As most know I have been immersing myself into the 'craft world' - it is a way of earning some extra pennies and something that has been helping to keep me sane during what has been an increasingly difficult time personally.

The problem is that I am facing a whole bunch of friends and family who are constantly telling me that I am wrong in my vision for my craft stuff. Mainly due to my ethos surrounding pricing.

I loathe consumerism - I think that items should be made to last, be of a certain quality and should be priced fairly.

The things I make are not necessities - they are not going to improve anyones quality of life but they are fun, practical and made to last. When pricing up my items I take into account what the materials used cost (sometimes that price is nothing as the materials were given to me or they are upcycled) and add a pound or so for my time.

If i added my time to the cost at the rate of minimum wages then the items I make would be exorbitantly expensive.

In an ideal world I would prefer to just give away the things I make or trade/barter them so no cash is involved but we aint in no ideal world yet.

The shawl I posted a picture of can be bought on sites such as etsy for $100 - I sold mine for £6.50 and made a healthy profit imho as it cost me £1.60 and about 5 hours to make - I am happy with that return and the person who bought it is happy as they fell in love with it and it was within their very limited means affordable.

My friends and family (apart from mr thoreau) do not understand why I wont charge more if people are willing to pay more - they do not understand that I have no wish to get rich off the crafting stuff - that I have no wish to get rich fullstop - it has gotten to a point where they are threatening to 'take my items' and sell them themselves at the prices they think I should be charging - and that I am doing them out of money by not charging more. Which riles me enormously - I feel as if my wishes and ideals are not being respected - they think it is due to 'mental health issues' that I am prefering to live frugally and sell my stuff for affordable prices - it isnt - it is because I believe that people going out and paying $250,000 for a bottle of nail polish (as was reported in the news papers recently) whilst there are still folk without fresh water and access to health care and education is fucking appalling - and I wish to live in a way that reflects my ideals on this.

The other side of this ofc is that those who do sell their items for more then I do are annoyed with me for not pricing in the same brackets that they do - I can understand it to a degree as if they are in business to support a family and need to charge the amounts they do (£40 for a fecking cushion!!!) then someone like me coming along who does not have those responsibilities and can charge a lot less might piss me off as well.

What would you do?

charge what you need and want to thor. its not their call. you have to keep food in your belly and a roof over your head. i guess in a way they think people are stealing your time and your talent by taking items at a fraction of their value (theirs). its great you are able to enjoy making this stuff but also you can make your life easier too if you got more for them. like you spend 5 hours, is it 5 hours hard grind, or 5 hours of fun? i spose it would be one thing if you were making clothes for homeless people, but if you make luxury items (i mean that its not necessities), and people are browsing around looking for things to buy and they say oh look its $6.50 im gonna get it.. thats a choice of theirs for something that i guess they dont really need, so you're giving them a luxury.
which is nice too!
what do i mean.. gouge the rich and give to the poor. lol

thanks bats tbh it is fun - I enjoy the crafting and if I can make a little from it all the better - I guess the conflict derives from the fact that me living by my ideals could impact negatively on the lives of others but i still feel strongly about not being that which i dislike so intensely. its all so very confuddling.

I definitely see your predicament.

When I've been asked to make multi-tier cakes for people, I can't bring myself to charge for them. I don't know why.

My sister in law asked me to make one for her sister's (who I've never met) 50th. It took weeks to just make the sugar flowers, and a straight 24 hours to fix them on the cake. It cost me £70 ish for materials. I didn't want to be paid for it. Yet, like a dick-head, I felt insulted when she absolutely insisted on giving me £20.00 or it.

So, I can advise you from a business point of view, to charge as much as you can get away with, but I do understand why you find it difficult to do that.

I bet the cake looked and tasted amazing gilly

it is a really difficult line to tread - but I guess that living up to values is not supposed to be easy - if only I werent such a people pleaser... A compromise could be to charge more but give a percentage away - but then i gotta choose who to give it to and that still would leave the things I make too expensive for some people and that I hate the thought of.

Gaging what individuals can afford and charging accordingly is fine on a one to one basis but almost impossible at a craft fair or other more commercial ventures - I had thought about a pay what you can afford type thing but again that would annoy my fellow crafters as well...

Its enough to make you lose your stitch count!!

people going to craft fairs go with the intention of spending money and they can give it to you, or give it to someone else. may as well be you.

you know, i dont go to the ritz just to browse the menu and say oh, seems delicious, but see ya, ill probably just go home and eat some flour back in my alley way.

