True Value of Handmade
(Originally published in Chinese "手作的價值" on July 4, 2011)
As a handicraft artist, have you often had people tell you: “This crochet bag would only cost about $20 in a shop! You’re still making your own? Wow, you have too much time on your hands!”(And they are probably also thinking: “Yours might not even look as nice as the one in the shop…”)
To such…. well-meaning remarks, the usual response of the elegant crocheter (or knitter or quilter etc) is: “Of course you can get things cheap anywhere nowadays. But love and uniqueness of handmade are invaluable!”
Well, your elegant response is actually not entirely accurate!
As anyone who ever studied accounting or financial analysis would know, everything in the world can be quantified, and can be slapped with a price tag. Yes, I mean EVERYTHING. You can estimate a reasonable price / value for ANYTHING, from clean air, worms in the soil, friendship between people, even a bag of family waste!
Now let’s take the example of this crochet bag I’m making. If you were to tell people this bag is worth a thousand dollars, you might find it difficult to convince them (even yourself!).
But if I showed you how I calculated my thousand dollars, you can then make your own very informed decision as to whether it is better to make your own bag, or buy that $20 one from the shop!
＊＊＊＊Summarized Comparative Financial Analysis Below＊＊＊＊
(All prices set out below are in U.S. Dollars)
【Proposal A: Buy from Shop 】
Cost: One crochet bag (made in China): - $20
Economic value: Convenience of usage: + $50
=> Conclusion: Since economic value is higher than cost, there is a positive return from the investment. Therefore it is reasonable to consider buying from the shop.
【Proposal B: Make My Own 】
Costs:
1. 5 balls of Raffia yarn: - $40
2. Crochet tools (already depreciated, but let us
say the cost of 1 crochet hook) - $9
3. Lining material (no expense spared here!) - $15
4. Other notions (already depreciated, but let us
say the cost of sewing needle, thread, scissors) - $10
5. Set of bag handles, magnetic clasps - $10
6. Labour (15 hours, $10 per hour; since I usually
crochet only during my rest hours, I will even
add 50% as overtime!) - $225
TOTAL COST: - $309
(Yes I know you're thinking: "Oops, I hope my significant other doesn't see this cost statement! But never fear, read on!)
Economic Value:
1. Crocheting while supervising children doing homework,
less likely to feel irritated or want to yell / swear,
reducing the future chance of having to see psychologist
for manic depression, saves on long-term psychologist
consultation expense.
Assuming a psychologist consultation costs $130/hr,
let’s say we saved the cost of 1 consultation: + $130
2. Crocheting while waiting for slow-eating children to
finish a meal, less likely to feel irritated or want to
yell / swear, saves 1 psychologist consultation for
manic depression. + $130
3. The kids were not yelled / sworn at by parent
because crocheting parent managed to stay calm;
kids able to grow up happily, instead of having to
see psychologist in the future for excessive stress
and lack of confidence while growing up. Need to
calculate present value for costs so far in the future,
but also taking inflation into account, so let’s say the
cost saved is 1 psychologist session with 50%
discount for future value: + $65
4. You do not fight with your significant other while
crocheting, because it’s all too easy to make a
mistake if you don’t concentrate, and then you
would only have to unravel later! So instead you
watch TV, read books or chat together (while
crocheting of course), improve your relationship
with each other, and save the cost of 1 couple
counseling session. + 130
5. Crocheting requires both hands. So if you are in
a bad mood, choosing to crochet means you can’t
eat at the same time. This reduces the future cost of
treating cardiovascular diseases, obesity etc. Let’s
be conservative and just save the cost of 1 hospital
visit. + $60
6. Crocheting while taking public transport or waiting
for an appointment improves brain function,
reduces future chance of Alzheimer’s, saves
future cost of long-term home care. If hiring a home
care assistant costs $30,000 a year, then we can
now save: $30,000 / 365 = $82 per day. This crochet
bag would probably take 3 days of work, so $82 x 3
then discount by 50% because it is a future cost: + $123
7. Crochet is a good conversation starter that helps
to build new friendships. Friends encourage and
support each other, improve self-confidence, and
help each other out in times of trial. This saves the
cost of 1 psychologist consultation for depression. + $130
8. Since parent is into handmade, children quickly
learn that they should MAKE instead of just buy
their toys, or at least wait for parent to make it for
them. Let’s say we save on the cost of toys not
bought of $10 per child, so for an average of 2
children: $10 x 2 + $20
9. Giving handmade presents to school teachers
helps to establish positive interactions with the
school; estimate the teacher’s teaching quality
improves from $80,000 to $80,100; so if there
is a $100 quality enhancement for 1 child’s
teacher, then an average of 2 children would be:
$100 x 2 + $200
TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE: + $988
=> Conclusion: This simple crochet bag has an economic value of $988 to me, and I’m being conservative! This value is higher than the cost of $309 (even including labour) by $679. It is also WAY higher than the economic value of the shop-bought bag of $50!
So anyone who is truly price-conscious (and cares about mental and physical health) MUST surely choose……. Proposal B: Make My Own!
=> And this is only ONE bag. Imagine how much you save if you crochet and crochet and crochet, all year long!!!
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