Why handmade is expensive

But here the work does not end as they have to take care to bring them to the market. For this, the craftsmen look after the marketing of the product, designing the package, and finding a place to sell them. It requires a lot of hard work to bring these pieces of art to the customers.

Also read: The CraftMark initiative for Indian handicrafts. The materials used in the making of handmade products are usually expensive as the craftsmen do not buy cheap material to make it. They buy natural raw materials, vegetable dyes and best quality materials for it.

In addition to it they do not buy these materials in bulk but in small quantities that makes it more expensive as the material bought in bulk costs less. It is obvious that the person who is skilled is paid better than unskilled workers. In the same manner, a person who knows his art well and is trained in it usually deserves to be paid more because he can make it better than anyone who is not skilled. Also read: Exporting handcrafted accessories that are a viable and sustainable alternative to plastic.

The handmade products are way better than the machine-made goods in look, quality as well as durability. These handcrafted products are worth more because they are more authentic whether it is using natural materials or natural colors.

All these points make it better and more durable. Some of the above-mentioned points needed our attention to justify the price of the handcrafted products. Image source: shutterstock. To explore business opportunities, link with me by clicking on the 'Connect' button on my eBiz Card.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, official policy or position of GlobalLinker. Please login or register to join the discussion. Hi, I am here to introduce Craft Maestros. We are selling here unique handcrafted products. More Articles by this author. My fairytale coats take at least 2 hours to cut because there are so many pieces.

A simple tube top might take me 20 minutes. A zip-up hoodie takes an hour or more. Again, this one is pretty simple, so it only took 30 minutes. The most time consuming of all the steps, but one that also varies depending on an item.

The formal dresses on my site, like the Nightshade dress , can take more than a full day to assemble. Same with the coats. A tube top takes 30 minutes, but a hoodie takes 3 hours. This one took about an hour and 15 minutes. I usually make a big batch of items and photograph them all at once to make it easier. Because photos are The Most Important part of selling an item online, I like to be thorough.

I generally take a modeled photo, a photo on the dressform, and a detail shot of the item. This is one of the few steps that pretty much takes the same time, no matter what. I spend about 20 minutes on hair and makeup.

Photographing 15 clothing items takes about 3 hours. Dividing the whole 3 hours and 20 minutes by 15 gives us 13 minutes per item. Photographing the item: 13 minutes. Step 6: The measuring, weighing, and inspection phase. Before I put the completed items on the garment racks to wait to be sold, I measure and weigh each piece. I also take this time to inspect each one for any detail I might have missed before: stray threads, a skipped stitch, etc.

Then they get a good going over with the lint roller and are put away. Measuring, weighing, double-checking: 5 minutes. The most tedious phase of all. I adjust the light and color balance, crop, resize, and I add my watermark. Editing the photos for one piece takes 30 minutes. When I add an item to my website, I have to upload the photos, write the listing description, and decide on a price.

If I also list the item in my Etsy shop, I can copy most of that information, but it still takes time. It probably takes about minutes to complete the original listing and more minutes each time I relist in one of my other venues.

The second most important component of selling an item online photos being most important, as I mentioned before is promotion. For the time it takes me to promote one item on the various social networking sites, 20 minutes is a conservative estimate. Marketing an item: 20 minutes. Once an item sells, I have to get it packed up and ready to ship. I spend about 5 minutes tagging and folding and another 5 minutes packaging and labeling.

Then I email a shipping notification to the customer. Note: Most sellers actually drive your package all the way to the post office and stand in line. Grand total Sketching: 5 minutes Drafting: 15 minutes Cutting: 30 minutes Sewing: 75 minutes Photographing: 13 minutes Measuring: 5 minutes Photo-editing: 30 minutes Listing: 15 minutes Marketing: 20 minutes Shipping: 10 minutes.

I do not time each and every part of making an item. That would be tedious and also I would freak out even more than I normally do about there not being enough hours in the day. I have 8 years of experience and skill. Middle class in the US by every standard. You can make the case that taking photos, editing photos and listing the items all should count as overhead. But so should the TON of time I spend doing extraneous things not counted on this list.

Responding to customer emails is a huge one. For the average custom order, I spend at least an hour emailing back and forth with the customer, sketching, shopping for materials, etc. Probably more like two or three hours.

A lot of people also have to drive to the post office gas money and stand in line more time to ship. I had to buy a postal scale, and I pay a subscription fee for my print-at-home service.

I have to order fabric and supplies. I try to clean and oil my machines and vacuum my studio at least once a week. Not to mention the actual cost of sewing machines, computers, utility bills, Etsy and Paypal fees, rent and utilities. Did I already mention that before? Oh, twice? Okay then. The responsibility to price things to meet my own goals and needs is on me. Those of you who know me will have no doubt heard me preaching about the evils of undercharging, yet here I am committing the cardinal sin myself.

