Popstar Ahri work. Www.facebook.com/bellanephilim

Here’s our massive 15-person group that somehow actually managed to happen and be both stress and drama free!

Thorin: sashaforthewin, Fili: queen-valkyrie, Bifur: @idgcosplay, Bofur: cousincecily, Nori: aviva0017, Ori: frauleinninja, Dwalin: bellanephilim, Oin: wolfb1tch, Gandalf: bitchjerkidjetassbutt, Bombur: tempestcaliban, Balin: envycosplays, Dori: kuharai

I am so proud to have been a part of something so wonderful. This group truely was a fun and badass company, the daughters of Erebor. ♡

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Additionally, materials. Time. Profit. Need help mathing? Materials run around $80-$100 depending on sales and where I get materials from. Not just fabrics. Everything. Thread. Snaps. Elastic.  Batting. Interfacing. Piping. Hooks and eyes. Bias Tape. Depreciation costs of machines, tools, and equipment. (If you don’t know why that would be taken into account, take a basic accounting class). Also keep in mind I’m not a business that buys in bulk. Some of the satins I use are $12 a yard. If I bought in bulk I’ve found some as cheap as $1 a yard, but I’d have to buy like $300 worth at a time on rolls I physically cannot even lift and have no means to store. So yeah.  Time. My time is valuable, so if you want it, you must offer me something valuable in return. I will NOT work for less than $15 an hour, and even that is low considering I don’t have an employer matching me for a 401K, or helping me with insurance, PTO, etc. That’s all on me to pay and save for on my own. So for now, that is my price, take it or leave it. I personally don’t give a damn if you can’t afford me, because I’m not gonna spend my time on you for less because then it’s at MY cost. Also, let’s not talk about the multiple houses I could have bought with my student loans, lol. Let’s additionally consider that I could work ANYWHERE ELSE for less work for the same amount of money. So if you want something at $5 an hour, forget it. Go to someone who is faster or works for less. These things take me 2-3 weeks to complete. If I spend 2-3 weeks on a costume and only come out with $400ish profit, what the hell do you expect me to eat? $400 is easily my rent, yo. Profit. Not just spending money for funsies- I’m not a teenager living in my parents’ place without bills to pay. Profit leaves room for not only me to afford life necessities and some frivolities, but also savings. And in fact, not just personal savings, BUSINESS savings. What happens if my machine goes down for two weeks and costs me $100 in repairs? I will need not only savings in a business account for the machine, I will need savings to cover either refunds to people whose deadlines I can’t keep, and/or for me to survive off of. What if a package gets lost? Something gets damaged? I want to upgrade my equipment? Orrrrr like I mentioned above, what if I wanna buy something in bulk because it’s a smart investment? No thriving business would EVER charge just the bare minimum of time and material, because that’s just shortsighted. You MUST leave room for profit to add to savings. Don’t be dense and childish, demanding that if you can’t have it, no one else can either. You wanna run a business and make stuff affordable, be my guest, not a soul is stopping you. But then again, you’d have to outsource to overseas counties and have employees be paid in coins, but hey, if your pocketbook is the most important, screw everyone else, right¿ I’m a couture designer, not Old Navy. My stuff isn’t off the rack, it’s custom made with love, care, craftsmanship, and skill. That’s literally what couture means. You want affordable, go to Party City. I won’t even judge ya, sometimes you just need things cheap. I could EVEN recommend you to great commissioners who charge less that would want your business. You know, if you cared to share your name. But with this attitude? I’d hate to send you to them. You sound like a “can I speak to the manager” kind of customer, and they don’t need the unneeded stress and drama. Oh, and for the record, I offer an option without the leotard *because* I know people can get a cheaper leotard somewhere else. Like I literally don’t care if you get it from Amazon, another Etsy seller, make one on your own. My listings are intended to be flexible that way. I ALSO SELL MY PATTERNS SOOOO if you want to make one exactly like mine, the patterns are going up and there are free video tutorials on my YouTube. For patterns that don’t have tutorials, I’m happy to explain it as best I can. If someone wishes to splurge on me for my work and -shocker- I do have orders, then I am deeply humbled and honored to create them a custom piece of art.

TLDR: To others, my art is a luxury. To me, it is my livelihood. Have a magical day. <3

I’m sorry honey, but I sew, and even I know your not only over charging, but your full of shit. Especially if your selling the Sailor Senshi outfit without the leotard!

You should be charging $250-$300 for the whole thing (Including shipping). Not $425 for small bits and pieces.

