OMG OMG OMG!

[telophase]

I can't believe I just made this.



I found a couple of tutorials on rick-rack roses and thought they might make nice really really small kanzashi for dolls.

I made a couple, and then I Got Ambitious.







HERE IT IS NEXT TO A QUARTER YES IT IS THAT SMALL.




And a better shot of the quarter so you can see its scale.




KITTEH APPROVED!




And a couple of single roses next to the quarter.




And a garden of kanzashi!




The cats being cute together. I'm not sure why Nefer's eyes are so big and possessed-looking here - they usually get that way before she attacks something, but she wasn't in the mood for attacking. Hm.





My big problem now is WHAT THE HELL DO I CHARGE FOR THESE? There's that weird tension between how small they are, which makes them feel like they're worth less, and how much of my time they take to make, which makes them feel like they're worth more. And I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what people would be willing to pay for them. Aaaaaarrrgghhhh!

Comments

Re: OMG OMG OMG!

[piranha]

they are way cute. and i don't even have enough hair for hair ornaments. nor do i wear cute things in my hair in general. :) but i know cute when i see it.

no idea what one can charge for them, but FWIW they do look intricate, as if quite a bit of work goes into them.

Re: OMG OMG OMG!

[telophase]

Thank you!

[lady_ganesh]

I would charge as much if not more than you do for the full-size kanzahashi. Putting them next to the quarter gives an idea of how tiny and intricate they are, and people will realize you're essentially working in miniature and pay more.

They're awesome, btw.

[telophase]

Ooh, quarter as a prop sounds like a good idea, thanks! XD

[lady_ganesh]

I know it definitely impressed me!

WHAT THE HELL DO I CHARGE FOR THESE?

[mustangsally78.livejournal.com]

I found a formula online:
COST OF MATERIALS
(Add up all the little and large materials that go into each piece. Estimate costs for paint, fabric and other items you only use small amounts of.)
+
COST OF LABOR
(Pay yourself a decent hourly wage. Example: $10 hour. Determine how much time goes into producing each piece and include the dollar value in your pricing.)
+
PROFIT (optional)
(Amount you expect to earn
beyond the cost of your labor.)
=
MINIMUM PRICE
(Amount you must recover from
your time and expenses)


That being said (and I've sold earrings for years) I find that with something *small* people get nervous/weird at the $10 mark. I generally sell my earrings (which cost about $1 to make) for between 5 and 9 dollars. Mom used to have a hard time selling vintage dolls/accessories because her prices were too high and she spent soooo much time on them that she could never make a profit.

Now my inheritance is several thousand dollars worth of dolls/clothes/accessories/vintage human clothes that I will never get a decent amount of money for.

Kittehs, as usual, are awesome. Have you not put kanzashion Nefer?

Dude, put flowers on collars. Dog people will LOVE them for their purse dogs. They'll spend any amount of money on that shit!

Re: WHAT THE HELL DO I CHARGE FOR THESE?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. That formula seems to get me somewhere around the $20-25 mark for the elaborate kanzashi and about $3-5 for the smaller singles (although that will go down as I get better at NOT GLUING MY FINGERS TOGETHER, which kind of takes a lot of time when you have to stop and peel glue off so you can handle things). Cost of materials for them is very small, maybe $2-3 for the elaborate one and less than $1 for the singles, so it's primarily my time (and sanity).

I think that maybe $3 each and 2/$5 feels good for the singles.

Does that sound good to anyone else reading this?

Nefer posed with some of my earlier kanzashi - I tend to photograph them with whichever cat is within reach at the time. XD

Re: WHAT THE HELL DO I CHARGE FOR THESE?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hm. Maybe I'll have to adjust my prices by day and see what sells. So far my biggest problems at cons with doll people has been getting them to notice I have doll-sized stuff. Maybe a large "DOLL KANZASHI!" sign.

The idea of dog collars sounds cool, and if I get a table at the Funky Finds (http://funkyfinds.blogspot.com/) craft show here in town next year (found out it existed a week before this year's XD), that might be something I'd try. Probably not go over quite as well at anime cons, unless the dog collars were to be worn by humans. :)

Re: WHAT THE HELL DO I CHARGE FOR THESE?

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

I think you could go higher - maybe $5 each and 2/$8 would still sell. I'd pay that, at least, and not consider it overpriced.

As for thinking that they're not worth as much because they're small - jewelry is small, too, and that's basically what kanzashi are, right? Jewelry for the hair, made with care by a talented artist from high-quality materials and totally unique.

