My Art is Handmade

Why do I share this? What difference does it make if my art is handmade?

In todays society, factory-made and mass-produced items are commonplace. And while there's nothing wrong with buying factory-made items that you use in your everyday life, it can set false expectations for the cost of a handmade product both in materials and labor, and for the quality of the end result. Many online and in-person sellers will falsely claim their products are handmade when they are actually resold from a factory, which worsens the issue.

If I say one of my products is handmade, that means that I'm the one turning raw materials into a finished products in my own little workshop with my own hands and tools.

Small flaws are inherent to handmade art

Because each step of the creation process is done by a human, perfection is not the expectation. My goal is to create objects that are beautiful, useful, and as close to perfect as is reasonable. Small flaws like microscratches, color imperfections, uneven pours, etc are not considered failures as long as they dont affect the beauty and function of a piece. Each piece I create is a one-of-a-kind and made with the recipient in mind, and would not be released for sale if it wouldn't serve its function.

My time has value

Because I'm not paying a factory to create my handmade art, I have total control over the creation process and end result. This care requires time, sometimes weeks of work to release something totally new. The prices that I set are based on the material and labor costs to produce an item. If I cant be paid appropriately for my labor, I cant keep creating new things.

There are hidden labor costs to producing unique art. I'm responsible for ordering supplies, research and development, listing, marketing, bookkeeping, taxes, packaging, and shipping. All things that take away my time spent creating. I want to keep my art affordable while still charging a price that will allow me to continue what I do.

 

Updated 2/13/25