You say you have to spend a lot of money on fabric….what was it? $12 a yard, even if that was the case! Your buying 3 yards total for that shit! 5 at max for it to include the leotard! And even then all us who sew know you can get that shit for around $5 a yard on eBay. So that’s $15-$25 right there.

And that’s not counting the fact that your only using at most, ¼th of the yard for the skirt and cape! If I gave you the benefit of the doubt and say your making for someone my size? You’d spend at most $40-$50.

You want $15 and hour? Then spend an actual hour nonstop to make the shit, at ‘most’ it would take you 2-3 hours to make what your selling nonstop. Atleast, if your any good. It would take 5-6 hours if you weren’t.

Those ‘two weeks’ you bitch about? Is the two weeks your waiting for that shit from eBay to come in.

Which fwi, is free shipping.

You spend at most $70 to make that shit.

And don’t get me started on that machine bs!!!

Most people who have a machine, have either go it as a gift, or inherited it. If you went and bought one? It’s $100. As for fixing it? It’s not only cheaper to buy a new one, but sewing machines are damn study, and you shouldn’t need to buy a new one! I’ve had mine for 10+ years and it still works like brand new.

And guess what? I’ve never had to fix it. I’ve cleaned it, Ive oiled it, I’ve even had to tighten the lightbulb because it loosened from the vibrations, hell I’ve even had to take out thread that got caught up because I forgot to oil it once after a long while. But I never had to actually take it to a repair shop.

My mothers, is over 40 years old, I had to fix twice. (Mostly because she never oiled it)

My grandmothers? Is even older then that and it still works. (Though the lightbulb is dead but that’s an easy fix)

Wanna know why?

Cause if you take care of it, it won’t break!

It’s like a car, you have to maintain it, clean it and oil it to keep it running like new!

You should never include the price of your machine into your commissions!

Only time you do that? Is when you have to buy a new surger or embroidery machine, and you don’t charge the full price of it to your commissions!

And even then, you can find them used and still in good condition for cheap or even free on Craig’s list!

Plus, most people don’t use those machines anyways!

Surgers are hard to use, and the spools are expensive, and if you don’t know what your doing, you waste more then anything else, and if your making Sailor fukus, you only need it for the skirt and leotard, and embroidery machines? Unless they’re making designs like a Pokémon characters face on it, it’s not on your top list to get or have for that matter.

Now as for supplies? Are you kidding me? That shit is cheap, and if you wait for the lowest sales of the season like the most of us, most of it is practically free.

For example I got a custom frame done, it’s currently the lowest price of the season, it would of cost over $800.

I spent $220….and I could of spent $180 instead, but I wanted acrylic masterpiece glass…so if it fell and broke, it wouldn’t ruin my painting.

Why does that matter? Because your sewing supplies don’t even reach the cheapest $180 mark for that frame at their full price!

And that’s if you buy at a retail store, it’s even cheaper on ebay!

Most cosplay costs less then $200 for a reason, it’s not cause it’s cheaply made with no skill behind it, it’s cause the supplies are cheap…

Plus the fact that you act like this is your full time job, is insulting, it’s obviously not. Cause it if was, you would be making hundreads of cosplays a week. Not one every two weeks.

And you would work with a customer no matter how much of an asshole they were. Because you need that money to keep your business going.

No, this is a hobby your trying to cash in on, without actually knowing the actual logistics of sewing.

Sure. Don’t get me wrong, You know the logistics of a business…but those logistics you used, aren’t for commission based projects you make from home, it’s for those who run an actual business, in an actual building, which requires spending a fuck ton of money on shipping and handling, products, rent, utilities, and paying their workers.

So please stop giving commissioners and real seamstresses a bad name, your not designing and making clothes for a fucking runway show or a celebrity… your making it for regular people, who have regular shit paying jobs, and a limited budget.

And sorry if I sound harsh and mean, but I could smell your bullshit a mile away, and I just can’t stand the smell of it.

And sorry for any misspellings, auto-correct is a bitch and I’m running on lack of sleep.

I’m just gonna TLDR with: You can buy a purse for $6, for $60, for $600, or $6000. People can pick the ones in their budget. No one is forced to get my stuff. If they want something cheaper, then they can get something cheaper. No skin off my back. If you wanna cut deals, be my guest! Make a killing, make money, more power to ya <3 What works for one person doesn’t work for everyone. My stuff isn’t a necessity for anyone to have. I’m not Walmart, honey. I’m not gonna EDLP my prices. You want Every Day Low Prices, I can recommend you some sellers. 

Putting time, love, worth, excellence, and thought into cosplay is something we do not want to compromise. It's okay to go elsewhere; but here we always dp.pur best, and sometimes that is costly.