I shot Myself In The Foot And It Hurts

So yesterday I was offered a small pile of money, but instead of stooping down to scoop it up, I looked at it and walked around it. Am I street rat crazy? I think that I might have even stopped, took out a cross bow or something and shot myself in the foot just for good measure.

What really happened was a custom order request. There are really two different kinds of custom requests. The simple modification request, color or size change, a slightly different take on an existing piece. Those requests are easy and I enjoy doing them, but then there is the other kind of request. These are the, 'This doesn't exist yet, can you do it?'. These are the kinds of requests that led to my mask line and my wrist cuffs. These are creative leaps that take a significant amount of time and trial and error. Yesterdays request was one of these and rather than leap at a sale, which due to house hunting, I desperately need, I decided to take a reality check first.

The request was for tatted opera length gloves. Sure, the idea is compelling, and if successful would probably be a stunning piece, but when I let reality in the door, it spat all over the idea with facts and math. The requester did not low ball the costs by any means, but after math was through with it, they would ultimately be nearly twice what was offered. The sheer logistics of creating a tatted piece the proper shape, smaller at one end then gradually larger is daunting and would require several failed prototypes before success was even remotely possible. The lack of any real stretch in the lace would mean very specific measurements. That would make it harder to make additional pieces for sale. The only solution there would be a lace up piece and don't even get me started on how to work around ones elbow.

Point is, I could have said yes, struggled for weeks and maybe come up with a finished project. I would have stressed myself out and still might have failed miserably all for far less money that the project was worth. Instead I realized that sometimes we just have to say no and hope that we get a few sales to make up for the loss. I'll be looking out for those make up sales, but even if they don't come I need to realize that I needed to say no to this one. Maybe in the future I'll work out a pattern for this idea, but not today.