Susan Felts on sat 4 dec 10
Here's my very first post to the listserv... I have a small, new studio =3D
for my personal use, but have welcomed a acquaintance to use the space, =3D
and I will be letting her use my glazes and fire her pieces in my kiln. =
=3D
Does anyone have any advice as to what I should charge her for this =3D
service, or how I should figure the charges. In the beginning she was =3D
just going to make one piece, but that quickly spread to three fairly =3D
large pieces. Having one more person help fill the kiln is a good thing =
=3D
because the turn around is faster, but I need to have the charges clear =3D
from the beginning so that there are no hard feelings later on. She has =3D
offered to pay. I just want to be fair.
Susan Felts
Hermitage, TN
Larry Kruzan on sat 4 dec 10
Hi Susan,
Welcome to posting on Clayart! I suspect that you will get several answers
like this in reply to your very good question but you just might not either=
.
The reason is nobody likes to be a party pooper. LOL It's about like asking
- "should I rent out my spare bedroom" in a room full of landlords. Alas,
here I go..........
There were several things you did not say about your relationship to the
other person. If she is a good friend and there is little chance of this
going much further, I'd just charge enough to cover the cost of the glazes
and firing. If she is going to be making more pieces and most importantly,
occupying your studio when you might be needing in there, rent, cost and
such is in order. Rare are the occasions where this can last long without
someone getting feelings hurt about something. Either she will be using mor=
e
materials than you planned, or kiln space - just when you are rushing to ge=
t
ready for a show or sale OR the day will come when your one very special
_____ tool will turn up missing as you need it most (the other person will
have innocently moved it where you can't find it), or you will find that al=
l
your cobalt carb was used to mix a test glaze and a $5 bill is left in its
place (even though it cost $26 a pound).
If they are not a friend - I'd cut the strings and save the grief. If they
are a friend, I give them a bill for half of what you have invested in that
room, point out that it is half and ask if they still want to share.
I've had students and apprentices and friends in my studio and have
experienced it all. I can tell you that they all cost me much more in
materials and aggregation than they were worth. This was all my fault since
I am a soft touch, or as my wife says, I'm soft in the head.
You didn't tell us how big your kiln is and if 3 pieces is a large part of =
a
load - if it's not much space, fire it and forget it, firing cost is not
huge unless power is high where you are. The glazes are a different matter
if you buy your glaze by the bottle charge for the bottle, if you mix your
glaze by the bucket charge for a half bucket. That may seem expensive until
the person cross contaminates a bucket and you have to toss 3-4 gallons of
glaze. Been there, done that, bought the tee shirt.
The last thing to consider is how big your work space is. Can two busy
people cohabitate without constantly stepping around each other? Or needing
the shelf space the other is using? Or being on the slab
roller/wheel/extruder just when the other person needs it the worst?
Even if all these other things can be worked out, and I'm sure the simple
question you asked can be, who helps pay for repairs when the kiln suddenly
needs new elements, shelves or the wheel needs a new motor? Most people
forget/or don't want to think about repairs and replacement but it happens.
Or its time to fill the propane tank ($750) and the person sharing space
thinks that their share is $50. Then there property tax
time.................
Rereading this is startling even to me and I've experienced it all. However
you choose to solve your question I wish you the best. Please don't think
that all questions on Clayart are answered like this one - you've just
landed on a really good one to start with.
Larry Kruzan
Lost Creek Pottery
www.lostcreekpottery.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Susan Felts
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 2:56 PM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: studio use fee
Here's my very first post to the listserv... I have a small, new studio for
my personal use, but have welcomed a acquaintance to use the space, and I
will be letting her use my glazes and fire her pieces in my kiln. Does
anyone have any advice as to what I should charge her for this service, or
how I should figure the charges. In the beginning she was just going to
make one piece, but that quickly spread to three fairly large pieces.
Having one more person help fill the kiln is a good thing because the turn
around is faster, but I need to have the charges clear from the beginning s=
o
that there are no hard feelings later on. She has offered to pay. I just
want to be fair.
Susan Felts
Hermitage, TN
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
paul gerhold on sun 5 dec 10
Susan,
Please check with your insurance agent before doing anything. Homeowners
will probably not cover paying persons in studio!!!
Paul
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