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  #1  
Old February 14th 05, 05:09 PM
nimu
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hi all
I'm a small time fused glass hobbyist..
I have made several pcs. multi coloured tiles, wall vases, floral
formers(i hope this is the right term for the slumped over stainless
steel form).
now, I'm planning to have a solo show. I'm at a loss as to the pricing
of these items. I have heard that the basic rate for std stained glass
is by sq foot, with a little extras depending on intricacy of the item.
Is there any such ready reckoner for me to start off my business?
thanks in advance
nirmala

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  #2  
Old February 14th 05, 06:50 PM
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What works for me may not work for you. I like pricing by "time and
materials" although I have seen many, many hobbyists selling stuff and
making way less than minimum wage. Ask some friends or coworkers what
they would pay and you'll probably be closer to the ball park.

Andy

  #3  
Old February 15th 05, 12:16 AM
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Pricing per square foot is the least accurate way to price stained
glass. Pricing per piece of glass is much more accurate. Here's an
article you might find helpful.

http://www.glasscampus.com/phpBB2/index.php

As you do more work, you'll become more familiar with how long
different elements of work take and then you'll be able to accurately
determine your costs. It's important to differentiate between costs
and prices. Cost is what you paid to make it. Price is what you can
get somebody else to pay your for it. Cost will remain constant, but
price will vary depending on where you sell. What it costs to make is
irrelevant to your customers. They don't care. There's no such thing
as real value - only perceived value. A customer will pay what they
believe it's worth without consideration to your costs. The "trick" is
to figure what they perceive it's worth. It's simple math to cost.
It's an art form to price.

If you're serious about building a business selling your work, I
strongly suggest you ignore suggestions to "not sell cheap" but instead
start by selling as cheaply as you can live with. That's how you start
a business - by creating momentum. Your goal should be to sell enough
work to be full time busy making work for sale. When you're selling
everything you have time to make, you start increasing your prices -
but never so much or so quickly that you're no longer busy full time.

  #4  
Old February 15th 05, 06:23 PM
Mike Firth
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By "solo show", do you mean you have the opportunity to set up a display
of just your stuff in a retail space or someone who does retail sales is
giving you a chance and wants to know what your stuff sells for or a school
is giving a chance to show the stuff, etc.?
Go shopping. If nobody is selling stuff like you are doing anywhere near,
go to the internet. 3 or 4 times what Chinese stuff sells for, half what
the best local stuff sells for.
Time + materials + expenses verses retail and hope they don't overlap
(too much). Perception is correct, so bigger things cost more, flashier may
cost more in the same size. At least get your time back in money.
Now you are probably making these things a few at a time in a small kiln.
So the time firing and annealing is spread over a few pieces. If you get
serious about this you will probably get a bigger kiln and make more at the
same time, so the time will be more in the design and layout and less (per
piece) in the firing and annealing. Also for some pieces, the process will
become more automatic (as in I was making bowls from broken window glass for
a charity event; after working out the bugs, even in my small kiln, I could
layout 3 or 4 and run the cycle, walking away to other stuff, ignoring it
for 6 hours.

--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/hotbit47.htm Latest notes

"nimu" wrote in message
oups.com...
hi all
I'm a small time fused glass hobbyist..
I have made several pcs. multi coloured tiles, wall vases, floral
formers(i hope this is the right term for the slumped over stainless
steel form).
now, I'm planning to have a solo show. I'm at a loss as to the pricing
of these items. I have heard that the basic rate for std stained glass
is by sq foot, with a little extras depending on intricacy of the item.
Is there any such ready reckoner for me to start off my business?
thanks in advance
nirmala



  #7  
Old February 16th 05, 12:48 PM
nimu
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glass campus.com is an amazing site...i'm beginning to see the end of
the tunnel !! thanx den, for ur time & inputs.

  #8  
Old February 16th 05, 01:16 PM
nimu
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glass campus.com is an amazing site...i'm beginning to see the end of
the tunnel !! thanx for ur time & inputs.

  #9  
Old February 16th 05, 01:21 PM
nimu
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yes, i do have an opportunity to have an exhibition of just my pcs. An
artist friend who's familiar with the art world & has had many
shows(different medium) is impressed with my fused glass. she sez that
she'll help me have a show.There's nobody in my city making stuff like
mine, but, there's one gallery here which has some items in float..all
are very functional. serving trays etc. no colored glass at all & none
of them are art pcs.
the 'perceived value' of an object is so vague & abstract that i'm
finding it impossible to arrive at a conclusion.
most of the glass & the kiln, I got imported from US to India. If I
calucalate my costs & markup accordingly, taking into consideration the
sweat, blood & tears, I wld'nt b able to sell anything here, in India !
:-((
thanks Mike

  #10  
Old February 16th 05, 04:50 PM
Glassman
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wrote in message
oups.com...
What works for me may not work for you. I like pricing by "time and
materials" although I have seen many, many hobbyists selling stuff and
making way less than minimum wage. Ask some friends or coworkers what
they would pay and you'll probably be closer to the ball park.

Andy


I call it the "perceived value". If it looks like it's worth $50 and you
can make it for $1.... sell it for $50 not $2. If it looks like it's worth
$1 and it costs you $10 to make, you are out of business!

--
JK Sinrod
Sinrod Stained Glass Studios
www.sinrodstudios.com
Coney Island Memories
www.sinrodstudios.com/coneymemories


 




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