Ok, listen. I have a hack on how to get a discount from your creator friends. Works every time.
Ok, so first, realize that your creator friend is amazing and talented and deserves at least a living wage. Imagine they're going to ask you to pay them $20 and hour. (they probably won't because they probably don't think they deserve this, but you know better and it's part of the hack).
Now imagine you made the thing they make and how long that would take. I bet you can ask them how long things take without them suspecting you're using this hack, but if you can't just estimate 20 hours minimum for simple, small crafts and go up from there, ok?
Next, do a very quick Google search about cost of materials. Add that on to the total.
Then! And this is important, round up what total you have by 20% (for those of us who struggle in math, simply estimate $2 for every $10 you're paying) because your friend deserves a tip! And if they can't expect a tip from their dear friend who is close enough to ask for a discount, who can they expect a tip from??
Amazing. Now, the part that truly makes this work, ask for the price of the thing you want to buy from your friend. It's going to be so much less than what you've been expecting! (and if it isn't, maybe recalculate). What a discount!
