Pricing Gilded/Chipped Work

[Bobbie Rochow]

This is my first post in this forum & I am a bit nervous about it, but here goes...

I have just begun to gild & glue chip, with pretty good results. I am really excited, & I already have a few people asking me about it, but I have no idea how to charge for it!

Do I set a price per square inch or something, for each technique used on the piece? Do I sell it framed? Or, even if i do a reverse gilded window, or something similar, how do you all charge for this kind of work?

[Doug Bernhardt]

Hi Bobbie and welcome. I would think that you should concider this the same as anything else you do. Add material costs (with mark-up of course) add your labour rate (which includes shop etc) and you got it. It's worth bearing in mind that at first it takes alot of experimentation to gain the experience to be efficient and it is also more expensive when things go wrong...which they will. You can save yourself a huge amount of grief by making sure you watch everything you can at any Letterheads meets you can get to. So here's digression #1.... I was working away trying to learn this on my own about 10 or 15 years ago when I crossed paths with this Letterheads group...how, is a long story but I saw and admired the work of many others and went down to Boise Idaho for a Noel Weber workshop. That was the smartest thing I did that year and a bargain at twice the price. I also made a point of getting to meets and seeing/contributing to everything gold. A number of adventures to Glawson and Evans (quite a few actually) and other spots regional and national. Glass work is now a profitable and creatively satisfying line of work at my place...but it did take a while!...and the learning just never seems to end. Good luck!

[Kelly Thorson]

Hi Bobbie
It won't take long before your enthusiasm and kindness are recognized here.
Bobbie is a talented girl, with a big desire to learn. Everything!
Do a search on pricing, there isn't a lot but you will find some info.
Maybe some of the veterans will help you out behind the scenes. It's kind of a difficult and touchy subject for a forum.
I'm glad to see you here.
PS I'm betting that some here would like to see your Jesus piece. It's pretty nice for a learning project and you may get some helpful feedback.

[Mike Jackson]

Hi all,
Bobbie asked me the question in an email earlier and I suggested they ask it here. Looks like Doug pretty much answered it the same way I did.

Bobbie,
I am assuming you are asking about some sort of square foot price, but I
have no idea of that. When it is all said and done, you simply add up how
much materials you plan on using, how many hours you plan on spending times
your shop rate, and add for profit and overhead as you would any 4x8 painted
panel. Every design and every sign will be different with some more
complicated than others, so a square foot price is virtually worthless.

Hope that helps,
Mike Jackson

Besides this information, you might consider reading through a lot of the threads on this forum. There is a ton of great information on the subject in general and the processes specifically.

Mike Jackson

[Bobbie Rochow]

Wow, I am very thankful for the help! I will post the Jesus piece, since the picture came out clearer, of the 2 pieces I have done. The letters are 23 1/2 K gold, the border is copper leaf, verigated leaf, & also abalone. The chipping was silver leafed. I have so much to learn, this was one of 2 first chipping pieces, & I have only glass gilded once before.

I cut a mask on my plotter with vinyl, then I applied it to the cleaned glass, & pulled out the pieces I wanted painted on the glass. Then I mixed up some One Shot & hardener, & painted inside the areas I had removed. I gave it a few minutes to set up, then I pulled the mask off. This is how I got the black outline on the glass to later fill in with the metals. Have any of you done this before?

Don Ecklund let me water gild about 80% of his glass panel he brought home from the Zoo, at the Dixie Meet, & that sure helped, giving me some hands on experience! He also was genorous, giving me a book of varigated gold to play with. I am in love with the metal leafs!!! I just hope my varigated, silver, & copper does not tarnish under the glass! I did use back up black on the back of it.

Well, here, let me see if I can do this...