What do you charge for special lapidary work?????

melhill1659

Congratulations on the acknowledgement of your skill and artistry.

Both rockjunquie , hummingbirdstones  and MsAli have given you excellent advice.

The only thing I would like to add is to remember that there are other "hidden" costs that you should also take into consideration. That is, the cost of lost opportunities and lost production time. By that I mean that this project is going to occupy you and your bench time. So, you will not be:

1.) Expanding your individual marketplace. Unless you will be advertised as a co-artist and given ample acknowledgement of your contribution to the final piece. I would suggest to have that outlined in a written document or you could be "lost" in the final "bravos".

2.) Obviously you have designs that you have completed in the past. Your "learning curve" has been completed on those. How many of those designs and their variations could be completed during the time you spend on this art piece that has been first commissioned to another jeweler and who is now asking you to be a "sub-contractor"?

I hope I don't come across as too paranoid. But, something similar happened to me when I was a licensed contractor making what I call as "house jewelry" for a general contractor. I was (and still am) an artist-blacksmith dealing in forged iron work. These two caveats are what I learned from direct experience. However, I have to admit that, in the end, I did get more commission work from the GC. But, as a sub-contractor.

It is a real opportunity for you. But, it also has a price.

Best of luck!

James

Thank You guys for all the great replies! I’m thinking $20 an hour? And yes I plan on our next meeting asking if I’m getting credit for collaborating or am I considered a contractor? If I’m just a contractor my price will go up!

I think $20/hr plus cost of materials is reasonable. Make sure to add the cost of materials part in your agreement or it can end up costing you.

Really depends on if you are doing this as a hobby or business. If this is a hobby and you would be using the same equipment, consumables, overhead related items, etc. if you were not doing this work then I would think of it as I am getting paid to challenge myself and learn something new while making a few bucks that I can put back into my hobby or shop. If this is more of a business $20 an hour may not even cover your expenses.

Al

Honestly, I can't shake the uneasy feeling that he might have asked you because he figured it would cost him less. I'm sure he knows it will take you longer and maybe he's willing to sacrifice time for money. Dunno. Something just seems fishy. Not saying you can't do it- I think you can and so does he obviously, but being new, I'm sure he's looking for a lower price. Don't overlook design time, either. All that time you sit trying to figure something out is part of the process. With all that said. I still think you should come up with a good number and knock a little off, but be prepared for some negotiations.

What I do is pay myself a flat rate for time, at least double the material costs and factor in some fudge money for incidentals. I'm sure everyone is aware that my wire wrapping prices are high, but I'm not working for free. I have a lot of expenses and experience. I just had to buy a new pair of cutters, for instance. Not cheap and I didn't even get the expensive ones! 

I’m reading and rereading all of your thoughts and advice! I’ll be sitting down in the studio tomorrow coming up with a plan to move forward. This is a business, it being new shouldn’t be a big factor. Someone asked where I see this going... I’ve never put my thoughts or aspiration in a neat box. I want my pieces in a museum one day 😂 My passion is for intricacy, depth, ART! I live for One Offs! I have no desire to do production. With that vision in mind I can see Brian an I collaborating a lot. He pushes me an I Love it. I’m going to play with drop casting this week. I have some stuff flying around this brain that is eager to get out.

Okay, it's a business so I will assume you have all of that part figured out. I'll just say that if you do not feel 100% confident in your business plan and know your overhead inside and out focus on that first. You can be the most talented plumber, electrician, woodworker, lapidarist, etc. producing work far beyond the quality of anyone else but if you do not have a handle on the business side of things it will most likely not turn out well.

I used to do custom woodworking that was borne out of a home improvement business. It started as doing some built-in units and blossomed from there. There came a time when I was really being challenged and what I was being asked to create was pushing not only my capabilities but also those of my equipment and shop. I made the decision not to turn anything down and work as much as it took to complete my orders in a timely manner. A little reality check I had was that no matter how special my work was, there are other people out there creating their own unique works. I did not have carte blanche to charge whatever I wanted and get repeat business. I still charged what I thought the final product was worth, I just made less per hour than normal as it took me longer to produce a fully custom piece. There was no rule of thumb I followed. I broke down each product as far as I could (how much time would I have cutting, finishing, carving, etc.). For many tasks I could come up with a reasonable number, for others there was a bit of a leap of faith. This is a lot less risk than guesstimating the whole thing. It cannot be stated enough- even in custom work, the more experience you get, the easier it will be to build and price each piece. Before long this work became more profitable. Perhaps most importantly the skills you learn on today's custom project will come in handy on other projects down the road.

Especially as a custom business there is no way I would quote an hourly amount. There is just too much room for second guessing on the part of your customer: "I didn't think it would take you that long", etc. when you take longer than even you expected. Also you may have to turn down other work because you figure a piece will take you "X" amount of hours. When you finish that piece early you will not only take a hit hourly (this assumes the customer will know) but also on the work you turned down. I know it can be intimidating quoting custom work but it will get easier over time. Ultimately you will get the experience to break any commission down into workable tasks that you can assign a cost to. Even the most custom work will typically have many steps you may be familiar with technique-wise, with a few twists of course.

Best of luck!

Al

I'm way late for the party here - melhill1659 what's the update and how are you feeling about it?