Hey I think you should challenge yourself by going against your personal ethics and charging significantly more

thoreau! First off hellooooooo!
I am so glad you started this...although I don't suppose there will be many contributors.
Like you I have turned my hand back to knitting and crochette.
Since the spring, I have been doing my gardening bit, and selling what I can at carboots/farmers markets. But with the 'summer' having been what it wasn't, my thoughts started turning towards the winter months...so after 20 years...I picked up my needles and started again!
Like you I don't 'overcharge' for what I make. There is only me and my son (and cat) at home, so housework isn't much of an issue. But since I lost my teaching job, I have had to find other means of making an income. So given the weather we have had, and in the evenings sitting in front of the tv...I knit away quite happily, and don't think about how much my time costs.
I am really happy to report that I have also bartered my knits for things...at the moment other stall holders, but it's getting there!

Jane

I think it's great that you're doing something that you enjoy and derive value from, and you shouldn't give one solitary shit what anyone else thinks about it.

It's not surprising that people can't understand the ethos of delivering something of quality for an affordable price because it's the polar opposite of what industrial production offers. We are constantly told in advertising that we're getting something unique and of immense value at an incredible price, whereas of course in reality everything we buy is mass produced, every possible corner is cut in production (to give one example, Microsoft cut some ridiculous corners with regards to the Xbox 360 - my brother explained it to me once! - and the failure rate for the device was, conservatively, 50%. It cost them over $1 billion in terms of replacing broken consoles), and companies go to the nth degree to work out exactly what the maximum market value of their product is.

So don't take it personally, just stick to your values.

@ gue the challenge is selling them in the first place - it was this place that gave me the confidence to start but it still makes me uncomfortable

@ jane - helloooooo to you too My gardening efforts this year are all but ruined - the herbs and the odd thing has survived for the most part but much of the fruit and salad items were either drowned or got at by the slugs I like being busy and I like creating things so the sewing and crochet seemed a perfect project particularly as so much can be recycled and reused. I too have bartered some goods with others - which always feels so much more satisfying then selling them - and I still have my day job and general household stuff to do but financially I am used to getting by quite nicely on very little money so the little the crafting brings in is like total riches to me - not to mention christmas gifts being sorted for very little. This morning I have been making miniature christmas wreaths out of old curtain rings, upcycled jumper wool and bits and bobs I have found from around the house - most satisfying.

@wub - ty you have written pretty much what I wanted to hear - its like the whole honest wage for an honest days work argument - I wish to offer honest goods for an honest price

throeau .....it's so nice to find there is another creative soul here

i'm with you 100% on not charging people .. I craft and paint and always feel daft if someone wants to give me money for it because I do it as a hobby and more my own enjoyment and I enjoy seeing others getting pleasure from what I've made/created

I imagine your friends and family are thinking your missing a trick and a business oppurtunity?

You have put across your view here with eloquence and precision, have you said these things to your family and friends?
I don't understand how they could think you have mental health issues because of this, you seem far more sane than the majority of the world to me.

I can't advise you what to do because I've never had to deal with a similar situation and I'm not good at dealing with people.
I'd tell 'em to fuck off, not much help, sorry

thoreau wrote: The most important thing apart from any deeper arguments is that if you're happy, and you're not hurting anyone else, what you're doing must be right. If you would be less happy to sell things at a price you consider to be unwarranted or unreasonable, then it would be a mistake.

@dawn - it would appear that the sz has many creative souls here whether it be the painters, the poets, the knitters, the writers or the gardeners - perhaps our creativity can help span any divides we may or may not come across during our time here I think you are right about the family thinking I am missing something with the whole thing - on the other hand I think they are missing the points that I am trying to make but you never know they may see things from my perspective eventually and agree to disagree.

@marty - ty for the kind words - those around me have always believed I think differently to them due to past mental health problems - In many ways they are completely supportive and lovely - but on this one financial thing they really have made me rather cross - I like to think that they wish for me to reap rewards from my activities its just that they are unable to see that for me the greater reward comes from doing what I see as the 'right' thing rather then joining in with what I see as one of societies greatest problems - greed.

@wub the only worry I have is that I may inadvertently hurt others - by not charging the same rate as others who have greater financial needs and responsibilities then myself. It is a difficult balance to find.