What Is It Worth?

Abstract: An installation titled What is it Worth? was created as part of the 2015 Made in WNC exhibition for the Center for Craft. The installation examined the process, product, and value of textile manufacturing. Its creators produced thirty blankets and documented, choreographed, and filmed each stage of production—design, weaving, cutting, sewing, finishing, and fulfillment. Viewers were asked to define the meaning of this project and assess its relative worth. To illuminate the costs and labor involved in producing these blankets, the audience was asked to evaluate the data, respond to a survey, and “crowd price” the blankets. The organizers collected 142 responses over a four-week installation. Averaged results included business managers pricing the blanket at $344.76, and consumers on average willing to pay $283.80. The author feels the real worth of empowered employees creating meaningful products is the effects they have on a community’s culture.