08/29/2024
I'm trying something new for my Pet Portraits! Please read on if you've been interested in getting artwork from me recently 😅
To make a long story short, I've had my new orders closed for almost a year now because I am SO slow with completing art that I was still working through a small backlog of 3 paintings since last December and I just couldn't handle orders continuously coming in anymore. I got scared of the time it was taking me to work on art and had to shut down orders for a while.
In that time, I've gotten LOTS of people interested in ordering when I open, lots of messages and emails that, over the months, I've lost track of. People asking when I'll open, or if I'd be interested in doing something for them when I'm ready, etc. Which is great! But it just made me more nervous that there would be a FLOOD of orders when I opened for new work, and I'd be in the same position I was in last year and in 2019 (something I never want to repeat again haha). So I've still been slowly working on my backlog, but also postponing opening for new orders because I was terrified I'd be flooded again, so I haven't been sure what to do.
After talking with some friends, I'm trying out a waitlist deal! A way for people to get on a physical, tangible, public waitlist (so they can see that I do know they're waiting), but without them paying upfront and me feeling extremely guilty for holding on to their money for months and months.
Right now the best option I can think of is a Google Form for people to fill out that asks a few simple questions about what type of portrait they're interested in, and they can submit it to me to show interest in being on the waitlist.
Then, I can grab the information from the form and input into Trello, which is a public workspace organizer I've used before, where people can check and see their names on the waitlist, and where I can pull names from when I'm ready to start a new piece.
So I'm trying this out! It's been a long time since I've opened for orders and I'm not quite ready -YET-, but I am starting to take names on the waitlist :) The waitlist will allow me to see who is interested in a commission, but not feel pressured to complete a certain one asap. From the waitlist, I can choose what project to work on next based on my current mental state, inspiration, available time, etc :)
SO, if you are at all interested in getting an artwork commission from me at some point in the future, please feel free to fill out the Form below to be added to my waitlist (also linked below)!
Form: https://forms.gle/6zrB5y3Zx7eUmHV59
Public Waitlist: https://trello.com/b/efxbvxWL/sherwood-pet-portraits-waitlist
