Origami Rings For Sale - How Much Would You Pay For One?

I asked a girl how much she thought they should be worth and she said $150.00.. what do you guys think?

Hi Shawn.. These are great! I can see it developing too.. The $150 seems a fair price for the one shown. But I think these would/could look amazing and sell for a lot more if done on a Large Scale. 6ft x 6ft for example with more layers, colours and intricacy could probably sell for a few thousand $$$$'s for originals and $150 just for the prints :-) great stuff Shawn!

edit: It may also be worth experimenting with patterns other than circles or "fans"..

No idea, but to start.. how much would you ask to paid per hour to one? In other words what is your time worth? Material cost would be mostly in the mounting and framing materials.

How long would and average size take? Multiply that by your hourly rate and there you go. Of course I would add a percentage for your artistic creativity, the more complex the higher the percentage.

Now if that comes out to thousands of dollars.. which it probably will you have to decide on what you think a customer would think is reasonable.

Nice work by the way.. ;O)

bob

Bob's got the right idea.... I just considered something...with coloured paper you would have to find a way to prevent or slow down the sun bleaching process..but i'm sure you could figure something out!

There is a UV blocking spray that can be used to treat the paper. Not sure of it's longevity though.

http://www.misterart.com/crafts/decorative-painting/sealers-finishers/krylon-spray-uv-resistant-clear.html

I use a similar pricing method to the one Bob described when valuing my carvings and sculptures.. but when it comes to a percentage for your artistic creativity.. well this can make all the difference.. the pricing of the piece can be an art in itself :-)

This original sculpture is priced at $1,000,000...


Whereas this original carving is priced at $0.01...

I have tried doing them with colours - and unless framed with a black bg, much like greek sculptures, colour = tacky.

Bright colours anyways - very pale pastel colours might work - but with white there is no sun bleaching, and I still like classic white.

making them bigger could be cool, but then becomes challenging to transport. I do want to experiment with different patterns and shapes but atm circular is the easiest to get a good result from. They could even be mounted on a ceiling around a socket and have a chandelier hung in the middle, like a ceiling medallion.

as for labour.. *phew* - the one I shows took like a month to do - it is very tedius work. It is impossible to rush as it will just look like crap and not line up properly if you try to rush them. It all depends on a) the overall piece and how many pieces is in it and b) how long and intricate just making one individual PIECE is.

take this for example:

https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10479185_10152525563135661_3464024924609717068_n.jpg

I scanned in one piece I did (took maybe 10 mins to make just the one piece) and then arrayed it in photoshop to get the proposed look (the middle one is the same piece just flattened out with less pieces) - that one would probably take a month to do - as I am not a sweatshop labourer and I have a job, so it would be done in my free time.

I think $150.00 is a fair price - I also wouldn't want to frame them - I would put a mounting mechanism on the back, and maybe laminate them if fragility was an issue, but then you don't get the nice 3d effect of them then. Anything bigger and more complex will naturally take longer. So I might price them by individual piece involved in them.

I'd price them per piece instead of per hour - per hour isn't realistic as you don't work on a piece for hours and hours or you'd go insane. I will account the labour in per piece.

So 2 dollars per regular sized individual piece, $1.50 per each smaller sized individual piece. The one above had roughly 60 big pieces and 20 small pieces - so (60 x 2 = 120) + (20 x 1.5 = 30) = $150.00

another option, and its a very iffy option, is to have grommets on the back of each piece and daisychain a mechanism into the back so they are all linked together, and can be "altered" to kalaidoscopally rotate the individual pieces all at once, forming different patterns on the wall. That would be quite the engineering feat though, and seems like too much work at this time hehe..

:-) Quite a project that would be..
As they are..It could work well in large public buildings. It may be worth approaching local authority's and anywhere with large reception/waiting areas and trying to get commissions for extra large pieces.. The individual pieces of paper you start with could be scaled up to cover larger areas in less time or you could even use lots of different sizes. worth experimenting!

oi.. keep in mind that folding such monstrosities could be an issue, as well as FINDING paper that big, and where would I store them? How would I get them through a door?

but yes it is worth experimenting.. also the bigger you make them the flimsier they get - you also have to marry paper thickness with increased paper size.

what about just painting the tips, a highlight per-say. I think they are beautiful and $100-$150 seams fair. I really love the idea but it does need some kind of color even if in black and white. Amazing work!

one thing I could possibly do is present them with a prototype size that is manageable to make, and then work with someone to make them bigger. I would have to invest in large rolls then, and they may even have to be assembled on site. That is doable. Probably also have to stiffen the paper in some way, or even laminate each piece.

thank you - eh.. I am so iffy on colour because it is so hard to find "lightly" coloured paper in the size needed. I tried making some coloured ones and tbh.. I just didn't like them.. it cheapened them and made it just look like origami and not like.. architecture which is what the white does. Like the off yellow piece in the middle above would be mostly the colour I would ever go for.

