Photographer/columnist Steve Meltzer gave readers poor advice in the September issue by recommending the purchase of mail order film. As a traveling professional photographer (for 35 years), I learned the hard way that film, especially slide film, is easily damaged by improper shipping and storage. … Gray market and randomly shipped film can be subjected to damaging heat fog conditions or radiation such as X-rays. Film is often the cheapest material in photography, and cutting costs on such an important element in the process is a false economy.
Returning damaged, sensitized materials for a refund from an anonymous and remote supplier is seldom a positive experience, especially after the damage is revealed by a bad shoot that has to be redone! Buy a “brick” (20 rolls) from your trusty local camera store, stick what you don’t use in the freezer, and you will have a more productive and repeatable photographic experience.
Jamie Donaldson
via e-mail
We welcome letters to the editor for possible publication, as well as responses to letters already published. The editors reserve the right to edit for length and style. Address letters to: Editor, The Crafts Report, 300 Water St., Wilmington, DE 19801; fax: (302) 656-4894; e-mail:
editor@craftsreport.com.I just want to let you know how much your magazine has helped me in my new consignment art gallery business. When I was just beginning, you had an article on consignment galleries, I called two of those galleries and talked to wonderful, helpful people. Since then, your magazine has given me sales advice, encouragement, knowledge, ideas, honesty … I could go on and on! I have never had a magazine or book help me as much as The Crafts Report has. I just wanted to let you know. Pat on the backs to you all! And a big thank you!
Michele Moore
The Gallery at CrossRoadsI agree with the general principle expressed in James Dillehay’s article “The Price of Success” (namely that the craftsperson needs to set a wholesale price before calculating the retail price of an item). However, there is a mistake in the model he presents. If the rug took two hours to make, then the overhead figure of $8.81 per hour should have been multiplied by two, for a minimum wholesale price of $52.87 not $44.06.
Mr. Dillehay neglects to allow for a profit margin in his example, even though, at the beginning of the article, he says that one of the figures to be included when calculating the wholesale price is “the desired profit.”
The model should read as follows: cost of materials + overhead per hour x the # of hours + profit margin (from 10 to 50 percent, depending on the type of item, your reputation, and what the market will bear) = wholesale price x 2 = retail price.
Beth Rosengard
via e-mail