Friday, January 30, 2009

Something to think about

...other than the CPSIA issue. Don't get me wrong. The law passed about the sale of children's goods is HUGE issue, and hopefully something will be done to amend it soon.

But on to what I was going to post about. I read True Up. It is a fabulous blog about all things fabric. Kim posted a video of how jeans are made. In a factory set up to make jeans it takes just over 12 minutes to manufacture a pair. This video made me think about how long it would take me to make a pair of jeans. The answer to that is quite a while. It would probably take me more than 12 minutes to cut the pieces out and many more than 12 minutes to sew them.

I know that I grapple with pricing my creations every time I make something. And many times I just go with a price that I think people are willing to pay. I base my prices on what a similar item would cost in a mid-range shop in Australia. Funny thing is that I consider my work far superior to the clothes in that shop. My work is unique and many of the items that I make are one of a kind. All of it is created with love and to make children smile. How can I or any one else truly compare it to a factory produced garment?

2 comments:

Jetta's Nest said...

It's something that I think about a lot too Sara, although I had no idea that it only takes 12 minutes to make a pair of jeans! That's incredible.

I find pricing really hard. It's the OOAK thing that makes it hard for me. Lots of people don't appreciate that.

Kaja said...

Pricing is awful! Either you get a fair amount of money for the amount of job done, but you don't sell as much. Or, you have to lower your prices to get things sold.

Also, at least here in Scandinavia all womens crafting is hopelessly underpaid in crafting fairs and shops. There is always some old nanna that only want to cover the costs for yarn/fabric, and if you insist on getting paid for the work then you don't get anything sold...

But 12 minutes. I wonder if I can finish off ANYTHING in 12 minutes...??