The idea of putting them on dog collars is a good one, if you can stand the idea of them getting trashed when Precious decides she has an itch she's just got to scratch. ;) You might want to use a different kind of fabric for that, something tougher - I don't know if that would work. I do know my sister has a little Yorkie that's better-dressed than she is... and this is the sister who considers herself a fashionista.

Re: WHAT THE HELL DO I CHARGE FOR THESE?

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Also, further perspective on "small things feel like they should be cheap" -- as far as BJD clothes go, doll shoes and clothing can cost as much or more than human-scale versions of the same things. There's less total cost for materials, but sewing at that smaller scale is trickier than full-size so the time/labor costs skew higher.

And remember, your target market for these isn't folks with $20 Barbies, or even $90 American Girl dolls -- these are folks who are used to paying hundreds of dollars for just a naked, eyeless, hairless doll, and even up into four figures for limited-edition fullsets. They're not necessarily going to want to pay high prices for something simple enough they could make it themselves, or common enough that they can it cheaper from a dozen other vendors -- but if you have something unique that's absolutely perfect for what they have in mind, they're used to spending crazy amounts on tiny things. :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

PRETTYNESS!

*has no idea for pricing so mentally pets kitties instead*

[telophase.livejournal.com]

You'll get to pet them physically soooon! XD

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I DOOOOOOO. I'll have to practice on Squeaker and Patches in the meantime!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

FYI, Nefer looooves to be scritched right between her shoulder blades, and Sora like chin-scratches. Well, when he's in the mood to be petted. When he's not in the mood, he does his twisty best to avoid you. XD

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Checking some of the Marketplace posts on Den of Angels, I see folks selling doll-size kanzashi in prices ranging from $3 (single small ume blossom on a springy clip) to $20 - $30 (huge maiko-style pieces with multiple flowers, bira-bira, etc.). Non-kanzashi hair accessories from some of the BJD companies are anywhere from 10 cents for a mini bobby pin to over $10 for fancy hairsticks with lots of rhinestone danglies, although that's before factoring in international postage...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. I hate pricing anything under $3 because the eventual profit is Just Not Worth The Work, so the $3 or 2/$5 seems to be working for me for the single roses. The larger piece feels more like $20-25 because of the amount of work I put into it - somewhere around 2-2.5 hours. I don't think I'd want to put in that work for less than that. Hrrrm.

[ro-anshi.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't blink at paying $20 for the elaborate doll kanzashi. Just so you know.

[ro-anshi.livejournal.com]

I, personally, would throw LOTS of money at you for that elaborate doll kanzashi.

And that reminds me, I finally dressed Jessica in her summer yukata, arranged her hair, and pinned the kanzashi in place. She looks beautiful! This weekend I will take pictures and email them to you. Feel absolutely free to print and use to attract Crazy Doll People to your table! ;)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool, thank you!! :D

[mothoc.livejournal.com]

I suspect I have not mentioned this previously, but these are amazingly awesome.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

fabrics

[puppleball.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you told me a while back, but I can't remember and figure needs may have changed, but: silk! What do need/can use? Colors? Patterns? I will be in NE Thailand mostly and Mudmee (http://a1thaisilk.com/catalog/category/view/cat/36/id/30/) patterned silk is going to be highly available (not to say other patterns and weaves won't, I'm sure I can get my hands on pattern/style like metallics, etc.). I wasn't sure if the pattern on them would be restrictive for you? Anyway, send me details on what is/isn't useful and I'll see what I can do, oh and piece sizes! I know you don't huge pieces and I may be able to get my older sister to haggle a price on scraps at the tailor shops, but I need to know ideal piece sizes or sizes that are to small to be usable.

Re: fabrics

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, nifty! Yesplz! Bright colors would be good - a lot of the kimono scraps I've been getting are sort of muddy, because the patterns only pop out from large pieces and when folded up small they vanish and the background of the kimono is muddy-dark. Also some white or light colors, if available. Patterns aren't too much of an issue unless they look muddy and dull when folded up small.

As far as type - the thinner the better. Thicker weaves have a hard time staying folded as I'm gluing them and are a huge hassle. XD If there are any metallics that are soft and foldable and don't want to spring back flat, that's good.

The smallest I can use is basically a 3 x 2" scrap (a flower made of 5 petals of 3/4-1" squares plus one to cover the base), and they can go up from there.

Thank you!

Re: fabrics

[puppleball.livejournal.com]

Cool. I will do what I can. Is non silk ok? The tailors work with cotton too in the same patterns sometimes so a scrap bag may include cottons/other stuff.

Also! Camera Lens! can I get it at A-kon? If not, there is a star wars game the sunday before I leave and I could get it then.