Puppetry Arts. He needed 12 puppets for a hand and rod course so he taught me the pattern he used and I made 13 puppets and got to keep one. It was a crash course in making puppets but I learned a lot that week and have been making them ever since.
But over all puppets have always been part of my life in one form or another. I can’t remember a time that there weren’t puppets in it. I have enjoyed learning about how to make all kinds of puppets. I have enjoyed experimenting with various kinds of puppets over the years. I have created at least 4 sets of Titania and Oberon for various productions of Midsummer Nights Dream mostly rod puppets. I would love to explore tabletop puppetry more.
Puppets hold a fascination for me that I don’t really have in any other art form so they are my source of expression.
Next week I'll talk about how I got into costuming.
I am grateful for getting paid what I am worth.
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Date: 2014-03-04 03:30 pm (UTC)