Found this on the net thought it was worth posting here,
******WELL WORTH A READ TROOPS****** A lady wanted to purchase a beautiful hand crocheted dress and spotted a crafter who did absolutely amazing work, but she charged a good price too. The lady thought that her price was way too high so she approached the crocheter and in quite a brusk fashion stated "I want to buy a dress from you, but I think you charge too much." The crafter was a little taken aback but replied "Ok, how much do you think i should charge?" The lady replied “I think you should charge “X” much, because the yarn will cost this much, and ribbons this much, and buttons this much. I even factored in the price of scissors." The final price the lady had calculated was a lot cheaper than the crafters original price, but she said "Ok, deal. You will get your dress in a week". The customer is very pleased with herself and can’t resist telling all her friends what a fabulous deal she has negotiated and how smart she is, and that in a week she will have her gorgeous crocheted dress. A week later her parcel arrives in a lovely packaged box. She opens it and inside is yarn, ribbons, buttons and even scissors. Angrily she contacts the crafter asking “How could you do this to me? I asked you for a dress and you sent me a box of yarn, ribbon, buttons and scissors?!" The crafter quietly replies "My dear, you got exactly what you paid for, if you think there is something missing, you need to pay for it. "Moral of the story, when you buy handmade you are not just buying the materials you are buying the crafters, time, effort, love and dedication that goes into making your items.
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I'm new to this group...this was the first post I saw when entering the Community and thought I'd add a clever solution I happened across about 10 years ago when women were loving the idea of me crocheting or knitting or sewing baby items for them to use as gifts for their new grandbabies. I would do the work after they agreed to pay and not too infrequently they would put LESS in the payment envelope than they originally agreed upon. SO...I decided to do them for FREE...with ONE condition:
WHILE I worked on the item they were having me make, they would come to my home and work their way down my chore list ... hour for hour.
Well...guess what happened? You guessed it...NO MORE INQUIRIES from the cheap (wealthy) folks! EASY SOLUTION! I didn't have to be the "bad guy" by saying no and they found other suckers to do their work.
After such great success with that scenario I began applying the same arrangement to folks who wanted me to help them with their computers/printers (I'm a early-retired computer technologist/analyst). Oddly...SAME result! Makes it so much easier than telling them I left the industry early for a reason...I would MUCH rather be crafting!
CRAFTERS UNITE! :-)
2 comments
by asterixsew
18 Jan 2014
Welcome and what a great first posting. I think many of us have been 'done' at some point in our sewing careers
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23581244242321Thank you for posting this! I really needed to hear it. And I love how the crafter handled it.
Thanks again.
1215Wonderful lesson here, exactly why I don't sell my work.
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299559Wonderful answer to those that don't understand that time is money, for a crafter might that have missed time spent with family to just support her family.
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360659There is a great deal of effort that goes into our creations. It can take hours to decide which fabric, stabilizer, threads and design size/style to use. There is so much time spent in just the thought and that is before the time and materials spent with stitching.
I wonder, how many of us think about what I have just written with the digitizer in mind. When a digitizer begins with the blank screen – there is so much time spent in thought and that is just the beginning of a design. It is a very long process. There are hours spent with the thread path and direction as well as which fabrics will work and which stabilizers are needed. When the design is completed on the computer – it isn't finished yet. The digitizer will spend a great deal of time and materials testing and editing the design. Each time they test it – they must use stabilizer and fabric. They spend a lot of time and money (in materials) just testing the design.
I guess what I am saying is, we need to remember the work that goes into a design before we receive it. Good designs are not digitized in seconds with an auto-digitizer. They are crafted for hours, staring at the computer screen, making tiny adjustments. Most of us get very good designs for free. Do we think about the time and money they spent crafting?
The next time you get a good design for free or cheap – please thank the digitizer for spending their time and money on your design.
This comment was not meant to offend anyone. I only want you to think about it.
Hugs to all my Cute friends!
2 comments
by debswebster
18 Jan 2014
Dear Rescuer, I cannot begin to imagine how much time is spent on digitizing, one must have to be so focused and dedicated. Thank you to all the digitizers for your creativity, time and energy spent for which we, in turn, have the pleasure of using the end product.
57675Great story.....I should try something like that next time someone questions my asking price
4758How true.. often those who can't forget what it takes and how long it takes to make the finished product they long for..
45918Nicely said. All the supplies add up but then they forget the time it takes to craft an item and the skills to do the crafting.
89895I love this and it is so true. I think that most people who do not sew, embroider, knit etc have no idea of how many hours go into something hand made. Thank you for posting. Sarah.
255054I crochet tablecloths, doilies, sweaters, coats, etc., and when I see companies selling these for pennies, I feel for the crafter. I love this story and it should be printed at every craft fair so that the customer will be reminded of the actual cost of the product. I have people tell me I should sell what I make, but I know from experience that I would lose money drastically if I tried. Gifts of love is what I concentrate on.
5660Sew Sew true. People seem to think our time is not worth anything.
16707Brilliant, I must print this off and stick it on the wall of my sewing room
3 comments
by asterixsew
15 Jan 2014
I remember years ago making a lot of outfits for a school play one of our daughters was in. The one person who quibbled (argued) at my small charge was the person who had the most money. Those with the least offered more which I declined.
115771This is awesome and it pertains to everything that is handmade...I think that people don't realize what goes in to making something handmade, probably because they themselves have never made anything with their hands....thank you for sharing this with us
1 comment
by graceandham
15 Jan 2014
I have had people at craft shows tell me my knitted hats aren't homemade because I "cheat" and use a knitting wheel (knitting circle). They just don't get it. Years ago I made needlepoint handbags for 4 people, including myself. I was the only one who ever carried/used mine. The others just left them in a sewing basket or somewhere. since then I've said you should only give handcrafted pieces to those who also craft.
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169064This is a great story. The crafter of the dress was very wise. Handmade does not mean bargain. It usually means better quality. I made two very time consuming projects for others this past Christmas. One I did a fairly good job estimating my time the other I missed badly. Live and learn. Becky
984678119So true, most have no idea what goes into our craft, everything that is handmade is worth so much more than what people want to pay.
6445111867Oh how true!! We should all print this out for future reference.Thank you for highlighting this.
2974Ain't it so true! This is why I only make items for family and friends.
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