the good with the bad, i guess?

i post my doctor who doll and something happens that's never happened before: i have several people message me here and on etsy to tell me that i'm somehow in the wrong for pricing the way i do. and they were really rather nasty about it, for reasons i am not sure of. 

(my friend laura at hastypearl is not included in this group!) 

here’s my deal:

you know that expression "do what you love and you never work a day in your life?" that pretty much applies to me. 

i knew a long time ago, when i quit my job as a vice president at a local museum, that i would never make enough money on etsy to support myself and my home. i was okay with that. i am okay with that. i'm rather realistic in that way: i knew going in that i wasn't ever going to get a book deal, have a stationary or fabric line, host a craft show, etc. and that did not stop me. 

i’m not going to make something and charge some outrageous amount for it. i don’t subscribe to that whole time x materials thing other artists/crafters do. it’s not my thing. i firmly — FIRMLY — believe that handmade should be accessible to anyone. to everyone. and sometimes it really dismays me to see people who charge 75 bucks for a bag that i know took them an hour to make and maybe 9 bucks in materials. but i don’t fault them for that because that’s how they run their business. that’s how they chose to sell their stuff and that’s great for them. 

but that’s not me. i think handmade should be accessible and i don’t think it should be expensive and i can’t make it expensive. i wouldn't feel right in charging upwards of 30 bucks for that doll. i just wouldn’t. and if that’s under-selling myself, then so be it, but at least i feel good about myself in this situation. as for my time, well, i look at this way: i can either sit and make things in hopes that someone wants to buy them or i can waste away in front of my computer playing video games, creating nothing. i don't necessarily need to be paid for my time because i chose to spend it making things.

if someone said to me i love your stuff but i just can't afford it, i'd most likely just give it to them. or a version of it. or i’d work something out with them. because that’s what makes me feel good. that’s what makes me create. that’s what makes me want to create. and yeah, sure, we struggle with money sometimes, but you know what, i never got into making/selling to make money. it’s just not realistic for me to say that, as i said before. when i do make a sale, it's exciting, even though i've been selling for years. i put whatever money i make into household bills. so i just made a $15 payment on my cable bill and i'm pleased with that. every little bit helps. 

i understand how people feel about the subject but i am comfortable with the way i price the things i make and you can't fault me for that. 

back to doll making!