Thursday, March 18, 2010

Bargello placemats

About a year and a half ago, we offered a class on Bargello Placemats. It was moderately popular, but we're no longer offering it. So I decided to donate the class samples to Molly's school for their auction.Set of four
Closeup of one placemat.
Back.

One of these days I'll get this kind of stuff up on Etsy. But what if no one buys my stuff? I put the value of these at $50, because honestly, that's about what I'd have to charge just to get any kind of profit out of them at all. The backing fabric alone is $10. Add to that the fronts, fabric lost while piecing, typical waste, binding etc., and we'll looking at at least $30 worth of fabric. Plus thread and batting. I don't think $50 is crazy considering it would be less than double my materials cost. But would people really spend $50 on a set of placemats?

4 comments:

  1. pretty as they are, honestly I doubt anyone would pay that much. etsy isn't a hotbed for money making ventures, unfortunately... most things i see on there are insanely cheap.

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  2. I have to agree with Jennifer. Selling on etsy is tricky at best. I sold about 7 quilts there , but felt like I was giving them away. I think the only way people make money is if they get the fabric at wholesale prices.

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  3. I agree with the other comments on Etsy - or you have to have something absolutely unique to make a lot of money on there. You'd be better off to open up another blog as a selling blog. That aside, these are gorgeous, and knowing the fabric and time that went into them, $50 is not outrageous at all. They are beautiful

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  4. The question isn't whether people would pay $50, it's whether it's worth it to under-price yourself. craftypod has hosted an ongoing discussion about free and cheap handcrafted goods. Overall, the consensus seems to be that selling for cheap means selling yourself short, and other handmade businessmen and women, as well.

    By the way, I would totally pay $50 for a set of placemats, easily. Especially if I loved them and they were handmade.

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