Anniquilter Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Today I met with a customer to pick up a quilt. A year or so ago I quilted a fleece-appliqued fleece quilt (Yes - fleece-appliqued fleece with a fleece binding!) for her and later, she asked me to quilt a silk tie quilt with silk backing which she had originally tied - 15 years ago. These were both very challenging! (English understatement!) Today she had 6 - yes SIX - large throw size quilts for me. Four are silk with silk backings, 1 is various lightweight wools with a silk backing and the 6th is a hand-painted hemp with a fine linen backing. And she has 6 more in the works! We talked through how she wanted each one quilted and all the designs could be called 'Modern' quilting although there is also some SID work on each of them. How on earth do I charge her for these? I will certainly have to be much more aware of everything I do on/with them because of the fine fabrics but the quilting will not be that intense. Do I just charge by time or use a highish custom charge for the PITA factor or what would you suggest. So far I have given her a very 'loose' estimate with a plan for her to review after I have done the first piece which she agreed to. She is planning to sell these at high end locations. She designs and makes Kimonos as art pieces and mentioned Bergdorf Goodman as a destination for her pieces in the past. Any and all suggestions gratefully received! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Charge by the hour if she agrees. You won't know with all these different fabric types what the issues will be. Some may be easy and some may be more challenging. If she doesn't like the per-hour charge, figure a high custom price for each. You can always adjust the price downward if the project is easy, but it's hard to up an estimate. So aim for the high side and adjust down if that works for you both. Even though "modern quilting" looks simple, it requires concentration and lots of line-work. I charge a medium-to-high custom price for Modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandmaLKB Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 If she is planning to sell then at a High End location as her business, they she should pay YOU High End quilting fees. I would be curious to see how much she gets for one of those "creations" ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I'm with Linda on this one. Keep track of your time, and that includes all the design work, "thinking", and consulting time too! We need to stop charging just for the quilting time. There is SO much more involved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree 1000% with Darlene and Linda. Don't sell yourself short and make sure you include all the time you work on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delld Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 I agree with Linda and Darlene!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibbyG Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Try to get a good price on the first one. Then you can say if you want me to do this it'll cost this much more, or I can leave out this and it'll be less. Just explain that you won't know what's involved until you do the first quilt. I hope you can agree on a good price since you have so many of them to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Charge by the hour for all the time you put into the quilt. Including, consultation, pick up etc. We are well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharond Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 She is expecting exceptional quilting on these quilts. So she should know that will not be cheap. I think you should charge by the hour, including the consultation with her, the design time and the quilting time. Let her know how many hours went into the quilting. Good Luck! Post pictures when you are done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anniquilter Posted March 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Thanks everyone, that's sort of how I was thinking. I hadn't thought about charging her for my time at her studio to pick them up and go through potential designs. I don't normally pick up quilts except at Guild meetings but I had to go back to my old town for a dental appointment so she suggested I came to her instead of her bringing them to me. (I'm now 30 miles away). I had allowed 1.5 hours but had to go back for another hour after my dental visit so I must add in that 2.5 hours. She thought the cost per quilt would be well under $100 each and seemed a little surprised when I indicated that they would probably cost well above $100 each but until I had done one I couldn't give any accurate indication of cost. My charge will definitely include a PITA factor just for handling these tricky fabrics. When she first called me she suggested that since she would eventually want 6 done I should give her a discounted rate. I shot that idea down very quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Well under $100 each?! Sounds like she's asking for custom work at mattress pad prices! Watch yourself on this one Anne. You need to think as highly of YOURself and she does of HERself, or the resentment will creep in real fast! She may also want to pay you when she gets paid. Make sure you get paid before the quilt is out of your sight. "Decorators" are some of the most difficult clients to deal with. I've found they often want terms like 30, 60, 90+ days to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 yes interior designers are the worst... i turned down a job for 9 quilts when i saw the specs. which included boxed in ends to fit each bed with the quilts and kick pleats at each corner and piping etc and with added notes that it should be of high quality due to high end customer i think they confused me with an upholsterer...... and they wanted them all done within two weeks. i told them sorry no my workload is busy enough and i suspect that any minor issue would warrant them not paying the bill.... as much as i hate to turn work away it had to be done... oh and did i mention that they wanted diamond quilting..... boring.... am glad i walked away from that one... make sure you charge all of your time on this one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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