November, Fair Pricing Month

We wanted to join the #MESICFEROVYCHCEN initiative. This wants to change shoppers' perceptions, especially before Christmas. To support artisans who not only create original products for you, they usually leave their profits and levies in our country. And that counts too!

Could one short article change the perception of a customer who is a master in his field, but handicraft activities pass him by?

- On purpose - how much do you think it costs to forge a blade for a knife?

Although I stand by my work, I realized while creating this poster that I often can't even calculate the cost, much less the time. And not just production time. It takes years of practice to know what's going to be under the brown skin of an antler, so you don't buy a few hundred crowns worth of material for nothing. 

☺️Every craftsman will have come across the following list, and anyone who has ever made even a paper antler will tell me that it makes a difference whether you make one piece for pleasure or whether you have to make it for a living. Or to feed your family. And pay the rent of the workshop and the utilities.

- You start with promotion, because the beautiful products in the drawer just stay there. That's a job for at least a few hours a day.

- Tools that have their depreciation and those that I had to make myself. 

- Material that gets expensive under your hands and in this case of knife making, working with a blacksmith that solves the exact same problem.

- The idea/original - you can see it at a glance and the customer often thinks that's all they're paying for and mentions the high cost, as if perhaps they're not getting paid for their own work.

- The copyright pattern that I see copied by dubious companies from Asian countries.

- Storage of materials and the risk of destroying the semi-finished product before completion.

- The health implications are also not insignificant. When I mentioned in front of a customer that I breathe in kilos of dust that damage my health and I can't hold a cup for days after one product, he replied that I had made my choice. Yes, he did, and what's more - until I looked at this initiative, I hadn't even factored that into the price.

- Commuting to the workshop, managing the e-shop, choosing materials, even that takes time, some of which goes into every little piece I make.

- Booth sales. You have to drive to such a market, pay a stall fee, and often freeze or stand in the rain and mud. This allows the customer to see the products right away and choose them. Sometimes, however, one leaves with damaged goods or does not leave at all if they are stolen.

- My favorite argument is that it's the cost of an item that will last for years and is equal to buying groceries or going to a restaurant. 

You can find some of my samples here.

And what about you, the manufacturers, the craftsmen, my colleagues. Do you encounter hesitation over pricing? What else would you add? There is a lot of competition and even the artisan has to push their price down. Even so, there is always someone who will lower their price (what? he makes it for 1000? I'll make it for you for 900). It takes courage to go to the market with leather and I am very glad that such initiatives are there. It makes sense ?