Why I Don’t Participate in Bidding Wars — and What That Says About Art
Recently, a potential client called and asked me to provide a bid, specifically to compete against another preservation artist. I want to share why I don’t do that.
Not out of judgment.
Not out of ego.
But out of respect — for my work, for other artists, and for the people who trust us with something deeply personal.
Handmade art isn’t a commodity
Bidding makes sense in some industries.
- Construction.
- Manufacturing.
- Bulk services.
But handmade, highly specialized artwork, especially work rooted in sentiment and memory doesn’t function that way.
When you ask artists to undercut one another, the comparison becomes about price alone, rather than:
- Time
- Skill
- Experience
- Process
- Emotional labor
- Creative judgment
Those things are not interchangeable. Two artists can work with the same flowers and produce entirely different outcomes because art is not a formula.
What pricing really reflects
When an artist prices their work, they are accounting for far more than materials.
They are pricing:
- Years of practice
- Trial-and-error failures no one sees
- Physical labor
- Mental focus
- The risk of working with irreplaceable items
- The responsibility of preserving someone’s once-in-a-lifetime flowers
A lower price doesn’t mean “the same work, but cheaper.” It often means a different process, different boundaries, or different outcomes and that’s not inherently wrong. It’s just different.
Respecting artists means respecting differences
I deeply respect other preservation artists, even those whose work, style, or pricing differs from mine.
Each of us has:
- A unique approach
- A unique workflow
- A unique definition of quality
Asking one artist to “beat” another’s price unintentionally frames creative work as something to be negotiated downward — rather than chosen intentionally. That framing doesn’t serve clients or artists well.
How I encourage clients to choose instead
Rather than bidding, I encourage clients to ask themselves:
- Whose work resonates with me visually?
- Whose communication style makes me feel at ease?
- Whose process feels aligned with what I value?
- Who do I trust with something I cannot replace?
Those answers matter far more than numbers on a page.
What I am always happy to do
I’m always happy to:
- Explain my process transparently
- Clarify what’s included (and why)
- Discuss timelines and expectations
- Help someone decide whether I’m the right fit — even if the answer is no.
Choosing an artist should feel grounded and confident, not pressured or transactional.
A gentle reminder
Preserving flowers is an act of care.
- Care for the materials.
- Care for the story behind them.
- Care for the person who carried them down the aisle or held them through loss.
When we treat that work as something to bid on, we lose sight of what makes it meaningful in the first place.
Final thought
The right artist isn’t the one who comes in lowest.It’s the one whose work feels like it honors what you’re trying to remember. And when you find that, there’s no competition at all. If you are searching for floral preservation near you and value complex, detail-driven bridal bouquet preservation, choose an artist whose process is built on craftsmanship, not competition.