Christmas rush orders?

[Heidi Maiers]

When I opened up my email this morning, I couldn't help but have a good chuckle. Here was a gal desperate to have a custom portrait made - a full body bronze figure - and she HAD to have it by Christmas. This year! That's in what - 2 weeks?

I am still so amazed how little people realize about the amount of work that goes into making a custom piece of art. To design, model, mold, cast, and ship a piece in bronze is a minimum of 4 months (at any price) as there are many processes (curing time, drying time, cooling time, etc) that can't be rushed without ruining the piece.
Aside from the fact that I now have a 2 year waiting list, I told her it would not be possible this year. Gift certificates would be one possibility for something to be made in the future.

How do you handle Christmas rush orders for paintings when you get them? I'm sure some of you have some interesting stories. Do you

A) politely say "sorry, no can do"
B) bust your hump trying to get it done in time, sacrificing everything, painting frantically day and night
C) say sure, but the charge will be an extra $$$$ for a rush order
D) say "I can only issue you a gift certificate" at this time
E) fall on the floor and laugh so hard you forget to respond

[Terri Ficenec]

Hi Heidi--
I offer the gift certificate route. The image in this link is outdated. . .I think now I would put it in one of those nice little black boxes that someone recently posted. . . But anyhow, it's something that can be wrapped and opened as a gift and provides the recipient with the opportunity to be involved in generating reference material, for instance. (Sometimes when people are trying to surprise someone, the reference side of things can be, well, tricky at best.)

[Cynthia Feustel]

Unfortunately I have to admit to answer "B", painting frantically day and night. Just got home from the studio after painting non stop for 13 hours today, and yesterday and the day before and...... This will be the last, absolutely last time I let this happen. Aughhhhhhhh!!!!! I think I said this last year .

Oh, my stomache is growling. Time for a late night snack and z z z z zzzzz..

[Jeff Fuchs]

You have a two year waiting list and someone expects you do drop everything to do the impossible? Not a chance!

If you accommodated this person, you would create a rushed piece that you might not want to put your name on.

In the past you have posted about people who want you to teach classes, etc. This is a sign that you are in demand, which is great, but being in demand does not mean you have to accept all demands.

Clearly you don't want to throw away a perfectly good commission, but this person needs to understand that you have obligations.

Congratulations on your success (which is deserved), and lets hope we all have such troubles in the future.

[Heidi Maiers]

Thanks for the congrats Jeff! I didn't even consider taking this one on even for a second because it is physically impossible. Even if I were to drop my other projects, quite my job, cancel my vacation, and work on it 24 hours a day, and persuade the foundry to put it first on their list and pay their employees overtime to work on it, then overnight deliver it, it still couldn't be done in 2 weeks.

Really I think the best thing to do for an order that comes this close to christmas is to offer a gift certificate as Terri suggests. If the person really wants a piece of Your work, they will wait and the subject will enjoy being involved in the process.

If they want just any sculpture and don't care about the quality as long as they can have it in 2 weeks, then it is better that the person find someone else who doesn't take as much pride in their work.

Painting is a little different story because it's probably more realistic that a painting can be completed in 2 weeks so I was wondering how many of you have had clients that demanded you drop everything and do theirs as a christmas rush order and how you handled it.