How Hard Edge glass artwork is costed
One of the most common questions I get asked about my glass art is “how come it costs more than other glass I’ve seen?”
I’ll be delighted to tell you.
It takes 4 things to make the price including my time to design and cut the many small pieces, plus the cost of safe delivery of a relatively fragile finished work, plus the cost of raw materials, and also something for marketing.
Hard Edge glass art is a very demanding style to work in.
Every work comprises many individual pieces of small interlocking coloured art glass pieces that need to be cut absolutely precisely. My larger works for example contain maybe 170 individual elements, often of exquisite shape - and they all need cutting exactly right, without breaking.
It takes longer than you might think, especially some of the tricky tight curves I’m so fond of. All the same, I charge $25 per hour for my time, about the same as a cook or social worker might get. And I do allow 10% or so for marketing, as goods have to be sold for me to continue with my work. Incidentally I’d like to thank you as a customer for supporting me and allowing me to continue to work in the way you do. Very appreciated.
Of course, every tiny piece is individual, unique to the project I’m working on whether it’s a massive Roundel, or a beautiful Miniature on a hand crafted steel stand.
"Toucan" fused glass art - computer design and glass miniature development
Selecting the art glass for a recent client commission
Everything has to be conceived and designed before any piece of glass is cut. Very much part of the process is involving my customer in the creation.
Lots of you have ideas, like “can this arch be more purple?” or “can you do it so it matches the palette of a painting I have on a nearby wall”. I welcome all customer inputs as I firmly believe it’s a two sided relationship. This is how the best of my work can be created.
Production videos from Instagram
Now you can see what goes into original Hard Edge glass art.
No compromise. No corner cutting. No template. No bulk production.
Everything is painstakingly original.
This is why it’s called art, and not craft.
Production of "Orangerie" fused glass art
"Orangerie fused glass art - just out of the kiln
Careful deep packing and boxing for safe delivery, plus an engraved signature to authenticate the work, is also time consuming.
For the largest works, I use a dedicated pack & send company experienced in fragile delivery.
No customer has ever had a piece arrive with a crack or a chip.
The extra care I take is worth it.
Last but not least, all work is sold direct to my customers from this Shopify website. I don’t use galleries. This is because they’ll only double the price to pay for all the cheese & wine opening nights they’re obliged to run, in order to sell artwork from an expensive high street location. They run high cost operations.
But in fairness, for people who live locally, an art gallery offers the chance to see a work in the flesh, which is more impactful than an image on a website.
For my part, I believe that every artist should have the right to earn a living.
There's been a very lively debate this week on my Instagram page about this topic, titled "That's beautiful but too expensive".
You can read the whole thread here
Here are some of the most popular comments:
"Your work is exquisite and it's priced less than I would have expected. My ability to afford something doesn't have anything to do with how it should be priced."
"Not too expensive, just not in their budget. There's a difference. People are way too used to mass-produced crap from overseas and don't understand the hard work that goes into creating things like this. I appreciate you being transparent with your pricing and process, but you don't need to explain yourself. Your work is stunning!"
"Your work is amazing, and clearly made with abundant talent, skill, and love. Worth every penny.
Much of these price-sensitive comments come from people who are using Etsy or Amazon as comparisons. While wonderful work does exist there too (if you look hard enough) they’re largely overwhelmed by race-to-the-bottom pricing and mass-produced quality, which are passed off as artisan work. It skews understanding of the true value of real artistry and artisanship."
"Absolutely worth every cent. And worth saving up for."
