I wonder what the average amount of time is for designing a pattern? When we
ask people to contribute a pattern to a project are we essentially asking for
50 hours of their time? At a rate of say, $10 an hour, is it the same as
soliciting $500 from people or asking them to provide over a week a full time
labor?
Dear Devon et al
In the last year or so I contributed a pattern to 'Australian Lace'. It
is a small linen basket.
Yous wonder how much time it took, well it started off as a commission
for a Workshop I give every year to a small group in Orange NSW. They
asked for something with a circle and something that everyone could do
but would challenge everyone. Group size was 9 and experience went from
1year to 25+ years.
The thought process took several months, once the basket was hit on, it
became easier.
Basket basics were designed while camping in the remote Cape Range
National Park. My husband and his friends were caving everyday for 4
days leaving me in camp free to design.
The basic structure took a week to draw up and put in the stitches.
The drawing up of the pricking and thread diagrams took another month.
First test run took 5 days
Second test run took 2 days
Teaching notes and diagrams took 3 weeks.
I had posted photos on Facebook and a lady from the US wanted the
pattern, I sent it and all the information to her in exchange for
'payment' which was a $5-$10 donation to a charity helping people. She
donated to a local women's refuge.
The group was so excited by that workshop that they wrote an article for
'Australian Lace' I was also excited by their response and wrote an
article about the workshop from a teacher's perspective and decided to
publish the pattern.
I have designed lace for other workshops in a variety of laces, so here
is my take:-
Some lacemakers are takers as in 'give me, give me, give me' as in greedy!
More lacemakers a VERY grateful for anything you do give them both in
your designs and in terms of patterns and tuition.
There are some (and these are in the minority) who take share and
exploit! It is because there are these lacemakers that I've decided NOT
to try and earn anything from my patterns. If i share my patterns I
share them gladly if I wish to sell them then all I ask is for people to
make a donation of about $5-$10 in their local currency to a local
charity. In this way the purchaser gets their pattern, a charity gets
some money to keep functioning AND the pattern recipient gets the tax
benefit of her donation AND I don't fret about copied patterns. I see it
as a win win win situation.
I know there are rouge copies floating about the country, in fact I know
who obtained them without due process. It is amazing what information
you can get out of checking who is viewing and downloading things from
your own webpage, especially when the webpage was 'password protected'
for the benefit of those who signed up to do the online workshop.
Anna in a very wet Sydney, the sun was out for a few days.
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