School aquaintance rang up to offer to employ me as a cleaner....

[Yougottalaffdarlin888]

This person - shall we call her Miranda? She's from a rich family and I knew her at school. I work in Ceramics and she's moving in posh dynamic circles, with a large house, no kids, single - etc. We're struggling artists, but we make do.

She rang me up and said, "I need a cleaner" in a brisk tone.
I said, "I can't help you. We do our own cleaning, so I don't know of anyone who employs a cleaner... and... nope sorry"
She got irritated and said "I want YOU to be my cleaner. Tenner an hour"
I thought, "huh?????" I explained that I didn't have time, but thanks alot, etc.
Put the phone down.
And thought - did that just happen???

Haha

Well, I've heard it all now! haha! On another note, how fab to be an artist in Ceramics!

Sadly we get treated as the lowest of the low. Your version is very romantic but in reality we are all a waste of space

If I were filthy rich and could afford it...! I would have hand-painted plates for my wedding party and then make small sets and gift them to friends after the party, instead of pot-pourri bags or key chains! hahha!

Wow… I’d certainly let everyone at school know about the call - and how you feel about it. What a condescending cow.

What a CF, definitely do what Ivykatty44 suggested 🤣🤣

OoOOoooh the FUCKERY!

And ceramics is not a cheap medium to work in either which suggests you certainly make enough to keep doing it and have the space! Yup, I am jealous.

I have had people do this, assume that because I freelance I will do anything - because OH doesn't work (he's my full time carer, that is work) he will do anything...

There are a lot of things I'll do but they're within a couple of fields and certainly way above min. wage.

I used to just be nice and say i was too busy but last time I had had enough and the job was deadly boring and frankly something a monkey would find insulting and the friend of a friend was SO goddamn smug as she told me it would be a whole £11 an hour... so I'd be 'doing REALLY well out of it'....'and you could have cash in hand and wouldn't have to tell the taxman...'

I lost my cool, laughed in her face and told her my hourly rate is (was at the time) £36.50 and I don't run my business that way.

Her face.. I thought something in her head had burst. We don't speak now 😆!

To be honest if she’s a friend I’d call her with the escort line. I’d probably do it anyway. I mean what do you have to lose?

Aaaww Pinkstripeycat.. I like you.. Come and be my cleaner.😜

She's not a friend, she's an acquaintance. The type of girl you meet at school reunions, and they tell you all kinds of things that you don't want to know..... And then they ask you things that you don't want to tell them.....

So your friend of a friend wanted you to cheat the tax man ??
WOW.
I think distance between that person and you is a very good idea.

Ha ha ha.... Very very very funny. And Tempting, but I want people to buy my work, so I have to keep quiet.
I do think Fraanhces, that when people play these mind games, it is because they hate their lives and wish they could make another choices.
The resent those who are creative.
But any creative life can only be supported by doing other work too, and would such people want to do that? I think they'd consider themselves to be "Above" retail work, temp work, factory work etc.

Ha hahahah I'm laughing so much - "Hey Miranda, I've got a friend called Carrie, lives in London.... She needs a bed-warmer ....Yeah, all you do is just lie down in her bed... Oh.. there's a bit of a catch however"

Oooh this is lovely and maybe there is some historical accuracy for the last time there was a popular art boom in the UK ( = the rich parts of it).

It was in the 19th century.

I really like this description - it nails perfectly some conversations I had with people!

I think Pinkstripeycat is living in a Katie Fforde novel, and why not eh???
DomusAurea - I worked in a craft gallery on a Saturday for many years, and business is doing ok really - but - the makers work on a "sale or return" basis and many of them are retired. So people who rely on creative work for 100% of their income, are rare.

I'm fallin' off my chair laughing!!!!

This. I'd dine out on it for years... punchline being she isn't even offering the going rate for a cleaner. Rude and tight.

Oooh! Naughty people galore on here!! 😎

You could have some cards made up offering cleaning with her number on and leave them n the local shop/library, so she gets the same experience?

(this is fantasy really just ignore.)

The thing is that the people who can afford art, are the sort of people who despise artists. And who take pride in despising artists- and indeed - all creatives. It is a delicate-balance because artists need to sell, but also need to "not react" to being humiliated by such people.
There was a film maker acquaintance of mine, working in a furniture shop. She was a woman surrounded by these types in her "family background" world. (ie, she has to be polite to people that she wouldn't normally want to know because they are adult children of the circles in which her parents moved.)

She'd won an award for her work, but she still had to pay the bills, and so she was doing retail work.
One of these "friend of the family/despise artists" types came in to buy a sofa and she served him. His words to her were "So, how high the mighty have fallen" meaning "You won an award and now you're working in a shop"

He had no idea that people are both artists, AND have to pay the bills too.

I pay £15 an hour! So she’s got no chance for a tenner. Blooming rude to do that!

You know what - I think you're onto something there. That's a lovely idea for a wedding. Talk to the Craft Council and see if there is a maker who would do that!

"drop the mic" 😂😂

I wonder if - behind her bump-t-shush-ness (I can't spell) - was maybe a wish for another life? When people put artists down, they have mixed motives. Jealousy is one of them. I feel that way about ballet dancers. Of course I want that beauty but do I want the blood-stained painful feet from pointe work? Nope.