Shocked and Happy!

I usually don't get around to posting on Sundays, but I checked in to see how many views I had on my blog post from yesterday and almost fell off my chair!

In less than 30 hours, my post on pricing handmade goods has received almost 4500 views, been pinned and repinned dozens of times on Pinterest, and been shared on Facebook numerous times.  It quickly became the #1 post on my blog with #2 only having 1430 views.     

I'm thrilled that so many people are reading it and realizing how underpaid most artisans really are.  Handmade work can be somewhat unappreciated at times, and I think it's great that so many are realizing just how much time and money go into a handmade work of art, be it clothing, photography, jewelry making, or any other art form.

Since I'm here, I might as well mention a few other things too!

First, Tiny Blue Lines interviewed me for a post about being a young mom!  You can read it here.   

Also, did you notice the change in my blog header and Facebook page?  I'm in the process of redesigning my blog and am excited to be getting a new look.  I haven't done much to change my blog since I started it almost 4 years ago, and I think it's time to update!   I decided to go with a blue and yellow theme since those are two of my favorite colors together and were also the colors of my wedding (Coincidence? Probably not, haha).  Oh, and did I mention that there's going to be chevron?  I know I'm not the only chevron addict out here!  I was going to update my blog background and template yesterday, but with so much traffic on the blog, I thought it might be best to wait :) 

My new Facebook profile picture

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Why Is It So Expensive?

I've heard some complaints and comments lately about how expensive handmade children's clothing is. 

Honestly, before I started sewing, I thought the same thing.  Now, I realize that most seamstresses are actually underselling their creations.

Let's figure out why handmade clothing is priced as high as it is.

Here's a dress I made last summer: 

 The materials that went into it are: 2 buttons, heat n' bond for the applique, thread, and approximately 2 yards of fabric.  The fabric I buy for my products averages out at $10-$11 a yard.  Yes, I could just go to Walmart and buy $6 a yard fabric, but I take pride in the quality of my product.  From my experience, you get what you pay for with fabric.  So, the cost of materials for the dress are $1.50 (buttons), $0.25 (heat n' bond), $0.15 (thread), and $20 (fabric) making the total cost for materials add up to $21.90.

Okay, now add in the time it took to make the dress...I spent approximately 2 1/2 hours from start to finish.  My time is valuable, and I deserve to be paid for it just like anyone else who has a job.  Let's say that I pay myself $10 an hour.  (Note: Can you live on $10 an hour?  Not very comfortably!)  That makes the total for labor costs $25.

$21.90 + $25 = $46.90

But we're not done yet!  This figure doesn't include all the hidden costs of business such as buying patterns and business cards, internet costs, time spent promoting the business and updating listings online, sewing machine maintenance, packaging supplies, Etsy and Paypal fees, time to take and edit pictures of the product, camera batteries, electricity to run the computer and sewing machine, etc.  To figure all that in, add at least $5 to the total above.

$46.90 + $5 = $51.90 

Want to know how much I'm selling this dress for?

$35

Still think it's overpriced?  When you take away the cost of materials, I'm not even making minimum wage.

Many of my friends and family assume that, because I'm a seamstress, I save money by sewing all of my kids' clothes instead of buying them at a store.  They're always surprised when I tell them that it's much cheaper and faster for me to buy clothes at Target or Old Navy than to make them myself.   

So, if I make so little money sewing and selling children's clothing, why do I do it?

Because I love it.  There's no way I could put this much time and energy into something that pays so little if I didn't love it.

So the next time you're browsing a craft show or Etsy and find yourself thinking that a designer is charging too much, please remember what goes into each handmade craft and piece of clothing.  



Thanks so much for visiting Supermommy!...Or Not.  I'd love for you to like me on facebook" and follow me on Twitter! 
 

Random Monday-March 18th, 2013

About a month ago, Princess threw up on my bed, 5 minutes after I'd put clean sheets on it.  On Saturday night, I changed the sheets on her bed which is akin to wrestling an alligator since she has the top bunk.  The next morning, she threw up on her bed.  I'm seeing a pattern here...

I'm having Star's 6 month pictures taken on Thursday.  Be prepared for an overload of baby cuteness later this week.

Speaking of Star being 6 months old...HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!?!?  I noticed that she's starting to outgrow the cradle by my bed and it makes me sad that I have to move her to the crib in the kids' room soon.  I'm not ready for my baby to be that big already.

I'm thinking of changing my kids' blog names to more realistic names.  Something just irks me about calling my oldest "Princess" like she's a puppy or a spoiled entitled child.  Their new names would probably be Katie, Nano, and Anna if I change them since those are spin-offs of their real names.  What do you think?  Yay or nay? 

This morning, Little Man put on his coat, hat, scarf, and boots and informed me that he was going to the store to buy chocolate cookies, vitamins, and pizza.  Mean mommy that I am, I refused to give him the car keys.

It has come to my attention that Easter is in less than 2 weeks and I haven't even started my kids' Easter outfits.  I've made their outfits the last 2 years in a row and would like to keep up the tradition as long as they will still wear mommy-made clothes.

Little Man's Easter outfit in 2011 - Picture by Studio A Photography

Princess's Easter dress in 2011

   

Easter outfits - 2012

Mega Stuf oreos...some may say it's overkill.  I say it's heaven.

