I have never seen such rampant and epidemic underpricing as I do with creative professionals. Mostly I think this is due to a number of myths that customers, clients, and the general public often believe. Here are a few of the most common myths, and why the people who propagate them are ignoramuses:
“Art is a hobby, not a profession.” A favorite line of my dad and many other old-country parents, often used to steer young people out of the arts and into more “respectable” fields such as medicine or business (I got around this by majoring in “Networked Media,” which … Read more »
When I was a kid in Brooklyn, my babysitter was part of a group of little old ladies who had an “investment club”. They got together every week and decided which stocks to buy or sell to increase their retirement funds. One day they had an investment banker do a presentation for them as a guest speaker. He showed them how to read all kinds of charts and prospectuses in order to better predict which companies would become more valuable down the line. He was in the middle of explaining why the supermarket chain McCrory’s was a really hot prospect … Read more »
Just found out today that one of my photos made it into the 200 Yards exhibition at Rare Device! The opening reception is on my birthday, June 1st, which makes it doubly exciting. I took a ton of photos and whittled it down to five submissions. I won’t spoil the surprise by showing the photo I’m exhibiting just yet, but here are the other four I really liked that didn’t make the cut:
Through the corner windows of Rare Device
… Read more »
About four years ago I started this generic travel illustration (pardon my scanner, which is total shite). It depicts the fictional island nation of “Travalin,” complete with disgustingly adorable destinations like the “Memoriviera,” the “Ghettiway” region and “Mt. Delycius” located in the “Gormay Mountains.” After completing the cutesy place names I had no desire to actually finish the coastline, so I put the project away indefinitely.
A few weeks ago I pulled the piece back out and gave it a hard look. The shape of the island was a non-descript ovalish … Read more »
It’s been almost a week and I’m still not sure I’m fully recovered from the Craftcation conference. I was scheduled to run three sessions in three days, but then added a fourth at the last minute when another speaker had to cancel. Having been a middle school teacher for six years, where you teach 4-5 hours a day, I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but I was exhausted at the end of every day. I forgot how tiring it can … Read more »
Headed down to Ventura this morning to spend the weekend at the Craftcation Conference. I’ll be teaching three four sessions there:
Moving Your Business Beyond the Kitchen Table (panel)
Marketing on a Budget
Pricing Your Handmade Work
Accounting/Bookkeeping for Crafters
I’m excited to see far-flung friends Jenny Hart (at a conference I’m NOT organizing, for a change!) and Danielle Maveal (see this video Q&A we did together last month), and to spend time with fellow SF crafty-business ladies Stephanie Cortez from NerdJerk and … Read more »
