Spring Quilt Crazies

[Kogarashi]

So far my only cheapskates have been people asking for requests on my DeviantArt page. Which is why my standard policy is "I'll take requests, but I'll get to them when/if I get to them. Want a guarantee that it'll be done faster/at all? Pay commission prices."

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

Uck, stupid freebie seekers. I just had someone who wanted to copy a drawing I have on a site that doesn't allow copying. Offered to sell him a print. Not heard back yet, obviously.

(Meanwhile, I SO wish I could afford one of your gorgeous quilts. Someday...)

[Racket_Man]

I may not quilt or sew but I do dabble in necklace making (strictly for personal stuff). I have bought necklaces that I have had to restring (the stringer broke after a while so I added in some personal touches). I have also "created" a few just for myself.

let me tell you it DOES take more than a bit of work to choose the type of stringer (sinue or steel wire) to actually size the stringer correctly (how I want it to lay on my chest and the length) decide what pattern I want all of the stuff to be in and then to sit there and string whatever "beads" (wood, coral, stone, crystal, or mineral) and objects (figureenes, pendants, etc.) and how to space them out.

I can not imagine how much work goes into a good sized quality quilt.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Making clothing and household fabrics and such might have been commonplace and normal/boring, but represented a ton of workhours: sourcing was stuff like sheep, flax plants, cotton plants (which you had to tend in the first place); then getting what you needed from the source: shaving the sheep and carding (combing/cleaning the crap out), soaking/rotting the flax, picking the tiny/annoying seeds out of the cotton; then spinning in various fashions, then weaving the threads together, then manipulating the fabric itself... you can see why (normal) women were often depicted doing something with cloth. What was done with cloth that couldn't be patched anymore? Quilts, rags, toys, and dozens of other ways to recycle the labor of quite possibly weeks and months. With the advent of modern machinery, people in the modern world, often even in third world countries, don't know what it means to make their own fabrics and clothes, blankets, and other woven goods.
TL;DR: people don't know what the good sh*t's worth nowadays.

[Dreamstalker]

Agreed completely.

I'm pondering getting a small booth at the local Waldorf school's holiday fair this year; some of the handmade items that come out of that community are absolutely stunning. Generally visitors to that fair know quality when they see it but I've overheard a few idiots over the years.

[Andara Bledin]

So, she wanted to blatantly break copyright laws, and render an item unsellable...and what exactly was in it for your mom?!

My family does beadwork, with a few original holiday-themed designs, and we've had people stop to sketch out patterns so they could make their own. >_<

These days, with cameras in everything, there's no way to stop them from stealing those patterns.

^-.-^

[spark]

I just got another freebie-asker today! I think he was trying to be subtle about it. "You should make one just like this, but in white. My character is just like this, but in white. I mean you don't have to make one, but you really should."

What does he expect, that I'm going to make one like he says, and then just give it to him? I replied with my usual "I'd love to make one, it'll be $xxx." No response to that, of course.

[Stryker One]

OOAK?

One Off And Kustom?

[Kanalah]

One Of A Kind

as far as I know anyways.

Edit: Also yeah I have seen a distinct decline in people making/selling stuff at my supposed "handmade only" shows. It stinks but i guess people think that reselling stuff is easier.

[spark]

The craft market I do has very strict rules. If you personally didn't make it, you can't sell it. Even if you want to sell stuff made by friends and family, you can't, they have to get their own membership. That's not very common though, I know.

[Kanalah]

Yeah I try to sign up for the "handmade only" or "handmade preferred" shows myself.

Really big craft show used to be handmade only and store owners would shop there to get stock. Now it's open to the public and mostly resellers.

Funny thing is, when I was reselling wooden toys I had more people thinking I made them then with a booth full of quilts.

[Kogarashi]

I get similar responses at the convention I attend each year. People will look over the folding fans that I paint and go, "You painted all these yourself?" Um, yeah. If I didn't, I wouldn't be in the Artists' Alley, where everything has to be made by you, I'd be down in the Dealer's Room where the resellers are.

[AccountingDrone]

My mother was a wonderful knitter, and loved making afghans, hats, shawls, etc as gifts. People would tell her, "You should sell this!" Of course, most people don't realize that besides the materials, there's labor, and that makes many hand-made things prohibitively expensive.

More people should experience crafting. 1. They could make their own stuff! 2. They would appreciate other crafters and artists who make stuff.

I paid $500 for a hand knit shawl for my mom a few years ago, and provided the yarn. If you want custom, you pay for it. If I could knit or crochet, I would have done it myself.

[Catwoman2965]

Slightly OT< but could you PM info about your business? I have some questions about having something made...Thanks.

[42_42_42]

I wouldn't even bother answering people who ask such stupid questions because they are obviously not interested in purchasing something from you (not at a price that's not insulting anyway).

Mass production has resulted in a populace that is unable to understand or appreciate hand crafts.