Art to Share

One of the best ways to share art is to find artists creating their work as greeting cards. Often these cards are quality prints that are suitable for framing. For some time now, Past Perfect, has offered note cards and greeting cards featuring the photography of this artist.

The newest cards celebrate Spring and warmth - the warmth that is symbolized in the sunflower. The first of these cards is called Peep Peep.



Little chicks in their nest welcome Spring. This card makes a wonderful Easter Card and is great for any occasion. It would be a wonderful invitation to a baby shower! The inside of the card is blank so that any personal sentiment may be added.

The second card features the sunflower. There is a great fascination with sunflowers - perhaps because they are so large and grow so tall. This one is reaching the sky.


There are so many occasions that this card is perfect for. The sky and the sun - but the sun is the sunflower. Its warmth comes right through this image.

Cards make a wonderful way to share art. And, believe it or not, these cards are only two dollars each. There is also a special offer to mix or match any six of these same size cards for just $6.00 - including individuals of those offered in sets. And all with very low shipping. Come to Past Perfect to see all of the photo art cards that are offered!

Pricing Your Work - Art or Craft

If you have read my articles on this site on Selling Wholesale, some of what you will read in this article will not be new to you (some of it will). But many who have no interest in selling wholesale, have many questions about how to price their crafts or artwork for sale.

Pricing is a difficult issue for many artists and craftspeople. They tend to devalue their work and place lower than market prices on their work. There is a whole psychology of this that we will not go into detail here, but it is important to understand the basics of pricing.

To price an item you need to take the costs of all materials, supplies, and expenses that make up an item and then add that to an hourly rate that you as the artist must determine that your labor and talent are worth. Start with the minimum wage and work up from there. You should certainly be paid the minimum wage. Of course, you should be paid more than the minimum wage. It is up to you to decide what you are worth per hour. Multiply the number or fraction of hours that it took to create your item. Add that item to your costs. The result is actually what should be your wholesale price and not your retail price.

You are not finished yet. To sell that item on your own you may have other expenses. If you are on an internet site that charges fees you now need to add those fees. If you sell at a craft show the table space will cost you money. You need to proportion that into your prices. If you take credit cards or use Paypal you must pay fees. Those fees need to be added into the price. Ideally when you are done you are at or near doubling that wholesale price that you came up with a few moments ago. (See why retailers double your wholesale price - they have these expenses too, only greater if they have a brick and mortar store.) Many craftspeople will feel that their item will not sell at double that initial price and feel uncomfortable about offering the doubled price when they try to sell the item on the internet or at a craft show. Eager to make sales they often offer their wholesale price to the public. This is a problem if you ever decide to sell wholesale. Retail shops do not want to compete with you and want to see that the price that they are paying wholesale is significantly less than your usual prices.

Put all of this together and we get a basic formula that anyone can follow to determine a price for a handmade item:

Cost of materials +
Cost of supplies +
Cost of Expenses (utilities consumed in creation) +
Self-determined Hourly Rate +
Fees to Sell (listing fees, show fees, credit card fees) =
PRICE

There is also a factor that many retailers consider and add or subtract from the price. It is the concept of "what will the market bear". This includes competition and demand. You may come up with a price of $5.00. Other similar items sell for $3.00. You may have to find a way to reduce your costs to be able to make your item for $3 to be able to sell. If you can't find a way to do this you may need to decide that this is not an item that will sell. If you can test market it for a time at the higher price you will be able to know for sure. The other thing to consider is that some things are just not worth the higher price that you want. There is just so much that people will pay for some things. On the opposite end of this, you may find that you can price an item at $20 but other similar items sell for $50.00. You could try to sell your item for $30 less with the idea that you will sell more because you have a better price. But - some buyers will look at your less expensive item and start questioning why is it so much less. They may conclude that it is "not as good" as the similar item selling for more. In this instance you may want to raise your price to keep it in line with similar items.

