Value

I have long suspected that the editors of a certain monthly lifestyle magazine helmed by a certain famous lifestyle expert are more than a bit out of touch. We huddled masses long for tidbits of advice to make our homes more inviting, our food a little tastier and the chaos of our lives a bit more orderly. We need valuable help. Attainable goals. And we look to Her for guidance. What we get is an article showing us handbags that will change our lives in the $500 - $2500 price range, a little blurb about how great our hair will look after using $35 shampoo and a feature about beets. There is a nice recipe for pizza dough, just make sure you use organic flour. Where is the useful advice for people on a budget who are raising kids on that budget and who barely have enough time to drink a cup of tea, let alone make tea sachets from scratch (for a lovely and thoughtful gift)? I think they can do better.
This brings me to the touchy matter of value for your craft dollar. You, as the craft consumer, must feel that you've gotten a good value for your hard earned cash and I, as the crafter must feel that the transaction is worth the time and effort. Touchy, see? I have read many articles on how to price work and I have tried many different formulas, and apparently I could charge anywhere between $15 and $150 for a bag and be in keeping with the recommended formulas floating around out there. That would satisfy neither party. My method is to price an item what I as a craft consumer would be willing to pay for it, assuming all expenses have been paid and my time and effort have been somewhat compensated. Simple enough.
Speaking of craft dollars, the zillionth annual Skippack Spring Fest will be held the weekend of May 9th and 10th in the lovely village of Skippack, PA. It's a very festive craft fair/street fair sort of event with live music, festival food and lots of crafty vendors, including PattiBags. Come on out and spend some of those hard earned craft dollars!

Hello? Hello?

Have you ever tucked a message into a bottle and sent it on its way, hoping that someday, someone would find it? That's exactly how I feel with my first ever blog post. Who will possibly find my little blog in the great big internet sea? Someone, I hope, that wants to hear all about my creative goings-on and my tiny little bag business. And maybe some other stuff, too. Is this the inevitable evolution of a small online craft business? Or am I really late out of the gate and doing this hopelessly backward?
I hope to be able to keep those who care informed about the latest offerings and creations from PattiBags and how they came to be. And I hope that if you are the someone, somewhere that finds this little blog it will have been worth the visit.