For shame! When you buy a top at Walmart, someone was paid a decent wage to design the top ONCE, and then a person halfway across the world was paid a few cents an hour to make of them. Even so, our time is more expensive than a sweatshop worker. Handmade means we care about quality and attention to detail. Sweatshop workers care about one thing: make it as fast as possible. Handmade means we care about customer service. All corporations care about is that green stuff in your wallet.

And they are absolutely correct. Others have commented that my process is too slow. Time yourself the next time you make a project, start to finish. I can promise you I thought I was a lot faster before I wrote this article. If you can do what I do, and do it faster, kudos to you. With their support and appreciation, I am able to do something I love. Because you already paid yourself for the designing time from the proceeds of the first sale… or do you only do one off items?

Honey you really charged so much less than its value and i know for sure undervalued the time you spend. Thanks for these tips. And truth be told, someone will always charge less, even free. And people complain about free products also. Thank you thank you thank you. Meaning only one is made. Besides, any other designer pays themselves for the design phase in each and every item. Design is the hardest part because it cannot be forced. Not just anyone can design a well-liked item.

Kudos to you! Loved the article and am totally with you. Walmart and store like it ruined retail. Keep up the good work. You are very talented. I need some Vimes-approved jeans and socks. I'm down to one pair. I kill a pair of supermarket jeans every months. Mistress Rose. In our coppice group we ask part timers to think about pricing otherwise the full timers can't make a living.

Yes, hand made stuff is relatively expensive, but as several of you have said; it can last a long time. I used to make most of my own clothes, and although I haven't worn them for a long time, I still have some from the s that are still in good condition. If you can't afford to buy hand made stuff, try making it yourself.

It is cheaper, and will give you an insight into what is involved. Some things are more difficult of course because you need specialist tools and a lot of training, but some things like sewing and knitting should be within most peoples abilities with some practice. If nothing else it will make you understand why craftspeople charge what they do, and you won't get an exclusive design when you first start either. Basically if you are doing it for fun, then do it for fun, give gifts to friends and family and enjoy.

Don't take it into a marketplace and screw over those trying to work for a living. I believe it's almost impossible to do it for a living. Very few makers profit from selling to the general public.

The customer base for craft fairs and local shops is too 'broad'. If we want to charge what things are actually worth , we don't need customers, we need 'patrons'. And they are few and far between. A bit controversial but why do makers get hung up on minimum wage? It's a myth, hundreds of thousands of people earn below minimum wage and work bloody hard, I know, I'm one of them.

If its money that motivates, go and get a job that pays well. I am in no way suggesting that hand made isn't superior although not in every case, I've seen some shockingly awful hand made crafts etc but it was always only a tiny percentage of the market.

Well since the industrial revolution anyway and whether we think mass production is progress or not, the world couldn't function on only home made. I guess what I'm saying is that after many years of making to sell and now offering a service that is not well paid, I'm fed up of artists moaning about it.

Ducks and awaits the onslaught. That's sort of what I was trying to say I'm a pauper, that's why I have so few original artworks, I do hand knit, I realise the difference between handmade and factory produced.

Can we stickify this thread please. Nicky Colour it green. If its money that motivates, go and get a job that pays well.. Full time work deserves full time pay, no? I don't necessarily disagree- but lets look at a scenario: Lets say a competent and experienced maker is approached by a customer to make a specific something, and it is known at the outset that it will take say 60 hours to make.

Would it be wrong to base the quote for making on the minimum wage, even though this will make the commissioned item quite pricy? I always charge minimum wage if I'm doing a commission, mainly because it will be something I don't like doing, it's taking me away from something I would enjoy doing and the price is agreed at the outset. However when I'm doing my hooks and hats, etc, I price them at what I would be prepared to pay or I barter them, which is much more fun.

I do have a couple of people who buy my socks and don't mind paying a fair price for them, but they last so long that they don't buy many. I only make stuff for myself, I was once asked to make a rag mat for a fairly well off couple but the woman changed her mind when she found out the price. She said my nan and mum used to make them and you are too exspensive. What does that say for the value she puts on her mums time? We've been talking about this a lot since this thread started.

I'm in a slightly different position in that the galleries that show my work have a good idea of the prices their audience will stand and this is what I go by. With makers who are textile based, it's very different.

Rightly or wrongly, price is so much about trend, kudos and snobbery. I've seen craftmakers and textile based printmakers struggle to survive until taken under they're featured in Country Living or similar and then, a one-person business suddenly needs to become a small production line. If it's a serious living salary, forget it, if it's more about lifestyle, it's a good option. Their attitude is so refreshing