2024-01-18

Monetary value as a function of artisan skill level

Novice

I've noticed an interesting correlation between the skill level of an artisan/craftsman/artist and the value attributable to their works. I'll use myself as an example of a total amateur: I made myself a three-bulb lamp out of those really industrial-looking, black iron pipes. The materials probably only cost me $100 - $200 in total. It's a pretty cool lamp, but if anyone ever asks me to make one, my offer is $10,000. Why so high? It doesn't seem to make sense, as it's definitely an amateur piece that nearly anyone else could make. But it's precisely because I am an amateur that only a high price could justify the effort I had to put in. I don't know squat about electrical wiring; and though I had a hand-drawn design to work off of, there was a lot of trial-and-error constructing, and a ton of time involved. 

Intermediate

A more experienced artisan could justify charging higher prices, on account of the increased quality he's able to offer over the Novice, all other things held constant. However, one definite mark of an intermediate artisan is the development of muscle memories, gaining and fine-tuning skills, and familiarity with the involved processes. And these developments translate into less time required to output the same product. Therefore, the Intermediate can actually afford to charge less for his products, since customers don't need to reimburse as many manhours. And there's a great benefit to the Intermediate charging less: by doing so, he might actually capture a consumer market so much larger that it overcompensates for the lowered prices.

Master

The highest level of artisan theoretically reduces his input time requirements even further than the Intermediate. (Some processes may have a minimum time requirement which can not be reduced beyond a certain amount, even if the level of skill increases. But in such cases, it still could be the case that the increased artisan skill leads to a lower failure rate; so that even if the Master spends just as much time as the Intermediate task-for-tasks, the Intermediate has to redo a task more often.) However, everyone knows that master artisans can-- and do-- charge the very most for their works! A master worker has a following, recognition, or "brand" that lends value to his products, regardless of how quickly he can churn them out or how little effort may be required at his level of expertise.

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