tsull320@COMCAST.NET on tue 11 oct 05
Someone once told me that we primarily communicate how we feel about our
work to our customers through our presentation and our pricing.
I believe that we, as potters, often depress the price of our own work.
Across all categories and mediums, clay is among the lowest priced work in
the marketplace. Someone suggested that a $600 painting was not unusual.
In fact $600 paintings are on the very low end. A $1000 glass vase is
commonplace, as are similarly priced giclee prints, baskets, jewelry and
turned wood objects. For some reason functional or vessel forms in clay are
generally lower priced than objects in other mediums. I believe that some
of that has to do with function, i.e. the "the more functional it is - the
less it's worth" mentality. I believe most of the problem is education, and
that we need to do more to help our customers move from a consideration of
price to one of value.
The highest price that I've ever received for a piece of mine was the price
that I established, no one has ever offered me more that I asked. I believe
that pricing for functional clay will continue to be, IMHO, "below fair
value" until we change our own thinking as well as our customers.
Tim
Timothy Sullivan
www.creeksidepottery.net
Marietta, GA
tim@creeksidepottery.net
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