Why don't you sell some of your lace for our charity event?

This is a question that you are going to get asked as newbie lacemakers. Whenever I show of a piece of lace that I've made, someone outside of lacemaking is going to tell me how I should:

1. Sell it
2. Offer it as a prize
3. Go to a local craft fair and take a stall
4. Give it to them

For a newbie, even a Springett Snake is going to take you 4 hours of your time. When you ask people what they would pay for it, they will give you a price that is less than the plastic cover to the snake.
When I did 17th Century reenactment I would have members of the 'officer class' come up to me and say that they needed lace for their personae and would I make it for them. But when you ask them what they think would be a reason price for some lace that will take 100 hours work they won't pay you even a £1 an hour.

One group I'm in runs regular dips (raffles) where you put up something you have made and people buy a number for £2. To raffle off the bracelet below, I would need to allow for the 4 hours the bracelet takes to make along with the fittings and thread. If I take my hourly wage that I earn for my day job, this would mean that the bracelet is worth £105. If I only charge minimum wage it would be work £45. But I'm a better lacemaker than I am a digital marketing manager. What makes it worse is that this group is made up of people who knit, sew and crochet. They would not price this over £25. But the thread along and the fittings cost £13.

So why do so many lacemakers make Xmas decorations? Because these only take a few hours and if you are going to donate something to a charity drive, they are a good choice.
​
Value your work and only give it to those you deem to be laceworthy.