Yesterday I drove about an hour south of where I live, to buy some supplies from a reasonably-local business (I call it “reasonably local” because it’s only about an hour drive, tops, and it’s another woman-owned ceramic supply company that started off small and is not corporate/big-box owned). Anyway. While I was there, I had a press mold in my pile of goodies that another customer saw while she was at the counter, and came back to where I was standing to ask where I had found it and had I seen another one as it was exactly what she was looking for (there wasn’t another, but it wasn’t something I needed, only wanted – so I let her buy it).
While we were chatting, she said what she was making was nature-themed trays for a fund-raiser. She described what she was making, and then casually dropped that she was hoping to get five or ten dollars for each one.
Five or ten dollars.
Five or ten dollars for her years of experience, for hours of work, for supplies and kiln firing time, for a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece.
I cried a little, inside.