Category: customers

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Policies for Custom Work

I’m currently taking a brief hiatus from custom work, but I will begin accepting *limited* commissions again next month. Before I do, I’d like to revamp my policies in order to ensure that all parties have clear/shared expectations for this process. To that end, I would love input from both my customers and my fellow artisans. Here are a few of the topics that I’m pondering:

Customers:
Have you ever commissioned an artist before?
If so, what are your hopes and expectations for this type of transaction?
Are you willing to sign a contract or agreement?
What policies or practices might help you to feel comfortable with the process?
What policies or practices might ensure that you are happy with the end result?

Artisans:

How detailed are your commissions policies?
Do you use a contract, or just a handshake?
Do you require a deposit? If so, how much — and is it refundable?
Do you spell out specifics, such as how many photos and/or revisions are included?
Do you charge for “extras” such as sketches, custom colors, additional photos, multiple revisions, etc?
Do you make a distinction between “customized” (ie – recreating an existing work in custom colors) and “completely custom” (ie – designed from scratch to the customer’s specifications)?

Are there any topics or policies that you feel are critical to a good commission agreement?

Thanks in advance for any input that you can offer!

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Frost Crown

© Andrea Adams/Beadmask 2013

This crown is a recent commission. The customer was really nice — not only because of how patient and positive she was with me, but because she commissioned this piece as a gift for a friend. She told me that the recipient nearly cried when it was given to her, and that she decided to go someplace very special for New Year’s Eve so that she would have a reason to wear it!

That makes me incredibly happy. I love creating pieces that are “talismanic” for the wearer… pieces that make women feel beautiful, special, powerful and/or remind them of their own growth and/or healing. I like making pretty things, but what I really strive for is to create pieces that people connect with. Pieces that empower the wearer on some level.

© Andrea Adams/ Beadmask 2013

Interestingly enough, the woman called to say “I love the headdresses that you have on your website, and I wondered if you have any more that are not up there yet?”. I told her about this one, which had been sitting unfinished since Jan 2013. I knew what I wanted to do with it, but between the move and a whole lot of custom work, I just haven’t had much time to actualize my own ideas this year. As it turned out, my plan for this piece was right in line with what she’d been hoping for … so I suspect that maybe it was just waiting for her to find me 🙂

Made from hand cut and sculpted leather, accented with a 1960’s vintage aurora borealis glass cabochon, Swarovski crystal, 1930’s vintage German crystal and glass seed beads. The snowflake medallion at the center uses a series of rough quartz points and a single piece of kyanite.

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Random Favorites

I was organizing photos and came across some from Halloween. These are posted in the costume contest album , but I feel like sharing them here too.

I love this one — the headdress looks awesome with her beautiful wavy hair. I love the fall leaves all around, and way that she stands out against them. I was pleased to hear that she loved these pieces.

This one rocks my socks because his expression perfectly matches the personality that I imagine for these little imp masks — sly, mischievous and well, impish. Maybe even contagious. At least, I busted out in a huge grin the first time that I saw this photo.

That’s all. No long monologues today — just wanted to share stuff that made me smile 🙂

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Season’s close…

Wow, what a great Halloween season! I know it sounds weird to call it a “season” since Halloween is really just a “day” — but I prepare for this far in advance, so it feels like a full season to me. 

This year, I got to work with some of the coolest customers ! I also learned a lot. I’ve been doing this for well over a decade now, and there have been quite a few years where Halloween kicked my ass and totally wrecked my hands, too. I love the flurry of sales, but it’s still harsh when I’m bandaging my wrists and alternating heat and ice packs on my hands by the end of October; and of course, my family doesn’t enjoy seeing me babbling incoherently amidst a pile of leather scraps and glitter. They may find it amusing, but they don’t enjoy it.  I guess I can get a little mean…

With that said, I was determined to pace myself this year. For the most part, I think I did a pretty good job — as evidenced by the fact that I am even capable of writing this. There’s still room for improvement,  and I see several things that I can do differently next year. So there was a learning curve, but it wasn’t as steep as years past. I’m extremely happy about that.

