Pricing

When I signed up for Etsy, I had the intention to keep the prices "as low as possible." Later I discovered that my prices were "lower than possible" because I had not counted all the costs like Etsy's fees, shipping, material, transportation,  packing material, and several days of work for each product, usually a minimum of two days and sometimes up to one week (extra long for a big painting on canvas or natural linen, that has to be prepared, stretched, dried, painted, and then also attached to a handmade frame). I was simply not interested in any kind of "counting"!

Making Talking Sticks also includes driving around in the forest searching for suitable sticks to be found on the ground. It is not always possible to find any good sticks (branches). The alternative to natural branches is to buy straight broomsticks. That is easier and it can also be suitable for certain patterns.

So this year I have discovered that my prices were far too low, so I have raised them to mirror the real expenses and working time, but it is still too cheap for being fully handmade objects. In the "normal business world," I think a "normal worker" would take around 10.000 SEK for 3-5 days of normal work like painting walls, etc. and the taxes would also be added to that.
So my price for a big painting is now set to 800–1300 SEK.

Sometimes there might be a temporary discount, which will of course make the prices return to being too low, but if not too many people take advantage of it, it might still be working. I will see what happens! There is also a 10% discount to customers after their order ships, valid for one year.

This is a hobby and not a "business made for a living," but the income has to cover all the expenses like buying tools, materials, and colours; otherwise it is not possible to continue. It still makes my artwork cheap compared to artistry "made for living" which has to generate a huge profit together with paying income taxes.

I just love working with colours, and doing various experiments with different ideas.
The Kurbits paintings are close to my heart, as I grew up together with them. Included in that is also a passion for woodwork, old-fashioned furniture painting, Bauernmalerei, and vintage style.
The Talking Stick is also part of me, as I love the Red Indian philosophy about how communication should be handled to avoid or solve a conflict, which we have to learn more about here in the Western world.

https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/VivecasFolkArt