Just thinking out loud…

Last week I received an email about an Etsy pricing workshop.  Normally, I glean some useful info from the business related blog posts and downloads.  This was no exception.

I used Etsy’s pricing guide to figure out the *suggested* retail price for a throw size t-shirt quilt that I made for a coworker of mine.  Now, I should preface the following discussion with my impression that Etsy’s pricing formula is geared toward production work (e.g., 10 of the same item), not true custom work.

The Dog Rescue Quilt:

*T-shirt quilt finished out at almost 63″ square.

*Required the equivalent of 9 yards of fabric and a twin size piece of cotton batting.  Fabrics came from my stash and/or were purchased with a coupon at Joann’s.

*I had to piece 3 shirt graphics to make them the correct size.

*Quilt was machine quilted all over – not tied – and I changed the top thread color to match the t-shirt.

*Binding is attached and finished by machine.

*I add $10 per quilt to cover “studio supplies” (needles, thread, equipment, utilities)

Here’s my math:  $75.00 for supplies + $10.00 studio supplies = $85.00 for cost of materials

Labor:  10 hours x $20.00 per hour  (includes consultation, design, fabric sourcing, construction, quilting etc.) = $200.00 for labor

Cost:  $285.00 = Cost of Goods Sold

Using Etsy’s pricing formula:  $285.00 x 2 = $ 570.00.

I don’t have any customers who are willing to pay $570.00 for that size t-shirt quilt.  Do you?  This is why I honestly don’t think this pricing formula geared toward truly custom work.

Other pricing formulas say to take your cost of materials and multiply by a factor of 3 or 4.  That puts me between $235.00 and $310.00 for the quilt. ($75.00 for supplies x 3 or 4 then add $10.00 studio supply fee).  I’m okay with this.

Scouting the online competition revealed a $200-$275 range for a similar quilt.  A quilter in my general area charges $240.00 for an almost identical quilt.  I compare price by finished size of the quilt, not the number of t-shirts used.

Some of the businesses that offer cheaper priced t-shirts quilts either use less expensive materials, polyester batting, don’t use fusible interfacing on the backs of the t-shirts and/or “tie” their quilts.

I could limit the choices on the sashing and border to solids only to save $$, but that takes away some of the fun of personalizing the quilt.  Forget the polyester batting – it’s cotton for this quilter, thank you very much.  Not skipping the fusible interfacing either.  Might tie the quilt if the customer requests it…but it won’t save that much money.

Labor is the only other input I can manipulate.  Minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.  Are you willing to work for minimum wage?  I’m not.  Definitely need to figure out how to streamline the process so I can improve profitability while keeping costs reasonable.

How would you like to wake up to this view every morning?
I would!

This photo was taken at Gorham’s Bluff in Northeast Alabama over spring break.   It’s
taken from behind the Inn overlooking the Tennessee River.  Gorham’s Bluff has been
written up in several travel magazines/websites and is a popular wedding site.  It’s a
quaint little planned community modeled after small town America.  You can stay at the
Inn or rent a cottage for a few days.  Be sure to bring groceries, games and lots of reading
material with you.  It’s out in the middle of nowhere and the nearest grocery store is 40
minutes away.  The tornado that roared through the area a little over a year ago left its
mark, as did the real estate meltdown.  The community is about half-finished and in need
of some maintenance while the surrounding area still shows the devastating aftermath of
an F-5 tornado.

I guzzle diet soda the way chain smokers smoke cigarettes.

Decided that my summer resolution will be kicking the diet soda habit to the curb once and for all.  I’ve tried several times before to get off my cold fizzy caffeine habit, but to no avail.  I last about 36 hours before I either turn into witchy woman or have a monster headache.  Either case sends me to the store in search of my fix.

My last diet soda was at 5 p.m. on Sunday.  I’m about to my magical 36 hour point now  – irritable as can be and really craving a Diet Coke with crushed ice.  The true test willbe tomorrow on the way to work,