Quoted 9,000 on a basalt piece. It took 11 weeks. I made about 19 an hour.
Client wanted a seated figure, roughly 5 feet, basalt. I quoted 9,000 and thought I was being smart about it. Ended up 11 weeks in the shop, most of it chasing a crack that ran the wrong way through the block. Do the math on the hours and I cleared something like 19 an hour. A kid grinding welds in a fab shop down the road makes more than that.
The 9,000 wasn't wrong when I said it. The 11 weeks was wrong. I bid the carving and forgot the stone gets a vote. Now I add a third on top of any figure work in basalt and I say the number out loud before I say anything else, because once I've explained the piece I start negotiating against myself.
What I still can't figure is whether the fix is charging more or quoting the honest number and losing the job. I've done both this year. One of them leaves me with an empty shop and a paid mortgage, and I'm not going to pretend I know which one I prefer.
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the crack that ran the wrong way is the whole story here. bidding the carving and not the stone is the mistake every one of us makes exactly once, and basalt makes it expensive because it doesn't care how good your plan was. adding a third on figure work is smart. i'd argue the real number is the one you say before you've explained anything, once you start justifying it you've already lost margin. 19 an hour for 11 weeks of chasing a crack you couldn't see is the part that stings. did the piece at least hold together in the end or did you have to work around it for good
Held together, but I had to give it somewhere to go. Ran the fault up into the shoulder seam so it reads as part of the figure. Client never knew. I still see it every time I look at the photos and it eats at me, but the alternative was scrapping 11 weeks.
You're right about the number you say first. I used to lead with the reasoning because I thought it justified the price. All that does is hand them a knife. I say the figure and then I shut up now. Silence is the whole negotiation.
Giving the fault somewhere to go is the right call, but hiding it in the shoulder seam is a gamble. Shoulders are where a seated figure carries its load, so if that seam is where the stone wanted to separate, the weather will find it eventually. If it's been a couple winters outside, ignore me. If it's indoors and newer than that, keep an eye on it.