Get What You Want

So, we've been really busy. Not overwhelmed or anything, but I've had work to do all day, every day, for a few weeks without any time off. Sean's gotten off easy, since most of the work has been for custom design orders, which means that I do the drawing and communicate with customers through email a lot.

I love doing the custom work, because it means I'm creating something special for someone, which is exactly what they want. It's magical to work together with someone and make their vision a reality. It also keeps me from getting bored of seeing the same designs over and over. The only problem with this is that it's so time-consuming that I'm not getting a lot of time off every day, and I'm getting behind with normal operating activities.

Currently, you only have to pay $5 for each custom design you'd like me to design and etch for you. This policy was developed before I had a lot of custom designs to do, and I was just happy to have something to occupy me when there was a request. Now, the fee isn't even enough to cover the amount of time I spend emailing back and forth, not to mention the materials cost for printing a new stencil for each piece. Some orders can take 3 hrs (or more) of sketching, inking, and vectorizing, plus the time to actually mask and sandblast, just for a single pint glass.

I'm trying to figure out a way to keep prices reasonable, but still compensate me for the extra time that's being taken up with all these projects. I could charge an hourly fee for designing, but that may be too high for some people to pay. I could double the artwork fee (to $10), and offer a discount if you provide me with finished artwork to use, which would help a lot. I could require a minimum order for custom pieces (like 4 items), which would make the time and effort really worth it for me without raising the fee.

I really want everyone to be able to get exactly the design they want, but I won't be able to keep this up when business picks up in the summer. I'd love to hear what you think!