Today was great! Thank you everyone for your warm welcome to the bloggersphere.
I now realize that no one knows how to take a day off. I spent most of yesterday catching up on all my e-mails and getting back in touch with old e-mails that I hadn't heard from in a while or had sent off into the great blue no where quite unintentionally. Well apparently I wasn't the only one because I got more e-mail from real people today than I ever have. Usually I just get my Harbor Frieght Ad, Books-a-Million coupon, and my 3rd week free with NutriSystem e-mails. But not today, boy I heard form everyone. I felt so over whelmed with joy that I almost cried. Thank you everyone.
I had a customer today that told me a story that made me as a shop owner feel pretty good. She said that she had been in one of my competitors stores last week (which I am totally cool with, we are friends) and a lady shopping was looking at a finished piece of jewelry. The lady made the rather rude remark to the sales clerk, "Well... I'm assuming by the price that this is sterling silver!" The clerk politely aswered, "Yes, it is." And went about her business. My friend walked up to her and said, "Hi, I'm a customer here too. Do you make jewelry?" The lady answered, "No." My friend said, "I do. You know it's not all that easy. Do you have a job?" The lady answered, "Yes, I do." My friend said, " Do you get paid?" The lady gave her a strange look and said, "Yes I do." Then my friend said, "They do too."
I think most people forget this. It's not just the components that we put into our finished work, it's our time, creativity, and love that we put into our work. How are we paid for this. By the ever changing price of silver? The amount of time it took to make? It's a question that has many answers and no answers, but it is probably the most frequently asked question that I get from my students.
Bead on buddies,
Kim
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3 comments:
This is what stopped me from selling finished goods any longer. No one understood the time it took to create it. Not just the time it took to put it together, but the imagination and trial and error it took to take a design from concept to finished piece. That has value and should be included in the price.
So they'd say...well...I just want to buy the beads and you'll show me how to make it. Then I said to myself, self, fine, sell them the ideas and let them do the putting it together part!
It's weird that people don't value the artist, but not really when so many companies have things manufactured in sweatshops overseas and sell them for pennies. That's the real problem
Good for your friend!
xoxo
Margot
Yeah, this is my feeling about finished stuff too. I really just like coming up with the ideas.
kim
YAY, you and WELCOME to Blogland!
I appreciate your friend's story. My sister is a stained glass artist and she had a similar conversation with a customer at a craft fair. There will always be the non-artists who don't get what it takes to create. They just don't know, so bravo for your friend! :-) Hali
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