How a commission works · What We Will Not Do
The Limits, Written Down
Five things we decline, and the reasons. It is a short list and it is better read before you commission than discovered after.
Four or five good photographs is enough to tell you whether this will work, what it costs, and how long it takes.
.999
Fine silver, hand-poured, made in the USA
1 of 1
The design is retired after casting. Yours is the only one
2004
Casting solid metal since
Approved
You see and sign off the design before any metal is poured
Saying no is part of the job
A permanent, irreversible object made from an inadequate brief is a bad outcome that nobody can fix afterwards. So there are commissions we turn down, and we would rather explain the list openly than handle each one as an awkward conversation.
The list exists because a permanent object made from an inadequate brief cannot be corrected. Every item on it is something we could technically do and something that would produce an object somebody would eventually be disappointed by, which is a worse outcome than declining the work.
The five
- We will not work from photographs that cannot support a likeness.
- We do not incorporate ashes, fur, or any other material.
- We cannot reproduce color. Silver is one color.
- We do not copy another artist's design or a licensed character.
- We will not cast without your written approval of the design.
The one that disappoints most
Color. A heavily marked dog, a color-morph reptile or a brightly colored parrot loses exactly the thing that made it visually distinctive, and there is no finishing technique that recovers it in a single-color metal.
We raise it early rather than late, because it is far better absorbed as a limitation before commissioning than discovered when the box is opened.
How we handle it
- 01Say no early, before anybody has paid.
- 02Explain the reason rather than just declining.
- 03Suggest an alternative approach where one exists.
- 04Refund at any point before casting begins.
The one that disappoints people most is color. A heavily marked dog, a color-morph reptile or a bright parrot loses the thing that made it visually distinctive, and it is much better to know that now than to open the box and feel it.
Said plainly
Where we stop
Once metal is poured, it is done. That is why approval is written and why we will not proceed without it, however keen anybody is to get on with it.
FAQ
Common questions
- Will you ever turn a commission down?
- Yes, before anybody pays, with the reason explained.
- Can you match colors?
- No. Silver is one color and markings can only be suggested in surface finish.
- Can you copy a design we saw?
- Not another artist's work or a licensed character.
- Can we cancel?
- At any point before casting begins.
The animals
Dogs
The most commissioned subject, and the one where people notice the smallest thing being wrong. A dog's owner knows that face better than they know most human ones.
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Cats
Cats are recognized by how they sit, curl and hold themselves far more than by facial detail — which changes what we need from your photographs.
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Horses
Horse people can read conformation at a glance, which makes this the least forgiving animal we cast and the one where accuracy matters most.
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Birds
Parrots, raptors and companion birds. Feathers look like fine detail and behave in cast metal like a trap.
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Small Pets
Rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, rats and hamsters. Frequently a child's first animal, and frequently the one that matters most in a household.
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Reptiles & Exotics
Snakes, lizards, tortoises and the rest. The one group where cast silver does something no other material does as well.
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More how a commission works
The Photographs
The photographs are the whole brief. Everything about the finished piece comes from what we can see in them.
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Size & Metal
The weight of metal is the largest single input, so size and cost are almost the same decision.
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Turnaround
Four stages, and the one that varies most is the one you control.
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Next step
Run it both ways before you decide.
No credit check and no obligation. Tell us what you hold and what the money is for, and if selling is the better answer for your situation you will be told that first.