You should certainly not move just to get paid a fair price for what
I suspect is better care in the work you provide than any competitor
in your area ! A reasonable labor charge these days is in the range
of $32 - 40.00 an hour. You should charge for materials, as any
retailer does by multiplying your (cost) x(2.5).in fact some
retailers go higher than that to x 3. Look at it this way, they are
paying for you to - what, pick up the work and then deliver it I’m
betting, and return it on a promise date you keep after having done
quality work by hand to satisfy their customers and maintain their
reputation. Where is your recognition dear? I think it’s time (after
30 years) for you to run things like a business. If the client
galleries etc. even try guilt tripping you, then they see that they
can simply get away with it. why? because they want * you* to do
their bidding, maintain their quality standards and keep them in
business. Unless you are on their board, I’m guessing you had zero to
do with their profitability projections or the structure of their
business (not-for-profit, etc.). I have NEVER heard of a non-profit
gallery for the record!! A gallery is there to make money. If it’s a
501 © 3, then you can deduct the work you do for them : First,
inflate your rate and costs, then after they pay the bill you give
them, the remainder of the actual total can be written off by you as
a donation of in kind services- the catch is they have to give you a
copy of their purported 501 © 3 that exhibits their tax exempt “non
profit” status. if they can’t just go to a drawer in a filing cabinet
and instantly photocopy it for you, then chances are you have been
mislead. . Which is my concern for you as a colleague and artisan,
and what sounds like a nice, but rather shy, non-confrontational
artist that would rather have some work at far less than the actual
value of what you do, than less work at what you are actually worth
not only in tangible terms but in their having a tried and true
resource they can call on at any time and rely on for quality,
repairs, etc. in a timely manner. . So what you do is go to a service
like vistaprint for example (i have no connection with them) and take
advantage of their “free” oversized postcards offer. Put whatever you
like on the face (their print work is very adequate and you control
what images you use of your own- be it a logo, photos of your work,
studio name, etc.) and on the other side something to the effect of :
Announcing ‘Spoon Lady’s’ 2013 Services- and then spell out what you
offer, be it “Specialising in Silver Repair, Restoration and
Conservation” (many firms won’t touch silver work for some reason),
general jewellery repairs, design and custom fabrication services,
classes, one-on-one lessons in basic silversmithing, pearl
restringing(If you do that), open studio time ( you charge a price
for an individual or x number of people to have access to your studio
equipment, instruction and consumables for x number of hours on
specific dates and after they have listened to a short presentation
on tool use and maintenance of your equipment that you will allow
access to) and anything else you offer. And in big bold type
something to the effect of " New Design and Fabrication Rates for
2013 ! Labour Only $32.00 an Hour " that way you can then offer 20%
or whatever you choose to galleries willing to sign an agreement with
you, or to good clients, or some follow up postcard each season with
a new collection announcement or sale on X, or " 20% off for the
Holidays- Get Your Heirlooms Ready for Giving “” or whatever
advertising best fits your purposes and pretty much does the talking
for you and cuts down on the haggling you seems to be experiencing.
It is ridiculous that anyone would even go there with an independent
artisan- so it sounds to me like you personally need to get some
local exposure,: Put together a Press Kit and send it out to radio,
news orgs. and any other non-web based media in your area and within
say, 40 miles or so from your studio. Have your local paper come to
your studio and interview you with a headline like " Local Metalsmith
Celebrating 30 Years in Business (just be certain they don’t
photograph or mention your address, or anything else that would leave
you open to robbery, etc., and that you make it clear you insist on
reading the article to proof it before it goes to print. It sounds
like you need to get a grasp on the realities of the jewelry business
and realise first, it is not location specific: things you put up
with are not because its part of the local culture!! it’s because you
let your clients get away with it. A good tactic when they want to
start “negotiating” is to nip it in the proverbial bud, by saying-
“the only time I can be flexible with my fee schedule is during
my___(pre-holiday) (summer) (x)__sale- I’ll send you a postcard
when the next one is coming up, but at this time my rates are all on
this chart”, and have one posted somewhere as well as some printed
out in a professional looking brochure or something you find works
best- from a flyer on your counter to a presentation folio like you
would send to prospective clients. nonetheless, have something large-
at least a 1/2 sheet of poster board - with your rates for services
listed in a large readable font and posted at eye height or above (6
" or above works well) somewhere in your office or shop or studio
(wherever the clients come in to haggle !!!). Maintain a good mailing
list as well: have a book for clients to sign in when they arrive on
your counter, etc. at least and keep a hard copy as well as a copy in
your mail merge program (if you have one) on your work PC or business
hard drive so when you do a mailing you simply have to print out the
labels, unless you enjoy calligraphy or prefer the look of hand
addressing postal pieces. As for compromising your materials- whate
going down in quality doesn’t seem right in my opinion. If you always
worked in sterling or fine silver, why reduce your work to silver
filled or plated materials- that just doesn’t make sense. Surely you
aren’t trying to accommodate the same people that are going to for
example the cinema and buying popcorn, 2 drinks and perhaps one other
candy item - they are spending near 40 bucks for that entertainment
and have no tangible item to show for the expenditure -I’m betting
your pieces are just a bit more than 40 dollars, with a price point
below one hundred on average - when they should probably be priced
for a range from $65.00-145.00 given the increased cost of silver and
other materials over the past 30 years ! You see, you are offering a
(I’m presuming) excellent standard of workmanship, unique jewelry and
good repair work and are trying to make a livelihood at it. You must
get a fair price for your work. It follows that the public has
notions in their minds of perceived value. New customers probably
don’t know what you used to use for materials, nor that you felt
compelled to go with lower cost materials to keep your sales at x
level- that is not a good way to run a business in my opinion-
decreasing the quality makes no sense. In fact you should, again in
my opinion, get rid of the filled materials and keep a plating pen
for repair work only or restoration and conservation. You need to
contact museums, boutiques, auction houses and perhaps retail
jewelry chains and offer them your repair, restoration and
conservation services - stressing that you specialize in sterling
silver and fine silver(in addition to other precious metals and
materials),If you offer stone replacement or matching services also
note that, and any other restoration work you may do that involves
real precious metal anything (I offer gilding services for instance
using 23 and 24kt gold leaf in a variety of colours to match original
pieces).I also deal with churches and other ecclesiastical painting
and decorating- so think broadly: who in your area has precious
metals for sale or on display, and how can you garner their business?
I felt compelled to write you as when i hear a person with 30 years
of experience has loweredd their standards and allows a customer to
haggle because of the artisans location- I think siomething isn’t
quite right with the picture and 9 times out of ten it’s a
self-confidence in business issue, where a generous and talented
person is getting railroaded!!! sound familiar? Good luck in
increasing your business. If I can help in any way feel free to
contact me off list regarding anything I have written in this post
that needs clarification or further detail. rer