Thursday, October 27, 2011

On a Mission

This past weekend, I had a brief chat with SCG Event Coordinator and Judge Nicholas Sabin. I love Nick. He's always looking to make sure the Open weekends are enjoyable for everyone and is overall a great guy to talk to. After asking about my weekend and potential commissions Nicholas said something that surprised me.

"You should raise your rates."

I've raised my prices a few times over the past several months and I'm used to, at least, a little sticker shock when people find them out for the first time. For reference, I currently charge $60 on a basic commission. I told Nicholas that I'd love to be pulling in more income, but seeing as I'm one of the more expensive artists in the community already, it just isn't feasible at the moment. More and more Magic players are starting to alter. The community has become increasing aware of alters, and demand, along with competition has never been higher. This all got me thinking about my mission when I started altering full-time nine months ago. So what's the big picture here?

I love art and I love Magic. Being naturally competitive, I want to produce the best work in the community and never sacrifice quality for dollar signs. Over the past few months my goal has been to convince people that one, I truly believe those words. And two, the cost is worth the work. Currently I only complete about one alter every 4-6 hours and two total on any particular day. Is it a grind? 100% Do I love my job? You better believe it.

I guess my point is: thank you. To those who have noticed the time and energy I try to put into each card and who visit the blog week in and week out.

PS. Stay classy: