Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Atas Satu Nota Yang Serius - Siri Kedua

Definitions of craft on the Web:

  • trade: the skilled practice of a practical occupation; "he learned his trade as an apprentice"
  • a vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space
  • people who perform a particular kind of skilled work; "he represented the craft of brewers"; "as they say in the trade"
  • skill in an occupation or trade
  • make by hand and with much skill; "The artisan crafted a complicated tool"
  • shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception 


I am glad to receive all the comments in my previous entry regarding the value and standard we should all adhere to when it comes to our handicrafts.

While some maintain that the price should be affordable and with due respect Kak Diah even mentioned that her pricing is her treasured gifts to the Customer, the others believe that the Customer should be ready to accept the high value the crafters put in their work and that we must be proud of what we have  created with our own hands. This opinion however can sometimes be translated that the price would surely then be above average, but I m sure many of you were shocked to find that Ayu 's quilt could cost RM1,200-00 and that the more amazing part was that she managed to SELL them.

I hate to ramble and so I will only list down some of the points raised by my fellows crafters:-

. your work can be priceless because you made it yourself with your own hands
. a nice cross stitch cushion cover of RM50 was already considered expensive (when a simple one at Ikea is already RM79 ...)
. caring is sharing. ... by selling at a good affordable price
. we should be proud with what we do and really believe in our passions and abilities
. upgrade your skills first  babe ... 
. materials used can make a difference on the pricing and that you should get a good machine kalau nak jahit kain tebal 3 inchi (hehe)
. Good pricing can be a gift too
. babies dont run when they come into the world .. they take steps  and that boleh keluar air mata kadang tengok crafters punya hasil kerja yang kurang bermutu.


Unanimously all agree that our work should be valued accordingly


Ok. 

this is my conclusion.

The pricing depends on your NIAT .

You can choose either one .

Are you a crafter because 

1. you love making crafts; or

2. you want to make money out of it.


and hmmm ... I am sure most probably  all  of you would pick BOTH of the answers because while it is true that we wont venture into this craft world if we dont love it, but since we are in it ... why not make the most of it and get some cash in return.

ahaaa ... you are caught here ... I agree that both are of equal importance but the next question is :-



Which one is MORE important?





dah sudahhhh .... sebab aku sendiri pun confuse nak jawab..... hahahaha 


but I do agree with Botang that your pricing can also depends on your target audience/customer/and the surrounding society .... 

Gila apa kan nak pi jual quilt RM1,200-00 kat makcik kat bendang .... daripada beli quilt baik dia beli gelang sampai ke siku.... (Sri aku pun bukan target hang ok ...) hehehe




Ini antara hasil kraf negara jiran


p/s:  berbalik pada perenggan pertama di atas kalau kamu pikir definisi kraf tu adalah yang no:2 tu ... silalah berundur dari arena Craftzone ini dan pergi belajar bawa kapal selam yg Malaysia beli tak boleh selam hari tu.

Peace.

;-)

6 comments:

Ayu said...

issshh...awat la hang dok tulih topik serius nih..sakit dah otak aku nak pikiag...he..he..anyway, tangan ni tetap gatai nak reply.

OK..as someone who is gila enough to turn hobby in quilting into a business of course I will choose both..i.e love making crafts & want to make money out of it. But saying that..niat is also equally important & as for me I hold closely the concept of 'Jangan Berkira'. Kalau focus sgt nak make money to the extend that a small piece of remnants pun nak charge or the extra hours we put in for classes pun nak charge..it'll just drive your customer away & they will definitely hate you. Tapi, if you amalkan konsep tak berkira..InsyaAllah, Allah swt akan bg lebih banyak rezeki kepada kita.

Saying that basically answer Ann's 2nd question...i.e which 1 is more important??..To me making craft & loving it is more important. Coz if you love your work & extremely passionate about it dgn secara tak langsung you tak akan berkira. Bila tak berkira..without you realising it..Allah swt akan bg lebih banyak rezeki.

On behalf of Pondok Craft all I can say is that..yes, we are serious business women yg mementingkan keuntungan but at the same time we also want to make sure our customer enjoy & become as passionate as us in quilting.

OK...itu saja...dah panjang dah ni.

P/s : Awat ad abt intelligence tu dok pop up..hang nak pekena aku ka..isshh..misteri sungguh

Azaidris said...

Good that u brought up this topic. Sesekali kena gak serius camni..kalau tak..dok la syok bercrafting je...tak fikir pasal craft yg dibuat...Sambil2 tu dapat jugak baca pendapat OTAI(S) yg nampaknye turun padang berkempen kat comment box u nih. hehehe

To me...Kalau pilih 1&2...kenalah seiring. Tak salah if one wants to make(some)money through crafting (sprt yg menulis ini ;P).Tapi kenalah dgn cara yg betul. Wpun amateur ke..tapi quality kena ada.Tu no compromise.

Passion is a must have..That what makes (many of)us starts in the 1st place kat? Bila kita suka apa yg kita buat, kita akan buat dgn baik & ikhlas. InsyaAllah...can go far. Cuma tak boleh la..harap everything will happen in one night. Comes pulak..hard work, determination..bla..bla..bla..

Haslina said...

Ann, I don't want to say much as I am still learning...but I just want to say that I love the title of the post: ATAS SATU NOTA YANG SERIUS. I teach translation, and you wouldn't believe some of the things we have to endure in class. Anyway, love your work! I think you are hilarious! Keep up the hilariousness!

Zura said...

I'm cracking my head on two serious posts in a row here lol

Personally, I don't really put myself in any category of crafter. I just do what I feel like doing or making. My adventure in sewing is basically a revolution of my basic addiction to pretty fabrics which goes something like this :

1. I LOVE Fabrics, not news, been like this since 2000. Hoarded tonnes of 'em but, except pretty to look at, they are useless in plain yardage. How to interpret their beauty? Next point.

2. I tried my hand in sewing, to make those pretty fabrics come to life and justify to hubby her crazy wife's addiction to splurging on fabrics.

3. Sewed mostly clothes for my girls and bags to use up smaller cuts. Buy more fabrics, almost broke. What to do next?

4. Received many emails asking for custom order and designer fabrics. Light bulb switched on, ahah! Make a few to sell and arrange prorders, can support more fabric buying for meself yeay!

In the end, you see, I don't make money, it's all about feeding that addiction baby!

Hahaha talk about being a brilliant business woman :P

Ok can we get back to hilarious posts from you now? :D

Nur said...

Totally agree with Ayu.
Kita buat craft sendiri, kita tau harga kita sendiri. Kita tahu susah payah kita sendiri.
Kalau orang suka cross stitch saya, saya jual. Kalau orang tak nak beli, saya akan tetap ber-cross stitch. :)

JariJari said...

i won't take up a hobby seriously to jump into business. Crafting is something to be enjoy that why it's falls into the category "hobby" and no nice hobby is cheap...kecuali tido...itu pun perlu kan kipas angin/a.c , tilam, bantal, cadar etc etc hehehehe