Expensive plarn purse

[Krakovianka]

While my girls were at swimming yesterday, I took a stroll through the center of town. I rarely "shop" there, as most of the stores are high-end boutique-style stores aimed at tourists, but as I passed one store, something caught my eye.

 

Surely this could not be? But yes--the mannekin in the window, smartly dressed in impractical "fashion" designs, was sporting a bag made of "plarn" draped over one arm. It was obviously crocheted, and it was very shiny and black--as if made from trash bags, frankly.

 

I wandered around a bit, enjoying the Christmas fair on the square, and then walked back to pick up my girls. On impulse, I decided to step into the shop and ask the price of the purse. It was a tiny little shop--there was only one worker inside (chatting with a friend, but no customers). I told her I didn't want to bother her, but just wanted to ask about the price of the purse in the window. I do understand Polish, but when she told me, I had to ask her to repeat it. She got the bag down, showed me it was lined (rather roughly, but what can you expect with plarn?), and explained that it was a one-of-a-kind item.

 

The price?--366PLN, which is about $140 at the current exchange. For that money, you could buy a *really* nice leather purse. I held the bag, and it felt rather soft--as if very thin bags had been used. But it was plarn--there was no mistaking that--and it was just an ordinary shape, the way you see lots of simple bags crocheted.

 

I don't actually like working with plarn, but if I could sell the finished product for half that money, I might consider it.

 

But do you think it will ever sell?

[rascalsmom]

Wow, that is unbelievable!! I wouldn't even pay that much for a purse made out of really fine yarn!

[Tampa Doll]

Someone will buy it because of the shop it was in and because of the price. One of a kind? We know better, but there are people who will pay the price because of the price.

 

So my answer is yes. Stupid, but yes.

[Gran]

Perhaps it is the price of those black, plastic trash bags

 

It is odd that something like that is sold in posh boutiques. Some folks say that marketing is everything, if one wants a profit.

 

And it might turn up at a charity shop in one or two seasons.

[HomekeepingGran]

I know a lot of people are fans of plarn but I frankly don't get it. Why tear up plastic bags to make plastic bags? (Albeit, sturdier ones but still...) I recycle my plastic bags if possible. I can't imagine crocheting with them.

 

At least it wasn't used bread sacks for $140.

[quiet dissident]

I happen to like using plarn--I don't use the garbage bags, but the flimsy grocery bags are great to work with, and the tote bags make great conversation pieces. Bonus: different store logos are fun splashes of color at random intervals. I would guess the price is marked up for novelty's sake (didja hear, "green" items are in this year?), and if I were to sell any of my creations, I'd mark them up a bit for the effort and time it takes to make the plarn as well as work with the stuff (I broke one cheap-o plastic hook makig a tote bag!).

 

$140 is a bit steep though; so's the $64 plarn tote bag I saw in a shop nearby.

[TamKing]

Oh wow! I've made tote bags using plarn and while the stuff that was in the bags originally may have been around that much $$$, the tote bags are certainly not worth that much.

 

Either a) someone will buy it thinking they're getting something amazing or b) it will NEVER sell at that price and the shop will be stuck with it.

 

Imagine someone buying it and then finding out later how little $$ it was really made with.

[eyrthmother1]

since they are promoting it as "a one-of-a-kind" article, there will soon be a "fool parted from his money" over it due to "marketing". amazing how many folks will do impulse buys like that w/ those words added in.

 

Sandy

[The_Virginia_Hooker]

I think i'll save money by making my own

[The_Virginia_Hooker]

I know a lot of people are fans of plarn but I frankly don't get it. Why tear up plastic bags to make plastic bags? (Albeit, sturdier ones but still...) I recycle my plastic bags if possible. I can't imagine crocheting with them.

 

 

10 Reasons I like Plarn:hook

1) Plenty of plastic bags, no problem with supply

2) Free plastic bags, with purchase of stuff

3) So many different colors, depending on the stores

4) Keeps me busy

5) If it breaks, i'm not out anything but the time it took to make it and even then, i think of reason #5

6) I've make a "shoe cleaner" with crocheted plastic bags (looked like those small grass shoe-cleaning mats

7) Recycling

8) I've made plastic bag "coasters" to put under the feet of the living room furniture, to prevent dents on the area rug

9) I make a "shoe mat" every winter. I crochet 12 x 24 in. rectangle and lay it on a plastic tray. We'll set wet, snowy boots on top of the rug. Water drips off of boots, water goes on tray, boots are dry and not sitting in the water

10) Makes a dining room table cover, which in turn sparks conversation about recycling, crafts, etc.

[Sugarcoatedlies]

How big was the bag?

My cousin was over and saw a plarn messanger bag i made and was amazed. she said it could sell for $80 at least in a kiosk at the mall or something. It took me about 20 hours total to make though (cutting and assembling the 40 0r so bags i used, crocheting, sewing the lining). so that would be $4 an hour of work. which really isn't that much, as minimum wage these days is about $7.50?

 

I can easily see how something could sell at so high a price. So many crocheters don't seem to think of their art as an art! More people should start taking pride in their work. Traditional artists can sell framed pieces for well over a thousand dollars, and most of the time it's just something decorative to look at but not touch. Why can't crocheters sell something functional for a fraction of that price?

[eyrthmother1]

i think the amazement over the product is the material of it. This is just me, i've not worked w/ plarn yet. It's yet to catch my attention/interest, so knowing WHAT the bag is made from (not to be rude or insensitive, but the average persons "trash", ) then to get that much for it sorta amazes me.

 

Then again, I live in the heart of Nascar (or to hear the locals it is) and I don't get the fascination there either. Then, again, I have many friends who just don't get my fascination w/ yarn either.

 

Sandy

[mamarose22]

I made these bags from plarn. They are both lined. The tan bag has a zipper and looks like a straw purse that can easily be used from spring through fall. The other is a tote bag, not very large but large enough to take a project with me when I sit in a doctor's office, etc.

What am I offered for these bags? (LOL)

 

http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showpost.php?p=925863&postcount=237

[RecycleCindy]

I love making plarn (plastic bag) totes, purses, etc. as the materials are free. I see people all the time trying to sell them for these astronautical prices. Like on eBay you will see them offered as low as $5 and as high as $75. While I realize that people sometimes will pay these high prices, it wouldn't be the norm. I offer a few recycled bags for sale on my blog at about $15-$20 (without shipping fees). Recently I had a woman email me that my prices were too high and I should have the price real low as I got my materials for free. I was shocked that someone would send such an email. She must not realize all the work that goes into cutting the bags, tying the plarn strips together and then of course there is the actual crocheting that is done to complete each bag. So when it comes to prices on plarn or anything handmade, there are no easy answers.

[mamarose22]

Yes, it takes a lot of time to cut the bags and it takes more time to crochet with plarn than it would for yarn. However, like with all hand crafted items, you never make enough money for your time. People think that because the plastic bags don't cost anything, that your time doesn't either. I wonder if they would consider working for nothing.