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bearlyart May 29, 2006

Hi all, I have not been around much as I've been running in 50 directions at once lately 

One of my many current projects is redesigning our web site.  Adobe was very obliging and let us upgrade an old educational version of Photoshop to the brand new full CS2 for a comparatively smaller fee.  I've been neck deep in graphics!  It's going well, but I've got some questions that I hope you lovely folks can help out with!  I want to include information on our site redesign about special orders and commission work, but we really haven't done much with them before and certainly never had a set policy on them. 

So, how about an informal poll...
- Do you take special order bears?
- Do you require a deposit?  What percentage of the cost do you require?  Is it refundable?

I'd like to resolve our special order policy soon, as we're running headlong towards 5,000 unique visitors on our site, and were wondering if there was something we could do to celebrate it.  I loved seeing Louise's anniversary pandas, and we were wondering if we could do a special "5000 visitors" bear in some manner.   Hmmmmmm.

On a related note, my mother has been fielding questions at the last few shows we've attended about doing fur bear commission work, but I'm thinking this may need some extra information because of the nature of fur garments.  For those of you who have done this before... shouldn't they send you the coat FIRST, so you can make sure it is usable?  I also presume you'll need to look at it yourself to confirm how many bears / and of what sizes will be possible?  So would they send you the coat with a deposit, that you would return if the coat were unusable?  Wouldn't they be responsible for shipping costs both ways as well?

If you use someone else's fur (zero cost to you), would you charge a little bit less than if you were providing all the fur?  And I'm also thinking that if we happened to have a nice complementary fur to theirs, we could offer them a two-tone panda option.  Is there anything else important I'm missing with these thoughts?  I would love to have a set-in-stone policy for these on our new site, and also a printout that we could take to shows with us that would answer just about every question people might have.

My eternal gratitude for your help    
Kelly

jenny May 29, 2006

Hi Kelly...I don't do specific commissions these days. I do try to adjust my schedule to work in certain bear types for those who ask. I don't therefore ask for deposits.

Would I knock money off for them having their own fabric?....Probably not because while it might be less cost to you financially it's more work more than likely as you'd be working with an unknown quantity and may have unpredictable problems crop up.

As far as the issues about seeing the coat first and postage....I'd think you could include it in the cost of making the bear if you go ahead....but not if you don't.  It sounds complicated and a potential mine-field...especially if it's an heirloom.

Jane Perala May 29, 2006

I have stopped taking commissions for a while, but will probably get back to them in the near future.  However, yes, I usually ask for a deposit - approx 50%, and it is non-refundable, but can be put towards a different bear.  I contact the customer just before I am going to start, to make sure they still want what they ordered.  When the bear is finished, I send a couple of digital photos, and the amount of the balance owing including shipping.  I also tell them that they are not obligated to purchase this bear, and if they wish me to do something different that is OK.  I don't usually take commissions for a bear that I wouldn't normally make, or am uncomfortable making, ie: green and orange panda for instance.  I want to make sure it is within the realm of my regular style of bears, and I will be able to sell it if the customer doesn't like it.

I can't help you with the real fur issue, as I don't make real fur bears - sorry.

Jane P.

Judi May 29, 2006

Kelly, I think you need to do what ever you are comforatable with.  I have done real fur bears for many years .  Real fur is much more invloved than working with mohair.  It also takes up much more time....cutting out the lining...going back and forth many many times to place the lining just right, as you know real fur is inconsistent in direction of grain as well as thickness throughout.  It is much more messy to work with and takes much longer to trim the face.  I wouldn't charge any less.

Seeing the coat first would help.  Photos are a start but that would not show what the condition of the leather backing is.

I do agree that the customer is 100% responsible for the shipping both ways.  I have to say that most of the furs I have recieved for custom orders have been fine..except for one.  Someone recently sent me a fur muff that was so full of dust and was crumbling that I sealed it back into the box rigth away.  Yuckie.  I cannot use it.

Some people think artists are miracle workers , but if you do not have good quality materials to start with then the end result will reflect this.

Custom orders...ooooo, I don't like them.  They get in the way of my creativity...but I know it is so hard to say 'no'.

I think it is a very good idea, Kelly, to have everythig spelled out first.  Good luck!