I've been cleaning our flooded basement the past few days and am finding all sorts of rusted mildew encrusted items, and it's giving me ideas!
A recent thread on one of the lists I'm on is price point on artwork at shows and apparently the going rate for items being sold is somewhere between ten and twenty dollars. Now this leaves me the artist in a prediciment I don't like - trying to undercut WalMart and Target. Lets face it that's exactly what we are doing!!!
Example: I make a necklace with high quality beads and craftsmanship but my customer demands that I sell it for less than $20.00 US. The same customer can go to WalMart, or Target, and purchase a crudely made necklace with beads whose color may bleed all over you and your clothes, for less than $20.00 US.
I've been wondering if this is a matter of educating our customer base or if this country has managed to "cheapen itself to death"? It's like people don't either recognize or don't care about quality anymore, could it be both???
It doesn't matter if it's jewelry, scarves, handbags, hats, aprons, hand dyed whatever, the customer demands the same price, or LESS, than they would pay at the local MegaMart. I'm just glad I'm not doing any shows this year!
Yes I'm well aware the price of gas has shot through the rough, it's the reason I'm not driving anywhere right now. But the demand for cheap goods actually hurts the economy more than it helps it right now, simply because the money doesn't stay here.
More later, I'm tired from cleaning and gardening today.
A recent thread on one of the lists I'm on is price point on artwork at shows and apparently the going rate for items being sold is somewhere between ten and twenty dollars. Now this leaves me the artist in a prediciment I don't like - trying to undercut WalMart and Target. Lets face it that's exactly what we are doing!!!
Example: I make a necklace with high quality beads and craftsmanship but my customer demands that I sell it for less than $20.00 US. The same customer can go to WalMart, or Target, and purchase a crudely made necklace with beads whose color may bleed all over you and your clothes, for less than $20.00 US.
I've been wondering if this is a matter of educating our customer base or if this country has managed to "cheapen itself to death"? It's like people don't either recognize or don't care about quality anymore, could it be both???
It doesn't matter if it's jewelry, scarves, handbags, hats, aprons, hand dyed whatever, the customer demands the same price, or LESS, than they would pay at the local MegaMart. I'm just glad I'm not doing any shows this year!
Yes I'm well aware the price of gas has shot through the rough, it's the reason I'm not driving anywhere right now. But the demand for cheap goods actually hurts the economy more than it helps it right now, simply because the money doesn't stay here.
More later, I'm tired from cleaning and gardening today.