I might be able to give it a bit of a watercolour wash to add some colour, but I think I would leave that to the customer to request. Also what happens if I do it and it doesn't look good? Then what? It is a lot of effort to go through for it to suddenly look bad, and then you can't salvage it...

Shawn.. Think of them more as installations!.. produced on site or in sections :-) I agree about the potential of colour looking tacky... but with the right, well considered colour scheme or like Christina suggests with minimalist colour.. on the tips or so... could look very elegant!

i'n not into stuff like that, and while it's cute it's a bit bland for my tastes. i would rather have it snake out with more color. to price, i would figure how long it took to fold one, and give yourself a salary based off of that. technically anyone can do it. and because it overlaps, it doesn't have to be a 100% perfect. you don't have to be an aspie to make it, i'm certain of that.

though introducing other kinds of folds and colors would make it more lively. or if you made it look like a peacock or something with a shape, you can charge more.

---Mike Savad

....

Shawn.. I think you are way under estimating your prices. One thing to consider as you said, you have very little to zero completion for items as these. At least not at the quality that are achieving. I tried google and bing image searches but cannot find anything like yours.

eh I dunno.. I think I will leave any colour recommendations to the person requesting the commission, and then if they like it they can take a pic and I can do more like it.

for me I like the minimalistic look - as my walls are white and thus it shows detail without making it all you see on the wall.

And I can have them snake out too don't worry ;)

I will work a salery off how long it takes me to fold each piece, and then multiply it by how many pieces I used, which is kinda like minutely hehe..

and trust me - you notice if it's not perfect - especially if it is geometrically lined up to creases. You do have to almost be an aspie to perfectly fold 60 of them, but like anything, anyone CAN do it, but most would probably choose NOT to hehe.. it's very tedious work for one, and don't be certain of something until you actually do it. You also stated you thought my fractals required no effort to construct, until you used the program yourself.

I have done origami since I was 10. I have made 3d origami, origami balls, geometric origami, but I don't know if I could realistically sell any of that, unless I made it some manner of sculpture. It is something I will have to revisit - a lot of this will simply be in the imaginativeness of how I put it all together and how I combine it and any colours I use, for like interior design, that is NOT something everyone has the vision to do.

Rudy - YOUR comments are spam. gtfo.

Bob I just don't want to scare people away that's all. In this type of market I still want to be able to SELL... and I am afraid of overshooting my prices. So like I said, this thread is also to ask you how much you think they are worth - so tell me, how much would YOU spend on one?

gtfo!? Are you kidding me.

hey if you're going to say ridiculously stupid things like "this is all spam" without any reasoning or explanation whatsoever - when it is an artistic topic on an artistic forum, and a rather popular topic at that, and you happened to state the same thing in BOTH my topics.. then why should you be surprised if I tell you to gtfo. I wasn't serious - I was trying to show you how silly your comment sounded.

if i were to do a number of them, i would build a jig. get one perfect, unfold it, make a plastic template (beveled edge, not metal it would tear), and fold the paper against that. all of them would be pretty much exact. but origami is exact, so those that know how to do it, will have it. and those that want it, i would assume would want it from a person of japanese origin.

price wise - i wouldn't spend anything on them - it all depends on the value a person puts on them. if you have a large price tag (large numbers), $500 and place it on the wall at a show - see how many look at it, at that price and listen for comments. bring it down to the point where people are looking at it. but really shape matters. a circle may not sell as well as a celtic cross. or a chinese dragon all made from paper. then you can really ramp up the price. at the very least it's time and materials - how many hours did you put into this?

you really can't scare people off with an art price. if someone is looking for art, they may spend a little bit more. i've always made my stuff, so i have no value of worth as such.

i would make a batch - some white, some with color, add prices and see if it sells. if it sells at $150, then increase the price to $300 and see if it sells. and then of course if you make them light up, maybe you can sell it higher.

---Mike Savad

I think the one above took a month to make - but I was a kid doing it in my spare time.. like.. 16 years ago.. so really.. my mind is fuzzy of that time period hehe..

and yeah sure I'll just stick them in my lightboxes and have all the inner geometries shine through hehe..

haha and that is where your lack of understanding of origami comes in - origami isn't just folding one corner to another. There are complex folds, inside reverse folds, outside reverse folds, folds where you have to open it up and then collapse it into shape - origami is not always simple, and sometimes some of the foldings can be quite complex within each other.

also you have to make sure the edges go EXACTLY to the other edges - if you are a millimeter off it can wreck everything as it will start to pull other folds out of alignment. It takes patience for sure, and like many things you are judging something you don't have years worth of experience doing.

