Once I made the announcement, I went into my handmade Etsy shop and put it on vacation. I'll be back at some point, even if it's only for custom orders at the holidays, because I do have repeat customers and doing those few orders isn't the same as the madness of prepping for a holiday craft show.
Of course, once the shop was on vacation, it couldn't be accessed without unlocking things. And that's when I got a Facebook message from a neighbor, inquiring about custom bears. I sent her the two stock photos I had on hand, with approximate measurements (I wasn't around to access my desktop over the weekend).
She wanted exact measurements, and barring that, she asked if I could simply alter the patterns to the exact measurements she wanted. I said that the patterns were the patterns - sorry, but I'm not reducing the business to then start micromeasuring teddy bears - and I would get back to her on Monday.
In the meantime, I did a google search for me/the business, because I know I'd mentioned in multiple places what the sizes of the bears were. Figured I might find something.
What I found made me equally furious and extremely glad that I made the decision that I did. The attached photo is a screenshot from a local newspaper back in 2017 (and of which I was thankfully unaware at the time).
First off, the prices aren't accurate - my lowest priced pieces then were $10 and the highest were $35. I still don't charge $45 for a bear made strictly for a show, because it's my fabrics, my choice. Custom work costs more. And the word exorbitant made me want to track the dude down and beat him with one of those bears. Can you tell he's probably someone who's never bought a baby/kid gift in his life?
You may not be able to afford a $40 teddy bear, but that handmade teddy bear, with care in the making, years of experience, the thought behind fabric choices, trim, etc., is absolutely worth $40. That's not a me problem, that's a him problem.
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