Jeri (I realize this note is about a week after the initial discussion.) The value of anything in a market/economic sense is merely what somebody is willing to pay for it. The dollar value of collector's items depends primarily on the perception of an object as "collectible". My favorite example of idiotic dollar value is $10,000 for a dress by a famous designer. It's just a dress to cover one's nakedness and decorate one's person.
>From a lacemaker's point of view the value of a piece of lace is the number of hours it took to make times a reasonable wage. Even if the piece were calculated at minimum wage the price would far exceed $350. When I appraise lace I give the owner 3 prices: 1. The lowest price they should even consider selling for. If the buyer offers less, punch the buyer in the nose. I therefore call it the "punch them in the nose price". 2. The highest figure they are likely to get, if and only if they find the exact right collector who is specifically looking for that type of object, and who understands what they are looking at. 3. The "what it is really worth" price in terms of time and effort to make, calculated by roughly estimating the number of hours of work involved times minimum wage. This figure is always "outrageously" high, but I regard it as the "intrinsic" value. Is anybody on arachne currently living on minimum wage? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to live a normal life at that pay rate? I actually do, since I've done it. A lacemaker has to earn a living. A price less than what one can earn a living at is not a realistic price. This is why no one in the developed world makes lace to sell. This is why hand made lace on the internet is made in India, and formerly in China. It is the unfortunate truth that the standard of living in those countries is so vastly less than for us that those lacemakers find a dollar or two a day preferable to no income at all. I would need more than two dollars a day to live in a cardboard box in the forest preserve. What makes me apoplectic with rage is when somebody asks me what price I would want for a piece of lace I'd made, and I give them the hours times $10 price. They get offended and tell me they wouldn't even pay that for antique lace (as if everybody agrees that antique lace is intrinsically more valuable than modern). I don't even discuss it anymore. The last time I got a request to make torchon lace for somebody's wedding gown, I just told her I needed more than 4 months to make 7 yards of lace 4 inches wide, and she couldn't afford it in any case. The lady probably went away offended and mystified. But I was offended too, and the lady could not possibly understand why. I've tried explaining it, but the IDIOTS just don't get it. So I cut off the discussion before my blood pressure rises and my head explodes. The dollar value of something is what somebody is willing to pay for it. I won't sell my lace for less than the intrinsic value. Therefore I don't intend to sell it. With antique lace, it's what the buyer will pay. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
