Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 16:56:44 -1000
From: No Name
Subject: Re: setting fees for stitching
I co-own a professional costuming business. Kaufman-Davis Studio provides
costume fabrication for stage and film. We have a pricing structure based on
information received from the Small Business Administration. First you
decide what you would pay to hire someone come and work for you, say a
stitcher. Consider paying them $10.00 per hour. Then add the payroll taxes
that apply to that wage which approximately comes to $2.00 added to the
previous base wage of $10.00 equals $12.00 per hour. Next you take the
$12.00 per hour and multiply by 2.5 or 3 depending on what the market can
handle. We have found the market can handle only 2.5 %. So, now you have
$30/per hour, you pay yourself or your stitcher $12 per hour and you have the
rest to cover your overhead. Many people may be shocked at the price but we
find once we educate our clients that we are a business and not someone doing
them a favor they begin to understand.
Becky Kaufman
Kaufman-Davis Studio
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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 11:45:35 -1000
Reply-To: "M. Cricket Bauer"
Subject: Charging
I've been sewing historical dresses, uniforms and headwear for about 10
years now, whether as my only job, or on the side during graduate
school. Now, since I am gainfully employed with health insurance, I sew
only for myself and my loved ones.
Several factors determine what I charged, as a fee for labor:
The time taken to do the work.
A market survey, determining what others charge, then try to objectively
examine how my work compares to theirs.
What people will pay.
My stuff tends to be high end, since I do alot of hand sewing (this is
1860s, machine sewing is allowed), and I'm very picky about materials.
Incongruities arise when you compare your period work to what people pay
for modern clothes, especially bridal and formal wear. I charged
someone I knew $400.00 labor for a Civil War wedding dress, a
competitive price, but she would have paid twice that for a modern dress
off the rack.
This is where the passion for the subject comes in, since,
financially, it is often not worth the time to be in this as a
profession.
Just my experience..
Cricket Bauer
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Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 17:34:39 -1000
Reply-To: Margo Anderson
Subject: how do you charge? (LONG)
To: Multiple recipients of list H-COSTUME
All right, I'm convinced that people want to hear about this!
Before we talk about pricing, I think a few other thoughts are in order:
The first thing to do is to decide why you want to do this. Are you looking
for a way to supplement your income while having fun costuming, or do you
want to become self-supporting? Very few people make a real, house-payment
type of living at this kind of costuming.
Evaluate your skill level. Are you really up to doing this on a
professional level? Can you make patterns, or will you purchase them? can
you alter them? Are you familiar with a wide range of fabric types? How's
your hand-stitching? How's your machine work?
How's your equipment? Do you have an area where you can work, or do you
have to set up on the kitchen table? Will your sewing machine handle heavy
fabrics or leather? Do you have a serger? Do you need one?
What about your knowledge? DO you have a reasonable amount of knowledge
about the periods you want to make for? (you can't dash away and post to
h-costume in the middle of a consultation, after all!)
How about communication skills? Can you write a clear description of a
costume? Can you draw it? Can you explain sewing terms to a non-sewer?
How much time can you commit to this? will this be in addition to a full
time job? Do you have small children? Are you willing and able to work long
hours to make a deadline?
How are your people skills? Can you tell after a short encounter if someone
is going to be a flake? How will you work with difficult customers? How
far will you go to please them? Do you enjoy "selling" yourself?
How are you set financially? If you're planning to do this full time, do
you have savings or another person (such as a spouse) ready to carry you
for, say, two years? Do you have medical insurance? Do you have
renter's insurance? Will it cover your business equipment and stock, or do
you need additional insurance?
All of the above are things to at least consider. Many of them can be
overcome with time. Making costumes at a discount for friends who
understand that you're not up to a professional standard is a great way to
get experiences and references. With any luck, those friends will be long
term customers long after you raise your prices to a professional level.
Okay, pricing. Until recently, I charged $10 an hour plus materials. My
quoted price was a "guestimate", and I never raised it when it turned out to
take longer. Finally, I noticed that I never seemed to make much money on a
costume, and I sat down and figured out how long the last one I made had
actually taken. It turned out to have taken almost three times as long as I
had guessed it would, and I had purchased additional materials I didn't
charge the customer. That costume, it turned out, paid me about $3 an hour.
I now charge $15 an hour plus materials, and do the following: I refuse to
quote even a ballpark figure over the phone or email without meeting with
the customer. There's just too much variance. I can quote someone who
wants a "simple jerkin" $200 on the phone, and when we meet it turns out he
wants an elaborate pinked and slashed leather doublet with sleeves--but that
$200 figure is still lodged firmly in his head.
I meet the customer, we usually spend about an hour discussing the project.
