rough pricing ideas?

[Rik]

hey guys, been asked to carve an owl out of a standing trunk, fresh cut, no rot, ash.

 

the trunk stands about 8' high and is straight, no branches, and about 18" diameter at the top...

 

now i recon i should be able to do the actual carving ok, however i have absolutley no idea whatsoever in how to go about pricing it?? i have no idea how long something as big as this would take (im not hugely experienced in carving).

 

any thoughts or possible ideas would be very much appreciated!

 

cheers guys.

[wisewood]

Ok then I'll take a punt.

 

Going rate for an artist, say working a 7hr day in a school project would be £180-200 plus costs.

This is dependant on experience and flair, some will work for much less, some will demand a higher rate.

 

3 main factors I would go with are:

 

1 How good you are/think you are:sneaky2:

 

If you can carve a decent owl then you won't feel bad charging decent money for it

 

2 How long you think it will take

 

If you can carve quickly and decisively then you'll make more money per day, if you work slower or waste time scratching your chin (guilty)then you'll end up working longer for less.

 

3 Your overheads

 

Overheads will be the same I would imagine as day job.

 

I would say as long as you can produce a decent carving you can't be far off with your usual arb rate, your time is exactly that whatever you're doing.

 

Good luck with it

Si

[woodsculptor]

Hi

 

I don't work on a day rate. A piece of art is worth what someone is willing to pay, this is sometimes more than a reasonable day rate and sometimes a lot less. I charge what I think the piece is worth (by honestly assessing how good I am and how well I think I'll be able to do the piece as well as intricacy/detail etc). This means I can take my time and make sure it's as spot on as I can make it without having to charge a huge amount because I'm charging per hour.

This mean that's sometimes I'm working for very little per day (£50 say) but as I enjoy what I do immensely (the pleasure comes from the art rather than the money) and have very few overheads then I don't mind so much.

This method wouldn't work for a lot of people but it works for me, although I'm sure on day rate I would earn a lot more I think my art would suffer (pressure to get it done) and I dare say I wouldn't get as much work. Don't let all this give you the impression that I charge peanuts as I don't but I think I'm fair.

 

Charge whatever you feel comfortable with after honestly assessing your skill level and your need for the work (is it a sideline for pocket money/ for somebody you know or do you have aspirations of making a real go at it etc). As long as you and your customer are happy with the price, then it's the right price.

 

Having said all this I hate pricing my work :-)

 

Kim

[wisewood]

Very eloquently put Kim, and probably nearer the mark

Yes sometimes the work doesn't equate to the time and effort spent on it and you have to charge less or risk losing a sale/commission. Like you said charge what you are comfortable with.

The £180 -200/day rate for schools is a recognised national standard for community art and that is why I quoted it, I think it's an area of work that you can rely on having a guaranteed a fixed rate whatever you are doing, carving or workshops.

Cheers,

Si

[Rik]

cheersguys am liking the ideas, i think personally i'd rather put in a price having read what you say about your art suffering kim, i must admit it will definately be a think i'd like to be proud of and i dont like the idea of rushing it on hourly rate to get it done so the customers happy with the price, or indeed the opposite and taking ages so im happy with the result but the customers unhappy with the price! (there will likely be lots of chin scratching!)

 

i'll put in a price and see how we go!

 

cheers guys!