Monday, July 16, 2012

Button, Button...

...Who's got the button? I do - dozens of them. Porcelain, in the whole range of soda color. I made small models of Sculpey, then took casts of those to make the button molds. But now that I've got them, what do I do with them? Sell them, of course; I'm not a knitter or seamstress. I'm not sure how to price them. Though small they are kind of a lot of fiddly work: the tiny holes need to be drilled, they get dipped in flashing slip, and after the firing the backs need to be ground and polished, so there is no trace of rough texture. I've heard pricing suggestions between $3 and $10, so I thought I'd ask all of you: any knitters out there? How much is a fair price for handmade buttons?
Posted by at 11:11 AM

7 comments:

Brandee Ross said...

I'm not a knitter, but there is a knitter at my local farmers market who makes her own clay buttons and generally charges $10 for 2-3 on a card. She also sells larger buttons for $10-12 each.

July 16, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Sue Pariseau Pottery said...

Love the buttons and all the soda colored goodness. Hope they are a good seller for you, but I also have no good idea on price. Visit a local fiber shop or studio and see what they are currently getting for special buttons.

July 16, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Newfoundout Potter said...

Love the buttons - I keep meaning to get back to making them, but need to refine the hole making. When I used to make them I also used them on my clothes but the holes' sharp edges would cut the thread so I would be constantly resewing on the buttons. So I stopped making them. However that was groggy stoneware and not porcelain. Someone gave me a tip and that was to lay some plastic wrap over the clay before you make the holes and so the holes edges will be rounded and not sharp and not cut the thread.

July 16, 2012 at 4:52 PM
Quietly Otaku said...

Great buttons theres a lot of detail to them!

July 17, 2012 at 4:36 AM
Michelle in Saskatoon said...

The buttons are really pretty, and they are a lot of work, as I remember from making them in the past, no advice on pricing them tho, guess you could google them,

July 20, 2012 at 9:30 PM
Unknown said...

I'd love to have a mold to make these. I make resin buttons and have a terrible time finding molds.

August 23, 2012 at 4:58 PM
- Cindy - said...

No matter what you decide on, I like the idea of charging less if people buy more (like if they're $4, then maybe it's 3 for $10). Consumers love to feel like they're getting a bargain, and sellers like to sell more than a single button.

September 6, 2012 at 11:30 AM

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