All of this is not as hard as it may read. Follow the formula and you will get solid prices. Compare your prices to similar items on the sites you are selling on or at the craft shows that you participate in and make adjustments if necessary.

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

We have another Photographers of Etsy member to feature. This photographer brings a very surreal look to her photography. Come an meet



Here is our interview with Debbie -

Briefly describe what you make?

I'm a part time photographer. I love to take nature photos.Mainly macros. I love close ups of the lil things that most people miss.

What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

I mainly shoot Canon DSLR.I love using my digital camera. I do;however, use a holga camera and now shoot TTVs through a vintage Argus camera.I also have a polaroid that I use from time to time also.I love the differend feel of all of these cameras. I could never pick just one.

How long have you been creating craft?

I have been shooting for as long back as I can remember being able to hold a camera. I always hated having my photo taken so I got behind the camera. As a famous writer once said."having the camera gives you power". You have the power to shoot what you like.Share what you want with the world or share nothing at all.

How did you get started?

I got started when I was young and my grandpa would let me use his old cameras. My first camera was a Polaroid,which I do still use from time to time. I recently got back into photography and have been shooting for charities. I joined a camera club last year and hit the ground running. Havent stopped yet. And now I'm selling my work along with having a few featured in a local gallery.

Where does the name of your shop come from?

Name of my shop just comes from me. My names Debbie and I photograph and Ive recently learned to knit.

What would you most want people to know about your work?

Its a huge time commitment. I work full time at another job and do photography on the side.Between weddings,charities and what I like to shoot for fun.Its a lot of time and work. You have to love what you do and I do. I hope that comes across in my work.

What words of advice do you have for other artists?

If you like photography and want to improve I suggest finding a camera club online and joining them. Its a really good investment in yourself.You find like minded people who enjoy it as much if not more then you. You will learn so much from them and all the critique on your work is great.

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Great shop. Come and see this shop and the fine photography - and some knitting too!

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

I should actually title this Featured Photographers because this is a husband and wife who share a shop - Painted With Light. The shop is a member of the Photographers of Etsy (POE) and has images that have beautiful color. Come and meet



Here is our interview -

Briefly describe what you make?

We’re digital photographers. Using Canon equipment, we manipulate light to capture digital images. We take those images into Photoshop to perform our post processing. In the majority of our photographs, we only use Photoshop to enhance the photo. Our goal is to portray the subject matter as naturally as possible, as we originally saw it.

What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

At this point, we only work in digital. In terms of subject matter, our photography spans landscapes, nature, macros, and cityscapes. We’re fortunate to live in a very beautiful area and there always seem to be something new to photograph!

How long have you been creating craft?

Photography has been a hobby of mine for many years. Somewhere I still have a picture I took when I was very young of my grandfather – I believe more than half of his head and body are cut off. Hopefully I’ve gotten a little better since then.

How did you get started?

I’ve always enjoyed documenting the world around me. I got my first SLR camera in high school and the rest is history. My husband became interested in photography after we met and we transitioned to digital photography in 2005. This gave us the ability to take more pictures and have more control over the post processing. At the beginning of this year, we decided we’d attempt to sell our photos after our friends and family encouraged us to share our work with others.

Where does the name of your shop come from?

Photography literally translates to ‘drawing with light.’ We love working with light to create unique, creative images. We thought it would be fitting to use the name Painted With Light, as with our photography what we’re really doing is painting with light to create our photographs!

What would you most want people to know about your work?

Our style is very much about keeping as true to our subject matter as possible. We like to challenge ourselves to capture images in situations that aren’t always the easiest. We welcome any feedback about our work.

What words of advice do you have for other artists?

Create your own style and stick with it! Keep at your craft because you truly enjoy doing it. And make the time for it – not always an easy thing to do!

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Please do go and see Painted With Light. You will enjoy what you see!

