bentiron
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2011
Posts: 85
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Post by bentiron on May 6, 2014 18:24:10 GMT -5
"Honestly I am really trying to work toward making this a career." When silver went sky high I quit working with silver, folks couldn't afford it and I couldn't either, I thought that perhaps they would buy my copper and brass creations but they didn't want to pay very much for mere copper and brass. It takes as much time to make quality mixed metals objects as it does quality silver objects yet most people don't want to pay very much for these less "noble" metals when no matter what metal you use it is the labor and creative process they are paying for. It's very hard to make a career on less than $4.00/hour and that seems to be what a lot of folk want to buy your creations for. The cost of metals changes radically but the amount of time never does, the last time I kept track of the hours on a piece it was 8.5 hours to make a pendant with chain and at a modest $10/hr that would be $85 just in labor costs. Then even if I did the old time method of multiplying by 3 to cover overhead and profit that's like $255 for one of my creations. A real hard sell in today's market, for that most consumers want silver. Folks ooh and aah over them but just won't fork over the cash for them. It's hard to make a career out of mixed metals unless it is in silver, gold or other precious metals.
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steelandstone
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2008
Posts: 500
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Post by steelandstone on May 6, 2014 20:48:53 GMT -5
"Honestly I am really trying to work toward making this a career." When silver went sky high I quit working with silver, folks couldn't afford it and I couldn't either, I thought that perhaps they would buy my copper and brass creations but they didn't want to pay very much for mere copper and brass. It takes as much time to make quality mixed metals objects as it does quality silver objects yet most people don't want to pay very much for these less "noble" metals when no matter what metal you use it is the labor and creative process they are paying for. It's very hard to make a career on less than $4.00/hour and that seems to be what a lot of folk want to buy your creations for. The cost of metals changes radically but the amount of time never does, the last time I kept track of the hours on a piece it was 8.5 hours to make a pendant with chain and at a modest $10/hr that would be $85 just in labor costs. Then even if I did the old time method of multiplying by 3 to cover overhead and profit that's like $255 for one of my creations. A real hard sell in today's market, for that most consumers want silver. Folks ooh and aah over them but just won't fork over the cash for them. It's hard to make a career out of mixed metals unless it is in silver, gold or other precious metals. I hear ya on the a lot of folks don't want to pay but there are quite a few that are more than willing. Mixed metal jewelry is a small part of what I make and sell and is actually a growing part. I actually sold this pendant at a show this weekend for $125.00 granted I did sell it with a cord of their choice that cost me around $8.00. The pendant only took me approx. 3hrs to make and that includes the patina and sealing. I actually have had really good success recently with copper and or mixed metal. The best seller being single clad silver filled mixed with copper. I am a firm believer if you can create something that is unique, appealing, and evokes the right kind of feeling to the right person they will pay the price and do it with a smile on their face. Making and selling wearable art is not the easiest way to make a living but it does have its perks.
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Post by 1dave on May 13, 2014 11:11:22 GMT -5
Pendant hanging from an eyeball GASP!
With all the body piercing going on, I didn't know if I wanted to look at this.
Surprise! I like it!
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steelandstone
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2008
Posts: 500
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Post by steelandstone on May 15, 2014 5:16:00 GMT -5
Pendant hanging from an eyeball GASP! With all the body piercing going on, I didn't know if I wanted to look at this. Surprise! I like it! Good one Dave that gave me a laugh. That would be a sight to see, no pun intended.
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