My customers were amazingly positive, patient and encouraging, and I cannot express my gratitude enough. The closest I can come is to offer you all a 15% discount off all orders in my Etsy shop from now through Friday, November 4th, 2011. To take advantage of this offer, simply use the code “thankyou” at check out.
 
I’ve posted a few of my awesome customers’ costumes here. If you’d like to see more, please visit my 2011 Virtual Costume Contest on facebook (don’t forget to vote for your favorites by “liking” them!) 

Now that Halloween is over, I think I’ll take a brief respite from mask making so that I can focus on hair accessories and beaded jewelry. My beads have been calling to me for months now, and I’m more than ready to listen. Beadwork is slow and meditative — perfect for winter, and for unwinding after the bustle of Halloween madness.
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Treefrog Beads is live!!

Bead embroidery over hand felted wool by Andrea Adams

I realized this morning that I made this announcement on my Facebook fan page, but I did not cross post the information here: My vintage bead and cameo website is live!! As I mentioned in this post, the vintage cameo site has been in the works for quite some time, and it feels so good to finally have it open to the public (thank you again, Julia!). I still have many more products to add (tons of vintage and antique seed beads, as well as more cabs, Swarovski and old nailheads & sew-on’s) but for the sake of my sanity, those products will be added slowly over time. Even with so much to add, there’s a lot of great stuff there, so go have a look around – you’re sure to find something to tempt your inner magpie! And while you’re there, please check out the customer gallery. I am blessed with some amazingly talented friends and customers, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy their incredible artwork.

Next up? My original site, Beadmask is getting a complete overhaul. Now that the vintage jewelry supplies have their own site, I can turn the Beadmask site into a portfolio of the things that I make. At the moment, it just has a few items and it funnels you to my Etsy shop, but that’s just a stopgap while I work on the new and improved version. Hopefully, I can complete that before the New Year — wish me (good) luck!

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A light at the end of the tunnel

Gypsy Fortune Teller Pin by Mary Tafoya

Now that my mask making mayhem has quieted down a bit, I’ve been able to turn my attention back to completing the vintage bead & cameo site. Building this site has been a labor of love on so many levels. First and foremost, I really hate coding. I’m not a dumb girl by any stretch of the imagination, but HTML, CSS, java and the like just make my eyes glaze over. Add to that a litany of computer woes that has been almost laughable — at least, if you have a very dark sense of humor. And let’s not forget the sheer minutiae of researching, photographing, editing and describing  thousands upon thousands of itsy bitsy beads; plus the agony of having all of that data lost in a computer crash shortly before I was ready to launch. I’ll stop before this rant reaches the point of no return, and simply say that it’s been a long road. A very long, dark road…

Beaded Vessel by Julia S. Pretl

The past three weeks have found me alternately re-counting every bead, cabochon and rhinestone that I carry — or holed up at the keyboard, with my eyes glazed over and a litany of expletives frothing from my lips. During this time I have avoided friends and family, not only because I can’t afford to get distracted, but because I’m just not fit for human consumption when I do this type of work. I expected today to be more of the same, but guess what? I had a paradigm shift! As I worked on the site I was reminded (yet again) of how grateful I am to my talented, beautiful and inspiring friend Julia Pretl, who designed my adorable new bead site. Yes, I am gushing and no, it is not over the top. As painful as this process has been, my agony would have been tenfold if it weren’t for her help. So a million thank you’s, Miz Julia. I appreciate you more than I can say.

Vintage Style Filigree Bracelet from A Mon Seul Desir

Also, I was able to complete the preliminary work of loading and coding all of the product, and move on to something surprisingly fun: building the customer gallery! The images scattered throughout this post reflect the work of a few of my fabulous clients and beady friends (simply click on the captions to visit their sites). As I looked through these images, I was reminded of the creative and inspiring people that I’m able to connect with in the course of my work. It may sound silly, but beads have brought many beautiful friendships into my life. Somewhere in the midst of my CSS induced psychopathy, I realized how very grateful I am to do what I love for a living … yes, even if it means that sometimes, I have to write code. There’s a light at the end of this tunnel. The site is (knock on wood!) almost ready, and I’m feeling particularly grateful for my amazing friends, talented customers, and good fortune.