David Beumee on wed 24 oct 01
Man! What a can of worms!
You bring up an excellent point. It sure takes mewheenees to move the
price of my best work out of the range of what I cannot afford myself. And
what happens when you make the move and your best work begins not to sell?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Campbell"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 10:53 AM
Subject: Pottery Pricing - yeah really ! !
> Pottery Prices - yes, I am dumb enough to inspect this kettle of fish !!
>
> When I began my pottery life, I noticed that beginners were pricing
> their work in the same general area as established potters. Said I to
myself
> - ' What nerve !! Here this person has spent years mastering their craft
and
> you novices price right up next to them as though you were equals! '
>
> Then I spent years thinking about it. ( Studio sure gets smokey
when I
> do this )
>
> Is it the fault of the beginner who can get the price or is the
fault
> with the expert who doesn't move their prices out of their comfort zone?
>
> How will anyone ever learn to value well designed, carefully
thought
> out, beautifully executed wares unless they are priced differently than
the
> 'man am I glad all the handles stayed on' ware?
>
> Whose job is it?
>
> Chris Campbell - in Raleigh, North Carolina - where we are having the most
> beautiful autumn of soft breezes and warm sunshine. Flocks of robins have
> arrived on their way souther and are munching the berries off the
dogwoods -
> noisy little guys.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Chris Campbell on wed 24 oct 01
Pottery Prices - yes, I am dumb enough to inspect this kettle of fish !!
When I began my pottery life, I noticed that beginners were pricing
their work in the same general area as established potters. Said I to myself
- ' What nerve !! Here this person has spent years mastering their craft and
you novices price right up next to them as though you were equals! '
Then I spent years thinking about it. ( Studio sure gets smokey when I
do this )
Is it the fault of the beginner who can get the price or is the fault
with the expert who doesn't move their prices out of their comfort zone?
How will anyone ever learn to value well designed, carefully thought
out, beautifully executed wares unless they are priced differently than the
'man am I glad all the handles stayed on' ware?
Whose job is it?
Chris Campbell - in Raleigh, North Carolina - where we are having the most
beautiful autumn of soft breezes and warm sunshine. Flocks of robins have
arrived on their way souther and are munching the berries off the dogwoods -
noisy little guys.
Christena Schafale on thu 25 oct 01
One extra wrinkle here is that, if beginners price their work appropriately
for its quality, some more experienced folk have been known to squawk that
the beginners are undercutting the market....
Chris Schafale
Also in Carolina
At 12:53 PM 10/24/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Pottery Prices - yes, I am dumb enough to inspect this kettle of fish !!
>
> When I began my pottery life, I noticed that beginners were pricing
>their work in the same general area as established potters. Said I to myself
>- ' What nerve !! Here this person has spent years mastering their craft and
>you novices price right up next to them as though you were equals! '
>
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Consultation and Referral Specialist
Resources for Seniors
christenas@rfsnc.org
www.resourcesforseniors.com
Phone: (919) 713-1537
FAX: (919) 872-9574
1110 Navaho Dr, Suite 400
Raleigh, NC 27609
John & Susan Balentine on thu 25 oct 01
Difficult subject here. I am constantly looking at the prices of other potters
with similiar work. Compare pricing if you will. But one trick I have found that
works for me is to increase the price of a piece every year to see if it will still
sell as well. This is only for my hot items--can't make them fast enough . An
example is an oil lamp that I make 3 years ago that had a double handle and was
very funky with feet and all. Different from most of my functional stuff. Didn't
know how to price it. Started with a price of $40 and now they sell for $68. Still
a hot item --go figure. Then there are candle holders and wine goblets. Mine sell
for $24 and $26. This is top price in my area for these. They have been this
price for years. Doesn't seem fair does it? Susan from North Carolina
David Beumee wrote:
> Man! What a can of worms!
> You bring up an excellent point. It sure takes mewheenees to move the
> price of my best work out of the range of what I cannot afford myself. And
> what happens when you make the move and your best work begins not to sell?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris Campbell"
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 10:53 AM
> Subject: Pottery Pricing - yeah really ! !
>
> > Pottery Prices - yes, I am dumb enough to inspect this kettle of fish !!
> >
> > When I began my pottery life, I noticed that beginners were pricing
> > their work in the same general area as established potters. Said I to
> myself
> > - ' What nerve !! Here this person has spent years mastering their craft
> and
> > you novices price right up next to them as though you were equals! '
> >
> > Then I spent years thinking about it. ( Studio sure gets smokey
> when I
> > do this )
> >
> > Is it the fault of the beginner who can get the price or is the
> fault
> > with the expert who doesn't move their prices out of their comfort zone?
> >
> > How will anyone ever learn to value well designed, carefully
> thought
> > out, beautifully executed wares unless they are priced differently than
> the
> > 'man am I glad all the handles stayed on' ware?
> >
> > Whose job is it?
