Commissioned Work

If you’re visiting this page, you might be interested in learning about commissioned work or what others such as myself experience with custom orders. I do work for others that are special requests, and try to fulfill the customers needs as best I can, and am ok with some changing of minds and ok with some ‘I just don’t like that, let’s do this instead’, but that is limited. I do small items, not major remodels, so my commissioned work is different than a builders work is.

Sometimes I find that customers do not understand handcrafted work, they expect woodworkers to waste enough material to make them a ‘perfect’ item, and charge like we are Chinese sweatshop labor rates. I have dealt with both the picky and the ‘anything goes’ customer. Seems I don’t want to really deal often with either one. The picky one expects perfection above what is normal, and the anything goes customer expects you to make it faster than the finish will dry… just get it out. I don’t want my name attached to the latter, and the first is one that I lose money on shipping or materials, or both before it’s over.

So I have some rules that I go by. I do work quick, cheap and good, you can choose any two of those. Cheap and quick won’t be good, cheap and good won’t be quick, quick and good won’t be cheap.

I also have a rule that I am going to have some “makers marks” in my work, you can see flaws here and there because it’s hand made and I’m not perfect. I will accept flaws in materials or workmanship if it’s something that I could have controlled, but some things are there because it’s handcrafted work, and no two of my projects are exactly alike.

If you’re someone that makes things and would like to add to the discussion here, I’m open to your comments, however let’s do keep it on subject. I’d also like to hear your stories of difficult customers that you finally were able to please if you have stories there. What does it take to make people happy these days? How do you deal with someone that you just can’t seem to please? Do you reject work on a ‘gut’ feeling that you’re going down the rabbit hole simply from conversations?