Take a good look at the 3 images below:
One is a traditional Tiffany-style lamp….
One a contemporary dual-layered abstract window…
And one a geometric window…
Now think about pricing. How much are these worth? Or, more to the point, should I say “How much are these worth TO YOU“?
Answering the question about how to price stained glass work is a complex one. Lots of factors influence the final decision, and not all of them are to do with hard costs and time.
1. You might have an unusual skill that no-one else has (= more money)
2. You might be on the crest of a highly fashionable wave (= more money)
or
3. You might be making repeat products (= less money)
Do you see where I’m going with this? A stained glass art work could actually cost the same in time and money but the final price might be wildly different.
It’s all about knowing your audience , your competition, and being flexible with your pricing system.
Thankfully there are a few pointers to start you off… after which you can ‘flex’ to your heart’s content!
Costing Your Stained Glass – Method 1
The ‘working everything out meticulously’ method.
Imagine you’ve been commissioned to make a stained glass window.
First you have to come up with the actual cost of making it. That means the actual cost of the materials – glass, solder etc – but also includes overheads. Examples of overheads are rent (fixed), shipping, electricity (variable) etc. Let’s call this figure X. If you sold the window at X you would break even.
To calculate X make a spread sheet of all the costs you have over a month. This will give you a bench mark figure for how much you need to earn each month to stay alive (!)
Then there’s Y. Y = the percentage amount that you want to make on the window. Say you want to make a profit of 10%, then factor that in to your final calculation.
You have to be careful with these figures and take a long term view – say a year – and think of selling more than one window. If you were to factor ALL your costs in and then add them to just one window, then obviously your stained glass window would be WAY too expensive! So you have to average it out.
This pricing method is the most accurate if you’re going to develop a sustainable stained glass business but there is a simpler method.
Costing Your Stained Glass Product- Method 2
The ‘materials plus a fixed amount for each piece of glass’ method.
This is best suited to windows or work with lots of small, fiddly bits. It’s not appropriate for a large architectural window with very large pieces of glass.
Add up the materials and add $3/ £1.75 for each piece of glass. If you are painting or doing other decorative techniques (etching, staining, fusing etc) then double this to $6/£3.50 each piece of glass). Adjust accordingly.
The $ / £ per piece takes into account overheads and your time.
Reader Deborah J. Ripley has kindly shared her formula and how she approaches explaining her pricing structure to customers. It’s a simple equation that respects all the work we, as stained glass artists, put in to learning our craft:
“I have been designing and making stained glass for about six years now. I was frustrated with how I needed to price so I came up with a solution. I charge $4.00 per square inch. This is simple math because some customers do not understand pricing by square foot.
If I make a 10 x 10 hanging that equals 100 square inches x $4.00. The hanging would sell for $400.00. This includes my labor, my studio rental, and all my costs. The math is easier for my customers and for me to calculate with a consistent price.
Customers like this and feel comfortable when I explain how I charge for my work. Some think it is too expensive, but I feel like I work hard at my craft, and I love selling it to individuals who appreciate what I create.
My work usually puts my pay at about $60.00 per hour which is not absorbent but comfortable for me. We all have to decide as individual artists what we are comfortable with.”
How To Price Stained Glass – Method 3
The diplomatic, flexible method!
What I’ve done over the years through combination of Methods 1 & 2 above is to work out a square foot price – currently between £50 – £110 square foot for standard stained glass panels, and up to double that if there’s additional layers or decorative treatments.
This seems to work well for me and is much easier and less time-consuming than counting pieces.
It may seem like a wildly large difference between £50 and £110 – and it is! But as you can see from the 3 photos and discussion above there is a HUGELY varying number of factors that determine price.
If you’re serious about making money from stained glass then you might want to look into this book in more depth. I’ve read a few of these ‘how to run a business / how to make money from stained glass’ books and this one is the most helpful by far.
The title – Art Glass – Breaking Glass to Make Money (paid link)- is pretty confusing though; ignore that and go to Amazon and ‘Look Inside’ to see the chapter headings.
Before you click I want to let you know I get a small % if you click through from my website and purchase it. As I hope you know by now, I’m not going to be recommending things I don’t find tip top and incredibly useful. Thanks for your support.
Try not to under price just to make a sale. We all have a responsibility to each other to keep this craft alive. Part of that is letting the market know that we are skilled artisans who spend a lot of care creating individual and unique products.
Please feel free to add your versions of pricing stained glass below to help others. Thanks!
