How to Price Your Work, and the Story Behind the Cost

Placing bets on your future and changing your relationship with fabric.e to get comfortable.

We're going to make some updates to the over_under project. At the start of the project, I loved the tight constraints of t-shirts; however, as I've progressed, I've realized the project needs to extend beyond t-shirts and into fabric. I'm on a mission to change your relationship with the objects around you.

The Over_Under Project

Placing bets on your future and changing your relationship with fabric.

---

I started teaching about pricing objects over a decade ago when my high school students discovered woven scarves I'd made and had endless questions about the cost. Each scarf was around $200, and they couldn't fathom why they were so expensive, when they could go somewhere else and pick a scarf up for $5.00.

Now that they were curious, it was the perfect time for a pricing experiment.

Let's talk about money

What does a $5.00 scarf really cost? Who is getting paid, and who isn't?

I used to buy cheap jewelry because I always lost my jewelry. Guess what magic happened when I started buying more expensive handmade jewelry I cared about. I didn't lose it. It was valuable enough for me to remember where I put it.

The cost of things

Wholesale price: a store's price to purchase the items they sell. If you are a maker, you set wholesale prices for stores to buy and then sell your goods. The wholesale price is at least 50 percent below the retail price. When selling wholesale, you'll also have wholesale terms. For example, if a bookstore wanted to sell my book, The Art of Paper Weaving, I might tell them they must buy at least 10 copies to receive wholesale pricing.

Retail price: the price the store sells an item for. When buying something, you're paying the retail price, usually at least 50% more than the wholesale price, allowing the store to profit. If you're a maker and sell your own work, you should sell at retail prices; otherwise, you'll have trouble growing your business, as your pricing model won't allow you to sell to stores. So yes, I make more money per book when you buy it directly from me, vs when you purchase it in a store.

When learning or teaching about pricing, keep it simple and track the following four things:

1. Time

2. Consumable materials

3. What do you want to make per hour

4. Cost of non-consumables

Join the Over_under project and help to transform the world around you. Unlock exclusive guidebooks and super simple giveaways.