In The Reeds

Neal Collier

Handmade baskets for sale in Pennsylvania.

Neal C.'s Planet Money indicator is $35. He writes:

I am an electrical engineer who had shifted careers back in March of 2008. I left a Controls Systems Integration Company to go to heavy industrial (mechanical and electrical). The company went from ~70 people when I took the job (March 2008) to ~20 when I went to "part-time" (February 2009). Part-time was being laid off really, but that did not happen officially until April 1st.

What to do? Contacted head-hunters, co-workers, etc., and ALL said something along the lines of "Great resume! Love to have you! Just need a month or two to get that big contract to put you on."

I did chores, made meals, ferried kids, kept busy, and of course made calls, sent emails, and applied for every job for which I was qualified. We even bought that puppy we wanted. Hey, I was home, right? Staying at home and house-training Luna was FUN! I also started making baskets. Yep. Splint woven baskets. The kind that are high-end. Making them has been extremely therapeutic. I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs some Zen 'In the Moment' meditation. The materials are cheap and they make great gifts.

A few friends saw them and said "You should sell these!" "Sell them at a Craft Fair and make a few extra bucks!" The local church was having their Spring Craft Fair with a $5 Turkey Dinner, so it was perfect! I went into overdrive and made quite a few.

$20 to get a table and three weeks later I was there bright and early and scored a prime location under the shade of some trees. I had custom order sheets, and sign-up sheets for a basketry class I could teach if there was enough interest. Problem was that compared to other years there were significantly less tables (~12 total versus 25 plus in years past)! In addition very few people showed up to browse. Weather was not a problem because it was a beautiful day, sunny, not hot with a light breeze. Where were the people? Where were the artisans? It occurred to me that discretionary money for pottery, basketry, jewelry, and those kinds of purchases must be hard hit during a recession.

The $35 Plant Money Indicator? Well after four hours listening to oldies on my iPod with a small speaker system (for the older crowd) I had not made a single sale. I was putting away and closing up shop when the parents of one of my daughter's friends stopped by. The mom knew I was out of work. She also knew something about baskets and proceeded to make some very nice (and very loud) comments about them. "How much for this one?" At this point I was quite tired and despondent. "Twenty bucks." Frankly I was ready to just giver her one because she was being so nice. "I know the value of these and I will give you not a penny less than $30 for it!" She then told her husband to write me a check. She was so very complimentary that two ladies overheard her and stopped by to look. One of them bought one of the other (marked down) baskets for $25 on the spot.

$30 from daughter's friend's Mom + $25 from the other lady - $20 for the table = $35.