Selling Stuff

I bristle every time someone tells me, "you should sell your stuff."  

My new response, "you should buy it."

Every since I posted a picture of the completed prayer shawl, I've had people ask how much would I charge for something similar. They seem very disappointed when I give them a price.

 I don't think they understood what it means to hand make a garment, or any item outside of an overseas sweatshop. The shawl I would easily value at somewhere close to $300, and I'm probably low balling. Local, 100% Alpaca (feed plus shearing not even factored in). Weight of the fiber used, at $3/oz, 2 lbs of fiber is already $96. All fiber was hand prepped and hand spun, almost 1000 yards. Woven on a 4 shaft loom, and if you've never seen one of those, it takes a few hours to set up. Then the weaving and finishing. All the ends have to be tied and clipped, then the cloth brushed.

 This is basically the same process for all my items. I don't use milled yarn, and I don't use acrylic. I can make a shawl by special request with acrylic, with maybe $15 worth of yarn, still time is valuable, so $75 at least. This is how I make everything I post (except rag rugs). 

Angora items are even more costly, as fiber is often $5-10/ oz depending on length and harvest. $20 for every 50 yards I use. Handmade isn't cheaper, but it's one of a kind, and that's why I like it. 

So yes, I will sell my items, if one is willing to pay for them.