Originally Posted by LindaJR
I used to do needlework and when you put a piece in a show, you had to figure out the cost for insurance purposes. You multiply the hours spent making the item times minimum wage plus the cost of the materials. I do not know how you figure out the cost for quilts as I am new to this, but I would guess it should be about the same as needlework. Maybe you should keep a little chart to show people where you get your prices.
This is an excellent approach, except I don't see where they get off considering the labor at minimum wage. There is obviously some skill involved, which is more than the kinds of jobs that pay minimum wage. It reminded me of a situation in the 1970's when a wonderfully talented sculptor we knew slightly had a showing at an important gallery in Houston. His pieces, which represented years of work, were in a lower level gallery. There was a huge tropical storm that dumped a lot of rain. The gallery was flooded and everything was lost. He had, out of modesty (?), undervalued his work for insurance purposes. It was a painful lesson. Artists and crafts people in all media need to place an honest value on their work. Usually only fellow quilters have a clear idea of the value of a quilt, so it's not unexpected that potential buyers are surprised, but quilters need to explain how much they have invested in time as well as materials. It might be useful to turn the question around in terms of how much the buyer would expect to earn per hour to make something with their hands, and then mention how many hours the quilt took to make.