I have been finding it hard to get back to work after the glories of our summer holidays.
As well as our Italian trip we have been fortunate enough also to spend a few days in Suffolk, England, walking around Thorpeness and Dungeness, and a week sunbathing and eating delicious food on the island of Paros, Greece.
It has been wonderful just to spend time with the family, doing as we please. A reward for my partner’s hard work at a hard new job, and my son’s toiling over his GCSE exams.
The weather has been kind (we actually missed a whole week of rain and storms at home whilst we were in Suffolk!) and since coming back from Greece a few weeks ago I have been seeing quite a bit of Brian the dachshund, getting the garden back into some sort of order, picking beans and blackcurrants, cooking nice dinners and enjoying the company of my lad (who passed all his exams with flying colours) before he starts at sixth form.
Back to work has been beckoning for a few weeks now, but up until last week I had been ignoring its cries. I wasn’t quite ready to let go of that summer feeling…
Last week I eased myself back into making with a couple of mini raccoons, which I started on before we went away and completed over the past few days.
They have been followed by a trio of tiny bears, for which I created new patterns, to challenge myself (and because I couldn’t seem to find my old ones!)
I’m quite pleased with them, particularly the raccoons, whilst simultaneously feeling a bit worried by the direction they have taken me.
The problem is, they are small and detailed, and as such take longer to make. You can’t just dash off tiny things like this – they demand time… to imagine in the first place, to design, to stitch neatly, to add the little touches that make them as I want them to be.
Sometimes I feel like my own worst enemy, with my perfectionism, my need to embellish, to add whiskers and claws and buttons and underwear and pockets and suchlike. Sometimes it feels like I am disappearing down a tiny but bottomless raccoon hole… (do raccoons even have holes?!)
All this means that they probably aren’t going to make me my fortune. I am not a fast worker. I get bored of making lots and lots of the same thing. My creations are made from my heart, rather than the head.
They are lovely, I think, because I work hard at making them so and I care too much about them, not because I have any particular talent. I take my time and see what emerges.
But all of this means that they aren’t really economical, because if I were to sell them at the price that, given the time and effort they take, they should properly command, I don’t think anyone would buy them.
And so, there has been, at the back of my mind, a thought that this glorious, leisurely summer might be the last such.
As you may know, my parents died some years back, leaving me half the proceeds of the sale of my childhood home. This inheritance is what has been keeping me afloat over the last few years, allowing me to spend my time making dolls and not going out to work at a “proper job”.
My partner has a good job and my habits have been relatively frugal day-to-day, but the time is coming when I will need to earn a living and currently, I am not doing so. I earn, when it comes down to it, what my mum used to describe as “pin money”. I will soon have to make a decision as to what comes next…
I can’t say I’m keen to rejoin the “rat race” – my previous career in public sector management is but a distant memory (and not one to which I would be able to return, even if I wanted to). Making dolls and looking after a family doesn’t really qualify me to walk into many jobs. I feel out of the loop of the working world and lost as to how to find any obvious pathway back into it.
I’ve also been considering whether I should make a last-ditch, all-out attempt to make more than just “pin money” at what I do now. But I’m struggling to think how I might do that, either…
Lad is sixteen now and will soon fly the nest, so the time feels right for thinking about things moving on in some way.
I am thinking and exploring and waiting to see what direction life will take me…
If anyone has been in the same position, or has any advice, I would love to hear it. ā„
Your creations are glorious and you should not stop making them! However I understand exactly what you mean about the financial position, walking the line between a reasonable return for your labour and setting a price that people will pay as I have recently started to make and sell. It all started with making things for my daughter for Christmas, and her friends seeing them and wanting them! Nothing as complex and beautiful as your work, but it is repetitive so I every now and then I add something different to the list. I am working on building up a stock for Christmas and when I am satisfied with my stockpile I will continue to make my āmarket thingsā a couple of days a week, leaving me room for more creative makes or things from the heart. Is this something you could do?
Yes, that’s one of the options I’m considering. But even finding something part-time to do isn’t that easy!
