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Pricing for Profit: A Practical Guide for Makers
Tired of guessing what to charge for your work—or worse, undercharging and feeling resentful? In this practical, eye-opening class, we’ll break down the essentials of pricing your jewelry or other handmade artwork to support a profitable and sustainable business. You’ll learn how to calculate your cost of materials, overhead, and an honest hourly rate, then use that data to develop both retail and wholesale pricing strategies. We’ll also talk about market considerations and value perception, helping you price with confidence. The ultimate goal: to ensure you’re not just covering costs, but thriving.
Students will leave with a comprehensive understanding of all the elements that go into pricing your work, along with some helpful interactive pricing templates to keep and use.
Meet the instructor
Kristin Mitsu Shiga (she/they) is a maker, educator and small business owner with more than 30 years of experience currently living and working in rural Oregon.
Throughout her career, Kristin’s desire to balance her individual studio practice and working as part of a larger team allowed her to build an unusual skill set that includes everything from nonprofit arts administration and bookkeeping to armature-building for stop-motion animation studios. From a long line of educators, Kristin is passionate about teaching and has shared her knowledge with students at venues all over the US including Penland, Arrowmont and Haystack Mountain schools of craft, along with programs she established in New York, Oregon and Hawai’i.
Kristin believes that service is a crucial component of any career and has served in a variety of volunteer roles and on numerous nonprofit boards since 2001. She currently serves on the boards of the Hawai'i Artist Collaboration and Frogwood Artist Collaboration, and is in her second term as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the American Craft Council (ACC).
Kristin has shown her work internationally, and is included in several notable collections, including the Kamm Artful Teapot Collection and the Permanent Collection of the White House. You will find her work published in numerous books and magazines, including Art Jewelry Today, The Art of Enameling, Metalsmith’s 2017 Exhibition in Print, and several of Lark’s 500 Series books. Learn more about Kristin’s past work on Oregon Artbeat (segment originally aired in 2010).
Materials & Tools
This workshop does not require any supplies or materials, but participants should bring a profit & loss report for their business if they have one. We also recommend having materials for notetaking. If you have Microsoft Excel or Numbers on your computer, they can be helpful, but all templates will be available as Google Sheets.