Photo credit: The Impulsive Buy

 
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<div align="center"> <br><br><a href="http://notinadequate.com/category/random-monday/" title="Random Monday" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2d3Vsxz7RFXaTKjVh53nAZBIdiJZyA0eFq_dh4ddAu13KhSvGmV186ijyAFE8jstXr9NVtXLP36t-1qMr05vFrCMoIYLNZmz6wem5ZB43TWm69ElgbUET_-rrKCY06rSDAx2cIy9nnM/s1600/Random-Monday-Main-Final.jpg" alt="Random Monday" style="border:none;" /></a></div> <br><br>


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Teaming Up!

I love the way pettiskirts look under dresses and skirts, or worn by themselves and I like to use them for my product photos to show the fullness of the product.  However, the wholesale pettiskirts I tested were too short, not full enough, poorly made, etc.  So, I started looking for someone who handmade pettiskirts to partner with.  I looked into quite a few boutiques, before finally emailing one to ask if she would be interested.  Within a short time she emailed me back with a "yes!"  I was excited, but before I could finalize anything, I had to see the actual product.  I placed an order for a basic white pettiskirt and waited.  Within 2 weeks, the package arrived at my doorstep.  I was impressed to say the least.  The pettiskirt was full, twirly, very well-made, and everything I'd been looking for!

With no further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Cotton Candy Chic! 

The requests from my customers for pettiskirts to go with the dresses and skirts they've ordered will be referred to Cotton Candy Chic from now on.

 All of Carla's pettiskirts feature adjustable waistbands which ensure a perfect fit no matter what.  That also means that they will fit your child longer.

 The pettiskirts come in pretty much every solid color imaginable plus many combinations of colors and prints.  Like me, Carla loves custom orders which means that you can get a pettiskirt to match pretty much anything.

You can find Cotton Candy Chic on Etsy and on Facebook.


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Revamping the Boutique

I've decided that I'm sick of working for about a dollar an hour. I started my boutique for four reasons...
1. To be able to stay home with my children.
2. Because I LOVE creating functional and adorable things for children.
3. So that people like me who don't have much money can still afford boutique style for their children.
4. To make enough money to be able to afford things. Things like clothing for my kids, medications for me and my daughter, etc. Not to be able to buy fun stuff, but for the basics.

I have to revamp Annalie's Baby Boutique. The first two reasons are not why I'm revamping my boutique. It's the third and fourth reasons. I started out marketing my products to my target audience, who are the people in the third reason. Unfortunately, it turns out that you can't make any money trying to sell things to people who also don't have much money. I deeply appreciate every one of my customers and my Facebook fans. You've all given me the inspiration and energy to keep going even when I've felt like giving up. I would not be where I am at today without you.

I priced my products so low that I'm barely making any money and when I figured my supplies AND my time into the equation, I realized that I am making about a dollar an hour. I just can't support my family on that amount. Also, my time is valuable as it is time I could be spending with my children. I cannot justify giving up large chunks of time with Princess and Little Man for a few dollars.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be going through my products one by one and determining how much the supplies cost along with the time it takes me to make it. This is not something I just decided to do on a whim. I've been spending a LOT of time and prayer going over all my options and making this decision. Not all of my prices will change. Some things only take me a short time to make so those prices will stay the same or even go down. Other prices will be going up. I sincerely apologize if this upsets anyone, but it's what I have to do or I will have to close down. I will continue to have special deals and giveaways periodically as well as rewarding my returning customers with Loyalty Bucks. I will also hopefully be adding some new innovative products.

Thank you so much to all my wonderful fans and customers, and I look forward to a great future for Annalie's Baby Boutique.

My New Boutique

I'm so excited! With the help of my sister, I recently started on online baby boutique, Annalie's Baby Boutique. It's been up for less than three weeks now and we've had a good response to it. I've been having so much fun designing and making baby and boutique things. Hubby has been having fun watching my supplies take over the living room and our credit card balance hit alarmingly high levels. You gotta spend money to make money, right? :) Because the boutique is online, I've been spending a lot of time on the computer promoting the business and updating the store. Hubby has begun to drop hints about our energy usage around here and asked me the other night if I was ever going to come sit by him on the couch instead of sitting with my new boyfriend, Mr. Acer Computer. I told him that Mr. Computer is always there when I need him (except for when the wireless goes out) and loves to take me shopping so... The housework has also been a victim of the boutique. Dear Hubby made the mistake of informing me that just because I have a "little hobby", it did not give me the right to neglect my real job. The next day, I persuaded (with a little threatening speech) my younger sister to help me turn my city dump back into a pleasant dwelling and let Hubby know how I really feel about him choosing The Farm over his Honey-Do list at home. That evening, he promised (of his own free will) to help out more around the house.

Anyways, gotta go try out my new sewing machine. The one I was using was over 30 years old and decided to retire last Wednesday so I went shopping again today. ("Do you take a visa card that's dangerously close to it's spending limit?")

Unsolicited Advice:
Check out my boutique. No, really. Do it. And tell your friends.
www.facebook.com/annaliesbabyboutique
www.annaliesbabyboutique.etsy.com