[Ansteorra] The Cost of Time

Jennifer Jackson genevria at cox.net
Thu Jul 23 16:38:17 PDT 2009


Also the time spent to develop the skills to produce a piece of art and the 
experience to do it just right.


Genevria

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lisa Sawyer" <ysabeau.lists at gmail.com>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] The Cost of Time


>A couple of years ago I was returning from Pennsic and the airlines lost my
> luggage. I had almost every piece of SCA clothing I own in those 
> suitcases,
> not to mention jewlery and other accessories. Around week two of them 
> still
> not able to tell me where my stuff was or when I might get it back, I
> started making a list of the items. When I started putting monetary value 
> on
> the clothing alone (cost of fabric +  trim + time to make + cost of
> maintenance for sewing machine), I was easily over the allowance the
> airlines give you if they lose your luggage.
>
> At one point, I got a customer service agent who "got it". After I
> explained, once again, that the bags were full of custom made renaissance
> costumes that could not be replaced at Target, she paused and said "You 
> were
> coming back from Pennsic, weren't you?".  She made me feel better because
> she told me that my bags would be found and they were probably still 
> sitting
> in Pittsburgh. Apparently, SCAdians tend to pack heavy for Pennsic. For
> safety reasons they airlines can't put everything on the planes and it 
> takes
> a while for the bags to catch up. Considering that I helped a woman who 
> was
> trying to put a big period pavilion on as excess baggage (poles and all), 
> I
> can believe it. They finally delivered my bags with nothng missing 3 weeks
> after my flight, much to my relief.
> So, long story short, I totally agree with JP. We tend to underestimate 
> how
> much the items we make are worth because we are making them. If you had to
> be reimbursed for your materials and time spent, how much would you charge
> for that dress or spear? Probably not $1250 on average, but more than you
> think.
>
> my thoughts,
> Ysabeau
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 3:44 PM, Jean Paul de Sens 
> <jeanpauldesens at gmail.com
>> wrote:
>
>> The recent shield discussion, and the responses to the costs, has just
>> reinforced my belief that we (the SCA) and society in general have forgot
>> how much it costs to do *one* of an object.
>> Case in point, that shield probably has around $40-$50 of materials 
>> (glue,
>> wood, hose, maybe hidden u-channel, rope, bolts, nuts,primer, paint, 
>> finish
>> coat).
>> It also has (if I had to bet) around 20 hours of labor (cut shield,
>> laminate, sand, prime, outline pattern, paint, clear coat).
>>
>> So if I were to pay some guy $10 per hour to do this, it would cost me
>> around $250 to do this shield.
>>
>> If I had to run a business doing this, where I had to pay for 
>> construction
>> space, taxes, perhaps even health, insurance, etc etc, well, that $10 per
>> hour worker will cost around $25/hour.
>>
>> Now the cost of that custom shield goes to $550.
>>
>> Often, I feel that we in the SCA don't appreciate the monetary value of 
>> the
>> art works that people make.  The scrolls on our walls, the clothes, the
>> weapons, shields, what have you, are custom made works of art, and when 
>> we
>> dismiss the price on something as "too high" and "not worth that" we
>> diminish the effort of the artist.
>>
>> I don't know who made that shield.  I know that someone probably put a 
>> lot
>> of energy, money, and effort into it, and might be a bit offended at some
>> of
>> the comments made.
>>
>> I know of many generous artisans in our kingdom and our game, who donate
>> work and craft and art so selflessly that is astounds me.  Let us make 
>> sure
>> that we keep in mind both the spiritual and the monetary value of their
>> work, and thank them accordingly.
>>
>> My apologies for rambling, but this issue always bothers me a bit.
>>
>> JP
>>
>> Qui mieux fait, mieux vault.
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