I do rough sketches which he doesn't get to take with him. Usually at this
point I can give him a very rough estimate. I also give him references.
Then I do a proposal, which means that I make a complete materials list
including prices, down to the last hook and eye, and write down every
single sewing step with an estimated time. I add it all up (adding a couple
of hours for contingencies) and voila! I have my final price. I also make a
sketch. I'm not much of an artist, but I've learned to make a sketch that's
not art, but shows what the costume will look like. I make several
photocopies of the sketch .
I don't like to let customers buy their own fabric, nor do I let them come
shopping with me. Every time I've tried this this the customer has fallen
madly in love with some innapropriate fabric. And then there was the one
who wanted to choose his own lambskins for a leather shirt, and personally
examined all 200!!! that the warehouse had in stock. They still cringe when
I come in.
I write up a contract ( I posted this a while back--you can email me for a
copy) and put the contract, swatches, and sketch in a presentation folder
that has a slot for my business card. (I'm also working on a "statement of
policy" dealing with fittings, payments, etc, that will go in the folder).
At this time I've usually spent at least two hours on the project. If I
don't get the commision, I eat this time. If I do, it's built into the
final price.
Then I meet with the customer again, and if he likes what he sees, I get a
signed contract and a 50% deposit, and he gets a copy of the contract and
the sketch. The reason I don't let him have sketches ahead of time is so
that no one can take my design and have it made by someone else.
Most of my policies are outlined in the contract, but the most important one
is this: Never, ever, ever, let work go out the door that you haven't been
paid for. Ever. Or you'll be sorry. I violated this policy last month for
the first time, for a dear friend, and took a post dated check. The day
before the date on the check, the IRS cleaned out her bank account. (I got
paid for real yesterday).
Oh. one thing I've found works well: every costume either has a concealed
pocket, or matching pouch or bag, with a couple dozen of my business cards
in it.
I hope I've helped. I can't wait to read everyone else's posts!
Margo
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Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 03:43:04 -1000
From: Glenn and Shanda Grieb
Subject: [Fwd: How do you charge?]
> I have been in business full or part time for over 10 years now. When I started
out I charged what would be the hourly rate for a seamstress in my area. I now charge
$12.00 per hour, more if its for a corporation rather than an individual. I first
looked at what it was worth to me to do that work.
> I secondly looked at my skill & experience and felt I could charge more
> for that.
> Also look into what the going rate for a costumer in a professional
> theater would be
> (not a stitcher but a costumer). My rates may seem a bit low, but I live
> in Sioux Falls, SD so the economy is very different. If l lived in a large town
I would probably charge over $20.00 an hour.
> Look at how much a mechanic charges per hour, or a plumber...
> Also setting policies etc ahead of time will save you lots of heartache.
>
> Wander posted a very nice contract for custom work.
> Having something in writing, along with a drawing of what will be made
> and of what etc is a very good idea.
>
> I always require a deposit on custom work, at the very least for the
> amount of all the materials, that way even if you make it your only out your labor
if said person falls off the face of the earth.
>
> I sometimes charge a flat fee for an item. I can arrive at some if it is an item
that I know how long it will take etc. The flat fee is more pleasing to people.
>
> If I do quote on the hourly rate plus materials, I try to give them an
> estimate of the hours before I start.
>
> Hope this helps, feel free to ask my any question you want and I will
> try to answer. I am always willing to help someone new starting out.
>
> Nancy
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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 21:06:24 -1000
From: Joycelyn Falsken
Subject: Re: How do you charge?
Glenn and Shanda Grieb wrote:
I'd love to have a comparison since I'm starting to get more clients and
gearing up to do more. This would be a very helpful discussion. I vote
yes and will start out...
I charge $10.00 for sewing and $15.00 an hour for pattern making. The
customer pays for all the materials and puts down 50% with the remainder
due upon delivery. The last client I had asked me to give him a piece
price since that is what Carolyn Savoy (yes the one who wrote the Renn
costuming bible) charged and I did so hoping that the time would
equate. Happily it did. I can't support myself on this rate should
something happen to prevent my husband working, so I need to sew faster
and raise my rates. With experience, it'll come. :)
Shandra raised the question of perpetuating a high level of
professionalism in this industry. This is a super idea. As costumers,
we are a very specialized field and it seems to be growing quickly. A
new organization recently formed as the Professional Association of
Custom Clothiers (PACC) in an effort to bring professionalism to that
area. It would be neat to have a similar organization for us who do
custom costuming. What do you think?
Joycelyn Falsken
Joycelyn Designs
609 Laird Lane
Lafayette, Ca 94549-1713
1-510-372-5451
[email protected]
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