I’ve been self-employed for a while, but my main money-maker has been computer-related and pretty simple, in terms of how to track hours, tasks, expenses, and do all the things for taxes and such. Not so with my art business.

Half-way through 2024, I transitioned to almost exclusively creating ceramics for my livelihood. There has been a lot to learn on the business side of this endeavor, largely related to the huge variety of tasks involved in the entire process of producing handmade goods and getting those goods into the hands of buyers. Also for me there has been (and still is!) and ongoing analysis of my own assumptions and values around labour. For example, cleaning and organizing. These are essential parts of a studio practice, but currently I am not factoring in this labour when I price my wares.

Today I downloaded a task tracker app, to help me understand the economic value of everything I’m doing in the studio, whether I pay myself for it or not. As I sat creating unique mug listings for my next restock, it occurred to me to create a matrix to help me price them out, since they are all so different. Each element of decoration has a price attached, in terms of labour, (and sometimes materials). For example, I’m offering charcoal-stained mugs for the first time, and the process of staining my reclaim slip, drying it out, wedging it up, and afterwards, cleaning all my tools and work surfaces – including embossing plates! – before returning the studio to pristine white porcelain only, is an investment in time and energy. Or when I use both satin and glossy glaze on a piece, the process is finicky, requires latex or wax resist, and is much longer than a simple 3-second dip into a bucket of glaze.

So all these steps have to be accounted for, if I choose to respect my time, and garner a living wage from my creative labour. My new mug pricing matrix spreadsheet includes a base price for all mugs, and standardized price “add-ons” that monetize the time involved – for stained clay, combo glazing, and fancy handles, to name some examples – in order to be consistent and fair to both myself and the folks who purchase my wares.

Pricing out each listing reminded me of ordering a burrito with extra this and extra that, for such-and-such added cost. It felt good to respect my labour enough to account for it in this way. As the year progresses, I hope to refine my awareness of all the things I’m not paying myself for… yet. One of my goals for 2025 is to develop my business acumen. This is a good sign that I’m on my way.

“Would you like slip-trailing with that?”