A week later, I was a vendor at the Fremont Fair . When we were unloading our booth into the house afterward, I took a pretty nasty fall. I was exhausted and my arms were full, so I didn’t notice the tangle of cords at my feet. Needless to say, I went flying onto the concrete, banging up my right (dominant) arm and shoulder pretty bad in the process. Thankfully, I did not do any permanent damage, but it has definitely slowed me down. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor twice a week since then, and diligently icing and using an arnica rub. These things have helped tremendously, and I’m healing relatively quickly, but I certainly have to pace myself. My shoulder is quick to let me know when I overdo it.
With that being said, it’s been challenging to complete custom work as quickly as usual. I’m very grateful to my customers for being so understanding about this. I appreciate it more than I can say, and I’m doing my best to keep delays to a minimum. Everyone who has placed custom orders since my injury has been forewarned that my production time is a bit slower than usual, and I’ve “padded” my work time a bit to allow for this. Hopefully I’ll return to full speed very soon, but I’m being very gentle with my arm until it is completely healed.
As of today, I am booked through mid August. While I am still happy to accept new commissions, please understand that I will not be able to begin your project for about a month. From there, completion time depends on the complexity of your order. Also, commissions are completed in the order received. The clock starts once we have agreed on a design and you have placed your deposit — NOT from the date of our first contact. What I’m saying here (nicely, I hope) is that I cannot reserve a spot on my calendar until you’ve placed a deposit, and it’s not fair to my other customers for me to “bump” you ahead to the front of the line.
Hopefully, that doesn’t scare anyone off. I just want to be very clear about my policies and timelines, so that nobody gets their feelers hurt. You can view my policies regarding custom work here on my website (just click on the “commissions” link on the left hand menu) and orders placed now will be started in mid-August. After that, my world starts to get pretty crazy with Halloween, and my schedule fills up FAST. If you have an idea in mind, now is probably a good time to discuss it with me.
Sorry to hear of your tumble. Sounds like you are doing the right things to heal. We all need to take the time for self care. No surprise that your artwork is in such demand – you do such amazing work.
Thanks for the compliment Ann!
And I am definitely looking at this spill as a (strong!) reminder for the need for self care. Was laughing with hubby last night about the fact that this is forcing me to “only” work about 35 hrs a week, rather than my usual 50+. Maybe the universe is encouraging to find a bit more balance (no pun intended).
As to the demand for my work, it ebbs & flows. Festival season is here, so it’s higher than usual. In January there are tumbleweeds blowing through my studio 😉