You say the one shown took months? Why not try it as a coordinated community or workplace project/event with as many people as possible making the pieces to your patterns..and then arranging them all the next day or over a number of days... this would work very well if run as a workshop touring schools, businesses and festivals ect... You could produce 3 or 4 enormous pieces per week if you have a school full of pupils helping you with each one....!!!

(My friend has a fairly successful business offering community tribal drumming workshops to schools and such.. he has received a good steady income from this "market" for a few years now! It's also a great way to fund a tour of music and arts festivals through the summer by offering the workshops in exchange for tickets,expenses a and a pitch to sell your other art!)

I believe that is called sweatshop labour Barry and is frowned upon lol.. besides.. I can't trust the accuracy of pieces to kids haha..

also there is a difference between drumming and teaching complex folding methods to kids, kids whose coordination hasn't even fully developed yet haha..it involves a lot of hand eye coordination.. an artists hand, but also a bit of a sculptors hand. You have to have a lot of control in the tips of your fingers - each type of artisanry focuses in a different part of the hand.

it also involves a special type of weighted ruler as each crease has to be completely flattened, and if not lined up properly before you apply it it will warp your fold right off.. most people don't have the amount of focus needed to make sure that fold isn't a millimeter off, nevermind a room full of kids haha..

LOL...worth a try Shawn..you never know what you'll end up with! and at the end of the day you can just blame the kids if it's no good and take your wages anyway :-)

Some of my best artwork(paintings) were completed at school or college. I'm thinking 15-18+ year olds.. plenty of dexterity there...

Edit: you could probably find a way to simplify things for younger folk... we didn't start the drum workshops with complex beats, but kept it simple and allowed everyone to find their level as things become more complex.. the mixture of all abilities, if used correctly, only adds to the final effect in the end and there is always room for them all... "greater than the sum of it's parts" is what we say!

Yeah I couldn't do that lol.. besides then it's not my work, it's their work.. and I can't stomach profiting off something that everyone else made. My conscience would make me split all the money up to them since they helped make it, and then I am no longer profiting.

Nope, I shall focus on making them myself.

Shawn saying that it took a month doesn't tell us how long it took you to make. Was that 1 hour a day? or 8 hours a day? Did you work on it every day or every other day?

Approximately how many hours did you spend on it? I would start by using $50.00 an hour. That is just an number out of the air, but you can now make $10.00 working at McDonalds. That number would have to include materials, your labor, and your artistic creative input, and your dexterous talent. So it may be higher. And I agree with Mike that when we are talking about an quality work of artistic merit not easily obtainable buyer will pay a high price.

bob

I don't see it as being any different from any other coordinators job! An architect or choreographer for example... plus they(the pupils or public etc) get paid through ownership of the final piece as a part of the community.

Edit: good luck either way... they're cool!

I think people into origami would likely wanted to make it themselves. In my opinion if you wanted to sell it you should work on the presentation part, like frame it in fancy shadow box frame with silk lining. I would use special paper or make it with dollar bills which will make the piece even more valuable and unique.

seriously dude, do you HONESTLY expect me to remember how many hours I spent on something I made SIXTEEN YEARS AGO?

make it with dollar bills? Seriously? I live in canada, we don't have one dollar bills - the minimum we have is 5 - so 5 x 60 just for a ring would be.. 300 dollars in cash. just in the ring itself. I'd have to sell it for like 3000 dollars or something ridiculous, and I don't even HAVE that much to use.. in addition it would be tiny.

nope. nope. nope.

also that's like saying a seamstress won't buy a dress from the store because she could make it herself - granted she probably could but she most likely doesn't WANT to, because her whole job is making stuff like that for other people. I hate when people bring that up "anyone can make that" or "they could just make it themselves"

anyone can make anything if they put their mind to it - however they don't because they don't want to - they want something complete that someone else has made.

Also I have had plenty of people say they are cool who are not origami enthusiasts.

and yes I could do some in a fancy box, but tbh, personally, I like them better bare on the wall - so perhaps I could give them options in that regard.

also yes they will pay a higher price, I am just not sure what the MARKET would be for this kind of art.. nothing ventured nothing gained I suppose.. I'll just have to build some and put them in some exhibitions and galleries and see what people think!

Canadian tire money! be creative.
I sold this paper cut on a half $5 bill for $100. it takes money to make money!



This one is from the 5cents Canadian tire money.

you make it again and see how long it takes now. what happened years ago wouldn't matter anyway. your hands might be slower or faster now. or now you have an intention. make 1 piece, time it, then add it up from there.