I know some creative people make more money from teaching such as workshops or giving talks about their work to groups. I understand you might not want to share your designs but I would love to learn how to make little creatures like the beautiful ones you stitch!
I think you should consider workshops. I went on a Julie Arkell workshop a few years ago, she had pre made papier-mĆ¢chĆ© bodies of her dolls and we made the clothes and knitted the hats. It wasnāt cheap – but great fun and well worth it. We had tea and bought our own lunch in.
I think yours would be really popular and you wouldnāt have to give all your secrets away – just a few carefully chosen techniques.
Your work is just beautiful and Iām the lucky owner of two of your items. I travelled up from London to Nottingham to see your work at a Christmas craft fair. Iām really sorry but I have to say – you should charge more. I was really surprised at how very reasonably priced your work is – and I can see the hours they must take.
I hope you can find a way to make it work – Iām self employed and would find it hard to go back. X
Wow, thank you Helen! To be mentioned in the same paragraph as Julie Arkell is amazing enough, but to hear that you travelled from London to buy my work just blew me away!
I know I should charge more. But I find it really really difficult to actually do so. Partly it’s because I know that I undervalue my own work. But I also don’t know how to reach and sell to people who could and would pay more… I think I would lose all my customers if I just put up my prices and just continued with the outlets I currently have to sell my work. So a price increase requires a big gamble and knowledge that I don’t currently feel I possess… I’m hoping I can look into getting help to address that, but we’ll see.
As for teaching, I don’t think that I am a great teacher. Some people are good at teaching and enjoy it but alas, I don’t think that I am one of them.
I follow and admire a lot of creative people, and one thing I’ve noticed is that they’ll have a few ‘standout’ pieces on display, real stunners that everyone raves over but few can buy – then less elaborate but affordable pieces very reminiscent of the showstoppers – and then the simple small pieces that everyone can find money for. And I’ll admire the wonderful things I can’t afford, but buy the brooch or postcard that has a little of the same magic. A lot of those small pieces could add up to quite a bit of money, augmented by the sales of properly priced stunners. Just a thought.
Hi Gillian, thanks for your thought! This is something I already do. This winter in particular I have sold lots more of the smaller, cheaper items on my stall than the more expensive ones. I make and sell brooches for Ā£10 and a range of hanging Christmas decorations for Ā£12 each.
But none of my work goes for hundreds – my most expensive item is Ā£60, so nothing is really horrendously expensive anyway.
Hi I have been looking at doll makers blogs perhaps you could take inspiration from those who do command high prices for their work and see if there is some way that you can tweak what you do so that you can ask for a fair price? Selling online and taking inspirational photographs etc. even though obviously you already do have lovely images of your work and your blog which I enjoy. It is a competitive market so I hear but there must be a way that you can sell maybe to collectors around the world? Your raccoons are lovely there must be doll collectors who can appreciate your detailed and unique work maybe its time to start asking for more money for what you do?
Hello
Your creations are wonderful.
I have some ideas – from various artistic friends who have found ways to make more money.
Iāve just followed you on Twitter so you can DM if you have time to chat.
I share the feeling of not wanting to make the same thing twice, but it does mean you invest too much time in making dolls because you are figuring out the designs (because that is the fun bit).
Yours
Alyson Downey @alyson_downey
I hope you find a way… the world will be a sadder and duller place without your tiny magical creatures in it. The difficulty is always finding those who understand that handmade = unique and special, rather than not quite as good as a shop one. It’s the sad truth that we’re so used to plastic disposability that true craftsmanship is chronically undervalued. So hard to be motivated when you’re unappreciated. I hope you find that looking glass into Wonderland, or the wardrobe into Narnia…
Your little creatures are beautiful and I’m privileged to give home to a couple of them. I totally hear you. It’s hard to price things accurately and I struggle with this too. I work part time, teaching a costume design class which provides a bit of regular income so maybe some part time work might be a solution although I know it’s easier said than done. Your creatures and blog posts are an inspiration. I hope you find your path.
I think you are a talented writer! Maybe photograph your lovely creations & use them as illustrations in your story…using flowers, moss, etc. as props. It would be a charming children’s story!