Ordering a piece of bespoke furniture can be a serious financial investment so I believe that a proper, professional approach to the commissioning process should be taken.  The following sequence of steps is a rough guide to this process.  In reality, each commission is unique, so the approach taken is tailored to suit each one.

 

Initial contact

The product of the exploration stage is a design proposal to the customer.  This may be done face to face but will more typically be by email followed up by an explanatory phone call or personal visit.  In its simplest form it may be simply a detailed verbal description but more typically will be in the form of a hand drawn sketch or series of sketches of the proposed piece.  In some cases an initial detailed draft design may be presented to the customer in 3D computer design format - a kitchen, for example.

My first contact with the customer is generally by telephone or email.  In fewer cases it is in person, such as at a gallery, exhibition or at my workshop. 

 

Rough design brief

The customer will to a greater or lesser degree have an idea of what they are looking for and will describe this during the initial contact stage.  The degree of detail varies considerably and may range from a very broad brief such as "I want a small coffee table" through more precise briefs such as "I want an art deco style coffee table made in oak to the following dimensions" to very detailed briefs such as "I want a coffee table made to this precise design".

 

Exploration

This is a crucial stage, involving my listening to the customer to establish what they are looking for and what their expectations of budget and delivery date are.  A rough idea of budget is key as it will influence the design and method of construction.

Communication at this stage may be in several stages and involve face to face meetings, emails or telephone calls, or all three.  I may need to collect a great deal of information at this stage.

For example:

What are the physical dimensions of the piece?

What timber may be used in its construction?

Should the timber be clean and uniform or highly figured and full of character?

What will the use-pattern of the piece be?

If its purpose is storage, what will be stored in it and what are the dimensions of these things?

What type of cosmetic finish may be suitable?

What overall design or "look" is desired?

What should the piece not look like or what design details should it definitely not incorporate?

Is there a delivery date preferred or absolute deadline?

I may visit the home of the customer to establish the context into which the furniture will fit, dimension restrictions for getting the furniture to the room, dimensions for fitting, design and décor likes and dislikes of the customer or matching to existing furniture or fittings, for example.

It may be useful at this stage for me to present to the customer finished samples of different species of wood to assist in the choice of construction material(s) and to show them photographs of previous work to illustrate ideas on design and specific details.

 

Design proposal

The product of the exploration stage is a design proposal to the customer.  This may be done face to face but will more typically be by email followed up by an explanatory phone call or personal visit.  In its simplest form it may be simply a detailed verbal description but more typically will be in the form of a hand drawn sketch or series of sketches of the proposed piece.  In some cases an initial detailed draft design may be presented to the customer in 3D computer design format - a kitchen, for example.

 

 

Final design and budget agreement

The agreement of the design may take several stages in itself.  A typical series of events for a larger piece, after the exploration stage, is as follows.

• I email a design proposal hand-drawn sketch to the customer along with a price and an indication of delivery date and payment schedule.
• Customer replies with an agreement to the overall design but a few detail questions and requests for relating minor amendments to the design. 
• I send an amended design sketch and a modified price.
• Customer agrees by email with the final draft design (subject to seeing a detailed final design drawing), the cost and the delivery date.
• I produce final computer-generated design drawing.
• Customer gives final go-ahead. 

 

 

 

Prior to work starting, I will communicate in writing (usually by email) the agreement to the design, pricing terms and payment schedule. 

 

Payment schedule

A deposit is necessary prior to commencement of the work to allow materials to be purchased for the piece and to provide security in the event that the commission is cancelled after work has started.  The level of deposit is typically 35% to 50% of the overall price.  The balance will normally be payable on delivery.  Where jobs are of long duration or involve delivery of a series of pieces, settlement of the balance may be broken into several payments over the course of the project.