chrisperez
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2009
Posts: 457
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Post by chrisperez on Jun 12, 2011 22:38:50 GMT -5
Well, here's my newest creation... This is a quartz crystal with a couple little garnets squeezed in there. Wrapped in silver plated copper and brass wire... It's just under 3 inches long, so it is pretty big... But I think it looks pretty darn cool.... I still need to take some better pics, but for now this will do  .  Well, what do you guys think? How much should I sell this one for? ???lol Chris |
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adrian65
Cave Dweller 
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
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Post by adrian65 on Jun 12, 2011 23:40:24 GMT -5
Beautifil work! It has an ancient amulete look. Cannot help you with the price though.
Adrian
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Jun 13, 2011 1:11:13 GMT -5
Amazing piece! Looks like the head of a staff belonging to an Egyptian Pharaoh. Kinda curious as to how long it took?
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Post by Toad on Jun 13, 2011 7:35:36 GMT -5
Looks cool
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Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2005
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Roger on Jun 13, 2011 11:05:33 GMT -5
Great wrap unreal really! looks like alot of wire.Beautiful..
Roger
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chrisperez
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2009
Posts: 457
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Post by chrisperez on Jun 14, 2011 17:35:18 GMT -5
Thanks guys... this one definately fall into the " bit much " category  ... This design was loosely inspired by Arwen's pendant form The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. I sketched it up just after watching the second one. The garnets are by far the smallest stones I've ever worked with. Slippery little devils.... Here's some better pics for ya.... The front.  ... angle...  ... better view of the bottom... That's 18 gauge wire at the bottom so it's not quite as delicate as it looks. Actually I dropped it already  , from Diane's neck to the sidewalk. It landed right on the tip and nothing moved a bit.  ... better view of the garnets...  .. and, the back. It is as big as it looks, lol.  Amazing piece! Looks like the head of a staff belonging to an Egyptian Pharaoh. Kinda curious as to how long it took? How long?.... Too long .... I'd say 10 hours or so.... not including planning, I drew a sketch frist then figure out how to make it work.... Great wrap unreal really! looks like alot of wire.Beautiful.. Roger Roger... Alot is an understatement, lol ;D.... |
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Jun 14, 2011 17:41:04 GMT -5
Labor is going to be your biggest cost here when pricing works like this. What do you consider your time is worth per hour? figure that out and then multiply by the time it took you to make it, then add that to your material cost. This should give you your base price. (keep in mind though that base price <> retail price). If you just figure your costs by the material it took, you are selling yourself short.
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amyk
fully equipped rock polisher
I'm a slabber, I'm a cabber, I'm a midnight wrapper.
Member since January 2010
Posts: 1,331
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Post by amyk on Jun 14, 2011 18:28:18 GMT -5
I love it. It looks very elfish indeed. I can't believe you got those garnets to stay in with such heavy wire. Great job. Yeah, on the price, what Don said. You can probably get what it is worth at a Renaissance faire.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Jun 14, 2011 19:54:42 GMT -5
I think it's beautiful but it's not economic. There's no way you can charge for 10 hours of labor and still sell the piece. Not around here you couldn't. Quartz crystal, pyrope garnet, plate metal...the perception is going to be $10 to $25 range. Unfair as it is, that's the way it would be around here. Not sure of the minimum wage but it's somewhere around $6 an hour. I don't see any way you can charge $60 for the piece and still sell it. And Ren Fair people are the cheapest you-know-whats of them all, at least in the greater New Orleans area they are. I got to where I would just recommend them to somebody else when they asked me to do/make something for them, because it was NEVER economic to deal with them. Maybe they've changed, I dunno, I'm not gonna find out. It's a little bit of the living in mama's basement crowd, and those guys are probably cheap by necessity.
If you're doing it for a hobby, who cares about charging for your labor? Charge the going rate to keep in materials and keep the creativity going. If you're doing it for a business, you need to figure out how to make $20 items in 10 minutes not 10 hours, and these intricate wrap/weaves are not the way to go except as gifts for special people.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 15, 2011 8:50:25 GMT -5
Beautiful piece, Chris, although I can't help with any kind of pricing ideas. Regardless, I think this is an eye-catching piece. I keep visually following the wire up, down, back, through, :-). Looks great, sir!
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, from Diane's neck to the sidewalk. It landed right on the tip and nothing moved a bit.
