Several days ago I saw an eye-opening little video detailing just how much time goes into the making of a knitted sweater. I thought it would be informative to do the same thing with my crocheted angels. I don't have video capability, so I took still shots after every hour of work.
Can you believe that anything pretty will arise from that?!
After one hour, I have the arms and head, and the bodice of her gown done.
2 hours and there's a bit more of her gown completed.
Ooh, some interesting color work and crossed stitches!
I think little miss angel here is trying to hide?
Hmmm, using the sleeves as a hat and a megaphone!
Wings are done.
Oh dear, have we fallen and can't get up?
It will now take several days of drying and reapplying the starch before I am satisfied with the strength of the pieces.
Then she will be assembled with both glue and sewing thread to be sure she will maintain her glorious shape for years to come. This particular angel also gets some pretty little beads added and some hair. So add one more hour to the 6 hourly photos for a total of 7 hours.
Paying myself federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour puts just the labor cost for this little 7 inch tall angel at $50.75. We'll round down to $50 to keep this easy on the math!
It is often difficult to determine actual material costs for my projects, since I usually use bits and pieces of larger packages. Crochet thread is relatively inexpensive compared to yarn and other types of handcrafts, so an estimate of just 10% of labor cost is a good approximation for me, adding $5 for my material costs.
Now standard manufacturing pricing says to take the item cost (labor plus materials) and double it to reach wholesale selling price, which would be $110, and double again for retail price of $220!
So what will be my selling cost of this angel? She will be joining her angel sisters Rosheen, Liese, Layla, (all similar in size and complexity) for only $52. A true bargain considering the real VALUE of handcrafted items! The care, love and prayers worked into her during the crafting process and the fact that this is truly a one-of-a-kind item make little Nizhoni and her kin truly priceless.
Stay tuned for angel Nizhoni's official introduction!
with love and prayers,
Cara Louise