I love buying hand made from designer-makers. I'm not as interested in bagging a bargain as I am looking for quirky and quality crafts but this is how I assess the value of the item before I buy (bear with me).
First, I calculate how many pairs of store-bought knickers (panties) I can get for the same price as the craft item.
Then I compare the price of those knickers to the price of the craft. I then take into consideration that I am paying for: cost of materials, time taken to make the item and (most importantly) the skill, talent, training the artist has used in making the item.
OK, so it's a bit bizarre but, by comparing a beautiful piece of silver/ceramic/glass/textile to something mundane like knickers, puts the purchasing of hand made into perspective. After all, you can't love or treasure knickers forever (they wear out)! How do you value your work?
So you don't know how much to charge for your art. Here is a list of what should be included in the price:
The materials
The time taken to make the piece
The energy (power, heating and other overheads)
The years that artist has taken to become a specialist in that field (study)
The design of the piece
The talent that hand made artist has to create the piece
Remember that hand made will possibly be a lot more valuable and last a lot longer than mass produced (unless it's edible hand made of course)!
