So, these blankets I have been making have proved to be very popular. I already have had two people, one in my unit who was a recipient of the gift, and one who is a friend of my supervisor, ask if I sell them. If there were any profit to be made, I would be happy to sell them, but there isn't. The material's alone for each blanket, without any labor, range from $20-30 depending on how careful you are in fabric selection. Some of the blankets I have given away are actually even more than that in materials because I could not resist a particular polarfleece or cotton print that was a bit more pricey. I don't expect people to pay more that that for a blanket like this (I would place their value at around $25?, which means my labor adds no value). I guess if people wanted solid colors, and I bought everything on sale, I might get materials down to $15, or if the cotton was clearance. The point is, there is not really profit to be made. I feel bad because I like making them and I wish I could provide them for more people, but it just doesn't make sense. I told my unit member that if she really wanted one for someone I would be happy to do the labor for free if she provided materials, but thats not an offer I am willing to make to the whole building. No etsy shop for me I guess. At least not for blankets.
There is sort of an etsy craze going on, everyone seems to have an etsy site. Etsy, for those of you who don't know, is this awesome website that allows people to sell their hand made goods or supplies for such goods. It is sort of a neverending online craft fair. You can find so many interesting things on there. I have considered the possability of opening one up for the beading I have been doing, but I am so lazy, so inefficient at handling little things like mailing and bills etc, that I am certain it would be a disaster.
In other news, my friend R has started working at BDD. She is in the same position I was a year ago, in her first week of training. She is, like I was back then, experiencing the joys of being in a training class with somewhat unorganized trainers and classmates who can't follow what is going on. No, training is not that bad, but its certainly annoying at times. Its nice eating lunches with her.
In other other news, our cable actually is gone now. On the downstairs (main) TV this had the expected effect. We now have ABC,CBS,NBC,FOX,PBS, and a handful of random channels. (RTV anyone?). The consequence upstairs was much different. The TV does not have a built in digital antenna, so we are still plugged into the cable line. The result is that we are getting the random channels that our cable company failed to block. We have about five channels, and I think they can safely be called "the channels no one would bother paying for specificlaly anyways" - Big Ten Network (great to get football games, but otherwise useless), Hallmark, versus, and nickolodean toon. I already miss Mike & Mike in the morning. Luckily that can be remedied with a radio.
Enough random thoughts for now.
4 comments:
Can you buy fabric en masse online to save money? It seems like there has to be a way to sell your blankets for some profit. Or maybe people would be willing to pay more than you think for them? How big are they?
If you want to post beaded things on my etsy site you're more than welcome. I don't have enough items to keep it like stocked store and was looking for a partner.
But, if you don't PLEASE don't feel pressured. Just an option I wanted to throw out. (I accidently typed throw-up)
I was telling Mom that, for those of us who are capable of sewing or are fortunate to have family members that sew, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to make a blanket. But, people WILL pay for homemade things - really. I bet a lot of your coworkers would pay enough for a custom blanket to make it worth your effort (so long as you still enjoy doing it - for what's better than to be paid for something that you enjoy?!)
I'd say the next time someone asks, quote them 50-75 and I bet they won't blink, especially if you include "what colors/patterns do you like?"
:-)
Thanks for the ideas.
I have considered buying in bulk, but this is (1)overhead I am not willing to invest w/such uncertain outcomes and (2) takes away the customization that makes the blankets so cool.
I may talk to you later Sarah about posting some items.
I have had two people ask about me selling blankets. When I explained that the materials alone were this expensive they were no longer interested. The blankets are not very big (3.5 x 5.5 feet)? They are lap blankets. I don't think I can sell them for 50-75 dollars, though it may be worth a try.
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