I would like to know how many carvers sell their carvings. I would also like to know how they determine prices.

I sell, but I have a expert in nautical carvings and antiques who judges what the carvings may sell for. Shop around, look at other peoples carvings and judge the quality and price and make a comparison. Keep it simple, or you will dwell on it for ever. Till I started selling in antique shops, and taking orders for custom work, I never got out of it what was put into it. Now I get about 4 times what I put into it.

I agree about the cusom work. The only walking sticks that I have sold were either commissioned or someone asked me for it when they saw me carving them. Both ways, I get what I ask for for them. It takes me as very long time to do them, and I go by how many carvings/burnings are on the stick, how complicated/realistic they are, how big they are, and a variety of other things. I haven't sold a carving that wasn't a walking stick, but I haven't offered any of them for sale.

I sold my first stick carving for $50. It had one carving on top, the rest was burned patterns. I carved it from a hardwood dowel.
I sold my second one for $110. and should have charged twice as much, but the price was agreed in advance. It was black locust (hardest wood I ever carved besides osage) and had about 15 carvings and as many burnings, all realistic. It was 5 feet tall.

My third stick was commissioned for $300. tulip poplar, 5 feet tall and covered in realistic carvings and burnings. I really felt that it was the perfect price for this one. The customers were all very happy.
They all found me by word of mouth, or through message boards online.


When I was trying to sell my woodburnings, I had trouble getting $17. for an 8x10 realistic dog burning on ebay. When I started taking commissions, I charged $50. for the same type/size work...but they were commissioned and they were someones pet. People seem very happy to pay that price.

I really think it all depends on where and how you try to market your work.

Donna

[Captain_Bandaid]

I have never sold a carving. I have given many of them away to friends, though. Personally, carving is a hobby and when you start to sell them, it becomes a business and it changes the way you look at every project.

[mdallensr]

Ditto that Cap'n. I decided several years ago to not sell any carvings. As long as I don't put a price on a carving, it's priceless. Also, I've seen too many good hobbyists, ina lot of other fields as well, turn an enjoyable hobby into a terrible business. You really have to consider how much money you can make in a market that's full of cheap imports and folks like us who give our stuff away.

[mdallensr]

We went to the Shaker Woods arts and crafts show this weekend, in eastern Ohio, south of Youngstown. It's a big show, with about 300 displays, and about a bizillion folks trying to see it all. What a zoo! It's a 3-weekend show, and we made the mistake of going opening day. But, there were some good carvers, and some demonstrating their techniques. For the walking stick carvers, there were three fairly good crafters, getting from $20 for simple, uncarved sticks to $60 for spirit-face sticks, with one face. I noticed these sticks became more popular during the day as we trudged around the gravel paths in the 90-degree heat.

Another carver was carving a spirit face in a tree stump. He was good, and worked without a pattern. Nice guy, chatted with anyone who wanted, just like most carvers. He was pretty sure the tree was basswood. He will work in your yard and carve a tree stump for $220 plus travel. Wasn't someone on this board looking for someone like that?

Cap'n, you would love the hand-made knive I saw. One fellow made a wide variety, including carving knives that looked a lot like Helvies. They sold for $35, just like Helvies. The big kick was the Damascus knives he made. They were incredibly beautiful and sold for $700-900 each. I never found out where he got the steel, or if he made his own, but he had several Damasus patterns that he revealed by etching the blades. One guy said they made the steel with a hydraulic press, not a hammer.

The hit of the show was a stone carver, who did incredible, realistic Indian busts and faces. One original was $20,000; others were $7-9,000. Reproductions were in the $50-300 range. This guy put more detail into those stone carving than most wood carvers can put in wood.

Yea, I agree with you Cap'n about turning a great hobby into a lousy business because selling them changes everything. Sometimes it is hard to start a carving I know will be sold. Of course I like the money. Pricing is something I have trouble with however. I went to the Loveland Co. Sculpture show this weekend and was overwelmed by all the professional work. That is something that everyone who carves should see sometime. It is the first full weekend in Aug. I think every year. What a show. Mostly bronze things but wow!!! I will definitely go again. And prices......... whoa baby. I hope someday I can be that good and demand those kind of prices.

Greetings
I sell my carvings of craft fairs and on Ebay. I determine the price by adding the cost of the wood to a labor/time factor.
$10.00 for every hour I spend carving.
El Santero!!

[lorax]

I would like to encourage anyone who wants to sell their carvings. It doesn't necessarily turn a great hobby into a terrible business. It is a business, so you you have to treat it as such or it won't even be a fun hobby any more. And maybe not everyone is cut out to be a commisioned woodcarver, I'm sometimes amazed that people pay for my work.

My Advice: Stay away from craft shows-- unless you carve little items in mass quantities that you can sell pretty cheap.

Try to find a speciality. Carve what you like to carve and you will produce the best quality, you cant swing a dead cat without hitting someone who carves western themes or animals, but how many carve sports figures, modern soldiers, ect.

Check around to see what others a charging for carvings, you should be justly rewarded for your hard work. I would say ten dollars an hour is pretty cheap, that's what McDonalds managers make an hour. If you consider that you are an artist, and not piecemeal worker you can value your work much higher. I also take my finished pieces to a local shop and ask the owner if I am charging too much or not enough. Honestly, I still undercharge too, but it is still a part-time business for me.

Thanks Iorax. Sounds like great advice. I've gone the craft route on a lot of craft items but when I tried to sell a few carvings they didn't want to pay that much for them. Most of mine were in the 100 dollar range, using the 10 dollar an hour rate. I don't plan to get rich but would like to make a little to pay for all the tools I seem to accumulate.