---Mike Savad

will do mike! I have to get paper! Haha.. back then it was easy.. parents always had paper cuz I did origami so much,.. now I got none.. I don't even know what stores sell paper.. this is probably gonna be cumbersome hehe..

also I'd hope they'd be faster with skill but who knows, maybe I am not as patient anymore as i was as a kid, I know that is the case with videogames..

also cool idea alfred but cutting up real money would just make me weep. I can't do it haha..

amazon sells everything. otherwise it doesn't have to be origami paper, wrapping paper, really anything that folds like the stuff should work.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=origami+paper&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aorigami+paper all the paper you could ever want. patterns, colors, packs

chances are you'll be less patient because you'll want quantity, and by the time you make them all, you'll want more than $150. even in a production line it may not work. imagine a hotel wanting - 200 of them. they need it a month from now. you would have to give up eating and sleeping to get them all done.

i always thought it was illegal to deface money...

---Mike Savad

I think it IS illegal to deface money.

also I meant what stores around me sell actual paper to buy haha.. was just musing to myself..

but your link is very useful nonetheless for non-white or non-neon paper variations. Neon ain't so good for a wall unless it has a black backing hehe,...

and yeah true enough.. I will have to factor labour and quantity in as well.

I'm wondering if a youtube video on the process would be a good marketing venue.

I know this sound bazarr but I've seen similar art done with currencies. Dollar bills used as the paper. For whatever reason people do place value they can see into the pieces.

--mary ellen anderson

oh god.. maybe if someone else videotaped me lol.. I have a phobia of being on camera.. might ruin my focus.. I suppose I could try...

on the other hand it could also ruin my business, because then if people see how they are done then others will try to do it - and currently I have like NO opposition in the market.

i'm certain that anyone that knows how to fold paper can figure out how to make it.

for example - origami wreath

https://www.google.com/search?q=origami+wreath&num=100&safe=off&client=firefox&hs=mVv&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=BX7JU86bEYigyAS6vYDYDA&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1916&bih=869


---Mike Savad

https://www.etsy.com/market/origami_wreath - prices

https://www.etsy.com/listing/173254836/paper-flower-spring-summer-13-inch?ref=market this is really nice - $65
https://www.etsy.com/listing/90839306/baby-pink-and-yellow-rose-origami-wreath?ref=market this one looks like origami - $60

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-modular-braided-wreath.html while there are variations, you have a lot of competition.


---Mike Savad

Shawn,
Video tape is a blessing. I remember the days where you had to demonstrate live.

PS Disclosure I'm not up to video yet (but do have the account on youtube). But I was able to put together a WIP blog. You don't have to necessarily just do video on how to do it, but why you did it, or what it does to a space.

my blog WIP: http://mary-ellen-anderson-fine-art.blogspot.com/2013/07/wip-historical-event-art-quantrills-raid.html

--mary ellen anderson

the braided wreath would have to be THE most overdone model, and that is because someone showed everyone how to do it.

also those are all.. rather tackily coloured.. imo anyways. But I am biased towards white hehe..

thus for what "I" am doing - I still don't have a lot of competition - those are on the small end, or are brightly coloured, and involve things like flowers instead of animal designs - also those are the prices they are being offered at, there is no guarantee they are actually selling..

still, personally I like my understated rings better - she does flirt with rings a bit but most of hers are in fact wreaths which is slightly different - still interesting to see though - after all I would be naive to think that NOBODY has done it - if you can think of it chances are 1 or 2 people are already doing it.

still, I will try on etsy account - we can both at least have our own unique designs :)

@mary ellen - you think that's bad, i remember when i couldn't say anything and someone had to hold subtitles on black cards.


the colorful stuff is what people would most likely buy though. the colors are for flowers and i'm betting they sell around the holidays.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/308707749429402119/ made using an old book looks like.
http://textiles4you.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-birthday-c-doll-items-and-ninja.html third in no color


---Mike Savad

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wall-of-Rainbow-Koi/ this is really cute, it could sell.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/108242952/large-origami-star-string-art-star this is white, using music paper (you get a musician out of the deal too).

seems you may have cornered the market, though many do like color which is probably why you see them in color.

---Mike Savad

yeah textile patterned ones seem nice - give it a bit of pattern while still keeping it simplistic.. I will have to experiment to see what looks best :)

it seems she sells quite a few! I could probably mass produce some of the smaller ones..

makes me kick myself for not doing this sooner, since I probably did them earlier than any of these people ever even considered doing them but hey, one just doesn't consider that these would be worth anything I suppose monetarily wise.. I just did them because I originally had scraps left over from origami cuts (making triangles) and wished to do something with the leftover pieces - that's how the fan one was first made hehe..