Working in the Gift
My ‘pricing model’ is simple: I will give my paintings to you as a gift, and I trust you to gift me back what you think is a fair value for my work. The idea is a very ancient concept called a Gift Economy. It is an idea based on mutual trust and gratitude. It’s something I think we need a little more of in our world, and I am willing to bet my time and energy on it.
Trust people — they’ll surprise you.
– Ron Shaich, co-CEO and founder, Panera Bread (after opening several locations featuring gift economy pricing)
I understand this concept might seem a little different, but the model works very well. It is the basis behind open source software, Wikipedia, Creative Commons, non-commercial scientific research, and file sharing. Around the world, there are restaurants that run exclusively in a Gift Economy, including several Panera Bread stores here in the United States. In chapter 21 of his book “Sacred Economics.” Charles Eisenstein describes health care clinics in California and Oregon, dozens of restaurants from coast to coast, music groups including Radiohead, and even a law firm in Chicago, all successfully operating in a Gift Economy.
The gift economy represents a shift from consumption to contribution, transaction to trust, scarcity to abundance and isolation to community.
– Charles Eisenstein
Trust people — they’ll surprise you.
– Ron Shaich, co-CEO and founder, Panera Bread (after opening several locations featuring gift economy pricing)
I understand this concept might seem a little different, but the model works very well. It is the basis behind open source software, Wikipedia, Creative Commons, non-commercial scientific research, and file sharing. Around the world, there are restaurants that run exclusively in a Gift Economy, including several Panera Bread stores here in the United States. In chapter 21 of his book “Sacred Economics.” Charles Eisenstein describes health care clinics in California and Oregon, dozens of restaurants from coast to coast, music groups including Radiohead, and even a law firm in Chicago, all successfully operating in a Gift Economy.
The gift economy represents a shift from consumption to contribution, transaction to trust, scarcity to abundance and isolation to community.
– Charles Eisenstein
How it Works
If we mutually decide to work together, it is because you have faith that I have created or will create a good product for you, and I have faith that you will give me whatever amount, or none at all, that reflects your gratitude for my work; perhaps you will choose to pay me with a gift of money, or trade, or referrals, or going off and doing good in the world, or maybe with some or all of that. The point is, at the end of the process, we will both feel whole, we will both feel like we were treated fairly. Ultimately, if we mutually decide to work together, there is no contract or formal agreement: I will give you the finished product as a gift with no strings attached, it is up to you to do what seems fair to you.
This is how the process goes if you would like to receive an existing original or print:
This is how the process goes if you would like to receive an existing original or print:
- Complete the short contact form here.
- In the comments section let me know which painting you would like, original or print, and which size if print.
- We will communicate to decipher the best form of delivery.
- Depending on how well you like the finished project, you send whatever gift seems fair to you.
- Complete the short contact form here.
- We will find a convent time and place to talk so I can get a clear idea of your needs.
- I will send a detailed proposal showing timelines and the average production costs.
- If you accept the proposal, you are welcome to send a good-faith deposit that seems fair to you.
- I‘ll get to work and send regular progress updates.
- We will communicate to decipher the best form of delivery.
- Depending on how well you like the finished project, and how well you liked working with me, you send whatever final gift seems fair to you.
One More Thing
Since I am currently using some of these pieces for my thesis, I will need to hold on to them until my thesis art show is completed. This art show will probably occur spring semester of 2016. If you wish to receive the original of one of these pieces you can claim it and receive it after the thesis art show. After showing interest in one of these pieces I will send you a contract form so that I can keep track of which painting belongs to whom. If you would like, at that point you can either send a good-faith deposit or hold off until you receive the product and send whatever final gift seems fair to you then. Thank you for being flexible and supporting me during my graduate program.
Learn More about the Gift Economy
The Gift Economy: A Model for Collaborative Community
by Adam Sher “To Build Community, an Economy of Gifts” by Charles Eisenstein Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein Homo Donans by Genevieve Vaughn Women and the Gift Economy edited by Genevieve Vaughn The Gift by Lewis Hyde |
“Gift Economy”
by Lee Schneider Gifting It: A Burning Embrace of Gift Economy directed by Renea Roberts The ‘gift economy’ offers a rule-breaking way to relate to others (+video) by Paul Van Slambrouk Charles Eisenstein personal website Ian MacKenzie personal website |
Some things are too good to sell. We can only give them away.
– Charles Eisenstein
(I would like to give credit to Adrian Hoppel Websites for the excellent articulation of this form of pricing http://adrianhoppel.com/gift-economy/)