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

Our photographer is another member of POE - Photographers of Etsy and has his shop on the Etsy site. The pictures that you will find there are very stark in color and that makes them very appealing. Come and meet


Here is our interview with Matt -

Briefly describe what you do?

I am a self taught photographer, someone who is very passionate about photography but has a limited amount of time to devote to my hobby. I shoot images that I think are interesting, and a lot of times I end up missing, but once in a while I'll capture something that works.

How long have you been taking pictures?

For as long as I can remember. But it wasn't until recently that I started taking pictures for myself. In college I took a photography class that blended film photography with digital processing. A few years ago I got back into film photography with a black and white class, and around the same time I started to take pictures seriously as a hobby. Within the past year I've taken the leap to putting some of the images I've taken over the years up on Etsy.

How did you get started?

I have always loved taking photos, but I didn't get into photography seriously until my wife and I began to have kids. Almost four years ago my first daughter was born, and looking back at old pictures of me as a kid I knew I wanted to capture as much of her first days on film as I could. I really enjoy the nostalgia that old photos create. Early on I was only shooting pictures of my daughter, but as we got back into traveling, and as my hobby expanded, I started taking pictures of other subjects.

Do you shoot digitally or do you use film?

I shoot about 95% digitally, but I recently picked up two film cameras that I am starting to use more of. I really enjoy the look of the images that come out of those cameras, but I'm still learning how to use them effectively. One day I'll put some images from the film cameras up on my Etsy shop.

What are your favorite things to photograph?

I don't think I have a favorite subject, but I do feel like I go through periods where one type of photography will dominate what I'm capturing. For a while I was focusing just on night photography, and while that is still something I like to do I am not spending much time doing it at the moment mostly because it's so cold out. This year I am trying to expand into shooting concepts - something like a project where I focus on one subject or theme for a period of time. I’m still compiling the list of contenders for my first theme. Ultimately if it catches my eye I'll take a photo of it.

What words of advice do you have for other photographers?

The number one piece of advice I can give, and something I need to pay attention to, is to bring your camera everywhere. You never know when you'll encounter something interesting to capture.

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You must visit Matt at his shop. Matt also has a blog site that you might want to drop in on too! You are going to see a lot that you are going to like!

And while you are Etsy - please do come and pay a visit to

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

I am so happy to introduce you to another photographer who is selling her work on the Web. This is another member of the Photographers of Etsy group. Please come and meet April and her shop -



Here is our interview with April.

Briefly describe what you make?

I actually have 2 shops on Etsy, this one is dedicated to my photography and I also have a shop for beaded stuff. So I guess you could call me a beading photographer!

What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

I'm a digital girl! I would really like to have a dark room some day and process my own film! As far as my subjects, I'm partial to nature, especially flowers. But, I also like to find the abstract in everyday things. And, thanks to my husband I like cars!

How long have you been creating craft?

I've been taking pictures since junior high (although I would NEVER show anybody any of that!!). I only really got serious about being artistic with it towards the end of last year. I, by no means, consider myself a professional photographer. This is more of a hobby for me. It was my husband's idea to start selling my photos, so I figured I'd give it a try.

How did you get started?

Just point and shoot! I think my dad was a big influence in my interest in photography. I always remember him with the camera around his neck, especially on vacation. I was amazed at the things I learned from simply reading the instructions for my camera. I can't imagine what I could come up with if I were to take a few classes.

Where does the name of your shop come from?

My mom has called me Apple for as long as I can remember and I have recently become obsessed with the color orange. So, Apple Loves Orange! I do happen to like both fruits!

What would you most want people to know about your work?

Like I said before, I am not a professional photographer! I just hope that people like what I have to offer. I do this mostly for me as an outlet for stress, I have 2 children that like to drive me crazy!

What words of advice do you have for other artists?

Do what you love and do it for you! It's mot much, but I am still so new at doing this. I'm rather like a sponge taking in any advice I can get myself!

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Come and take a look at April's photography and while you are at it, check out her other shop as well!