I have been designing and making stained glass for about six years now. I was frustrated with how I needed to price so I came up with a solution. I charge $4.00 per square inch. This is simple math because some customers do not understand pricing by square foot. If I make a 10 x 10 hanging that equals 100 square inches x $4.00. The hanging would sell for $400.00. This includes my labor, my studio rental, and all my costs. The math is easier for my customers and for me to calculate with a consistent price. Customers like this and feel comfortable when I explain how I charge for my work. Some think it is too expensive, but I feel like I work hard at my craft, and I love selling it to individuals who appreciate what I create. My work usually puts my pay at about $60.00 per hour which is not absorbent but comfortable for me. We all have to decide as individual artists what we are comfortable with. However, it makes me sad to think other artists are not charging for their time and labor as crafters. Painters’ prices vary in galleries. I find it peculiar that a customer balks at paying me for my stained glass at a healthy hourly wage while painters can charge thousands of dollars for a picture. What is wrong with THIS picture? lol I find it interesting and frustrating that artists of stained glass are not considered “real artists” by some painters and prestigious galleries. There seems to be a prejudicial economic line of demarcation between what is an artist and what is a crafter. I consider myself a crafter and an artist. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My wish for all artists is to be passionate about what they do and have joy in creating their artwork. That is really what it is all about.
What a fabulous comment Deborah, both useful (your very respectful-of-the-craft pricing formula) and thought-provoking (your passionate defence of stained glass as art AND craft).
Thanks so much for taking the time – I might cut and paste your formula on to the page itself so that others see it more easily.
I’ve been doing stained glass for 13/14 years. My work is very well done, my pieces are custom framed in solid walnut (by hubby), I design my own patterns and I’ve been told that my style is very unique. I charge $4/piece plus materials, and them I mark it up for “growth”. I want to make sure my POS fees are covered, the cost of my saw blades, grinder bits, a new tools (when it becomes necessary), etc. I’m fortunate enough that this pricing is working for me. It took me a long time to realize my worth. I make sure I tell other glass artists to do the same. If you’re pricing only by materials and cost per piece, who’s going to cover the cost of a new saw blade when you need it? Who’s going to cover software or poster paper for pattern? There’s much more to consider in our costs than just the materials. Thanks for putting this out there, Milly.
That’s a great comment Patricia, thanks for taking the time. I love to hear artists saying that they know their worth. It does take time to realise this but we have to learn this, otherwise we make it more difficult not just for ourselves but for other artists trying to make a living from stained glass.
As a hobbyist (not trying earn or supplement a living) I’ve been giving some thought to pricing recently. I’ve found myself seriously undercharging based on the amount of effort needed to complete a project. I don’t worry too much about material costs, it’s more about time and effort.
I have been giving a price upfront for commissions even before I’ve designed the project and therefore only having a rough idea of the number of pieces.
I like the idea of charging by piece, but I’d have to complete the design before suggesting a fee (I tend to produce designs with no obligation). I will now change my pricing strategy: fair, but accounts for size, complexity (especially very small or intricate pieces) and skill level.
Pricing is really delicate Gordon, with lots of mitigating factors. It’s good that you’re reassessing your procedure so that you don’t undercharge; much as we love stained glass, it’s still our money (for tools/materials/training) and effort.
I forgot to mention, I use Glass Eye 2000 design software. It has a pricing feature in it that makes it a lot easier to price your work. It counts the pieces for you, estimates the cost of glass (you put in price per sq ft and I am not sure it allows for waste) came or foil, and you can add a profit percentage as well. Very helpful.
Thanks, it’s a useful addition Pam, for sure. I’m always a bit nervous about the Glass Eye software as it looks a bit dated and can only be used on a PC… Rapid Resizer also has a great pricing feature. It can be used by Mac users too, which is a plus.
Pam, Glass Eye may allow for the cost of the glass used, but if you’re purchasing a full sheet, you should be charging for the entire sheet of glass. You’re buying it specifically for that panel.
What is that in American money?
Thanks
Regina
What I’d you are using glass you already have it but a bigger piece of glass that what you needed for the project?
I love the poppies in July! Absolutely gorgeous.
As I am still learning, stained glass for me is at the hobby stage; however, I am thinking I might like to sell or commission some pieces. So far, I have done two commissions for family/friends and just charged what it cost me.
In future, I was thinking of costing out the materials and fixed costs, and adding in my labour at a fixed price/hr. I didn’t notice this (factoring in your labour costs) in your methods. Did I miss something?
As you progress, you will get faster at your craft so the hourly rate doesn’t necessarily apply. I have been pricing by cost of materials, plus cost per piece ($3-$5 ea depending on the complexity of the cuts), plus 10-20% profit. It also depends on your level of skill in creating designs, selecting glass/colors, cutting, soldering, finishing, etc.
For the longest time I used the $3 per piece method. As I got better at the craft, I increased it to $5 per piece and added profit. I also have an actual studio now and more equipment than just a grinder and hand tools.
I have been selling online for 5 years now. I hope this helps. Good luck. It is a wonderful craft. And we are all ‘light workers’.
Very helpful Pam, thank you. It’s great that you’re selling your work and are confident to price in a way that does your work justice. It helps us all in the end. If people sell cheaply, we can’t charge a proper price either.