> >
> > Chris Campbell - in Raleigh, North Carolina - where we are having the most
> > beautiful autumn of soft breezes and warm sunshine. Flocks of robins have
> > arrived on their way souther and are munching the berries off the
> dogwoods -
> > noisy little guys.
> >
> >
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Andi Fasimpaur on thu 25 oct 01
Chris Campbell Wrote:
> Pottery Prices - yes, I am dumb enough to inspect this kettle of fish !!
> When I began my pottery life, I noticed that beginners were pricing
> their work in the same general area as established potters. Said I to myself
> - ' What nerve !! Here this person has spent years mastering their craft and
> you novices price right up next to them as though you were equals! '
> Then I spent years thinking about it. ( Studio sure gets smokey when I
> do this )
> Is it the fault of the beginner who can get the price or is the fault
> with the expert who doesn't move their prices out of their comfort zone?
> How will anyone ever learn to value well designed, carefully thought
> out, beautifully executed wares unless they are priced differently than the
> 'man am I glad all the handles stayed on' ware?
> Whose job is it?
I've given this a lot of thought myself... what it really
comes down to is that potters need to educate their customers
about quality so that a customer who comes into their booth
notices things like whether the mugs are really the same
sizes, whether the cereal bowls stack, whether the teapot's
spout has remained true or did it warp in the firing?
As your skills improve as a potter, you can afford to keep
the same, low, prices you set as a semi-pro... you are producing
considerably more work in the same period of time using less
materials, you have fewer failures, and you don't make the
same kinds of glaze mistakes... It's not that you value your
work less than you should, in fact you are, in essence,
charging more for time and materials than the beginner...
Your customers need to know that "Bottom Heavy" isn't a trick
used by potters to give a pot greater stablity... they need
to know the advantages of a thin wall vs a thick wall... they
need to know that 12 mugs in their cupboard that weigh in at
2 1/2 lbs each is a 30 lb weight hanging on their wall, and
when you add in the 5 lb tea pot, the 2 lb cereal bowls and
the 20 lb platter, they'd beter have their cabinetry re-enforced,
and maybe the walls behind it...
They need to know how disappointing it is when that once in
a lifetime happy glaze accident can't be matched to anything
in the known world... they may be searching for a mate to
that tea bowl as long as the beginning potter is waiting for
the circumstances to be right to do it again...
I've lost track of the number of times I've heard potters say
that a mug should be $12-15... Every time I see a teapot at
a craft fair that is $60 I wonder, "where did that price come
from?" it seems that there is an informal standard for pricing,
is it any wonder that a person new to the craft fair circuit,
one who has been to multiple craft fairs to check out displays
and do some comparison shopping, ends up pricing their own work
within the structure which they see represented in the booths
of other potters?
Just me rambling,
Andi
who has an electrician coming monday (i hope) to upgrade the
wiring in our modified 1939 bungalow so that I can finally
hook up my kilns... and who will then have no excuse not to
get off her but and away from the computer and actually get
some work done...
=====
Ceramic Artist, Writer, Workshop Facilitator.
http://www.mysticspiral.com
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ken swinson on thu 25 oct 01
i have just started my 3rd year as a potter. pricing has always been
tough. i try and consider time, materials and the going rate for a
similar item when deciding on a price.
my prices are going down with more experience...time being the major
factor. it used to take me FOREVER to produce a small series of
pots...not to mention a high number of 'lost' ones which ended up in the
garden.
with a bit more experience, it takes less time to produce higher quality
work with less materials and less broken in the garden. i can't help but
feel a bit guilty about the higher prices for lesser quality, but i had
to try and support my habit. i am grateful to those who supported me
early on. many still collect my work, and the lower prices/higher
quality keeps them buying. i believe my early work was created with a
greater sense of experimentation and discovery than my refined (sort of
routine) work, and is still worth it's weight.
you experienced potters should not be so competitive. there are plenty
of customers to go around...there is a person behind those 'man am I
glad all the handles stayed on ware?'
and as a beginner need all the encouragement you can offer. you know
they need to eat too.
frankly, i think pricing pottery is a crock. as with all art, it is
priceless.
peace love
ken in kentucky
L. P. Skeen on thu 25 oct 01
> One extra wrinkle here is that, if beginners price their work
appropriately
> for its quality, some more experienced folk have been known to squawk that
> the beginners are undercutting the market....
...which again goes back to education of the buyer. A potter I know throws
what I refer to as "dog bowls". This person thinks they are "elegant".
They are thick, they are heavy, they are often covered with glazes that look
like paint. Occasionally they have tops of reasonable thickness but most
always bottom heavy as hell. They are dog bowls, no matter how good they
look from the outside. And the person wonders why they don't sell..... O
gosh, maybe it's because I'm not using color; I should have remembered that
this area is always behind in decor, so they'll still be buying color, even
though browns are what is all the rage this year.... God save me from
people who think they can decorate for the world.
L
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