Producing quality handmade glass takes a lot of time and care: designing, experimenting, measure, cut, wash, tack glue, moving the glass in and out of the kiln.
I must keep the kiln scrupulously clean so that there are no unwanted particles to fall on the glass.
Glass isn't all the same. It comes in many types with differing properties. Different glass can't be mixed. The glass I use is a special product imported from USA. It is fused and slumped in very high temperatures and this results in a hard glass.
The fusing and slumping is done in a purpose-built, electric kiln at very high temperatures. Slumped pieces are fired twice; first to fuse all the pieces together and secondly to slump them into a mold. Each firing lasts about 20 hours. Electricity prices keep going up!
Like any manufacturing process, hand made work involving kilns can sometimes have flaws. Some pieces are unsellable and must be scrapped.
So I need to cover costs of all my materials and equipment.
Then there are my 'overheads': the usuals like electricity(and lots of it!) and all the usuals like transport, phone, web site, etc etc.
And, in the end I want to make some money for my efforts. And so do the shops who promote, display and sell it for me!