Getting Started

Custom artwork requires your participation – you decide how much. Here’s how it goes:

1. You contact me and tell me what you’re interested in.

2. We discuss the particulars. Depending on where you are and how complicated your project is, we could get together in person at my studio in Arlington, Virginia, or we could talk on the phone or simply e-mail each other.

3. You make some decisions, such as

What kind of object do you want?

When do you need it?

What do you want it to look like (size, shape, style, colors, photos, “feeling evoked,” etc.)?

Do you want to choose or provide the fabrics, go with me to choose them, give me some basic guidelines on what you’d like, or just leave it all to me?

Will you contributing photos, baubles, or other materials?

Do you want me to stitch or otherwise write any words or names on the object?

Do you want me to provide you a sketch of the design for your approval before I start making it?

4. I quote you a price based on the rates I have posted on the Internet, or, for projects that go beyond what I have contemplated on the website, based on the costs and time involved. I want you to be able to afford my artwork, and me to be able to pay my student loans and buy the occasional candy bar.

5. If you agree, we sign a Commission Agreement and you make an initial 50% payment. I accept cash, checks, MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal. You can check out a sample agreement by clicking here.

6. You give me any materials you want me to use, including photos. It is easier for me if you give me photos in electronic form. But if you want to give me hard copies, I will scan them and return them to you.

7. I make the artwork in the agreed-upon timeframe and let you know when it is finished.

8. You pay me the remainder.

9. When I have your payment (for checks, this means when the check clears), you can pick up your art in person or I can send it to you. I use U.S. Priority Mail with delivery confirmation and shipping insurance, unless you tell me otherwise.

10. Remember that you are commissioning art from me, not tailoring or seamstressing. If you need to be in complete control of how this looks, I’m the wrong girl for you. But if you like the other work I’ve shown on my website and want me to make some personalized art for you using my creative interpretation, rendering, and vision, that’s what I’ll do!

In the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your artwork, we go back to the description of the Artwork in the commission agreement. If I screwed up on something we specified, like making a blue pillow instead of a green one, or making something the wrong size or omitting a photo, I’ll fix it as soon as I can for free.

If I followed all your instructions but you just don’t like the final product, you don’t have to take it or pay the balance. You just pay a 15% cancellation fee, I give you back whatever materials I haven’t used, and I keep the art and any payments you have made up until then.

If you have any questions or need some special accommodation, give me a holler. I can’t wait to work with you!