Commissions
The perfect way to capture a love for the written word, custom bookshelf illustrations can either be of the actual copies of books that you own, where I will capture the wear and tear, creases and cracks, that your repeated readings have left marked on the spine, or of vintage copies of the titles, usually first editions if an image is available, or an edition of your choice.
Each piece is entirely unique, illustrated using either fountain pen and ink on 100% cotton watercolour paper, or using a combination of watercolour and coloured pencil. Your piece will last for years to come.
Looking for something part customised? Check out our custom book spine and quote prints to choose from spines we've already illustrated.
The Process
The commission process is fairly simple, at point of ordering, select how many book spines you would like me to illustrate (if you wish to include more than 6 spines, please send me a message via my contact page) choose the size you would like, and in the book spines box tell me which books you'd like me to illustrate. Select from the dropdown to let me know whether you wish the piece to be of actual titles you own, or of spine images that I will source. If you're providing your own photo, upload it before adding to cart.
If you wish for this piece to be a gift, and need time to be able to source a photo of someone else's bookshelf, please select that you will supply a photo, and in the note box at checkout specify that you will send a photo at a later date.
Once you've placed your order, I will send you an email to confirm whether the image is of sufficient quality for me to work from, or to start the sourcing process for the vintage spines.
Once your spines have been defined, I will produce a sketch indicating spacing and composition, at this stage if you wish to rearrange the composition you can do so up to two times without incurring a penalty fee.
Once this proof is approved, the painting or inking begins, and no changes can be made.
Timescales
Please note commissioned pieces are illustrated to order, and the lead time varies depending on the scale of the work. Delays in replying to emails at the proofing stage will result in delays in the production of the final piece, so please make sure to check your emails regularly.
| Production time of a black and white piece: | |
| Image provided at checkout | 6 weeks |
| Image provided later | Delay period for photos +6 weeks |
| Spines sourced, generic vintage editions or first editions | 8 weeks |
| Spines sourced, specific editions required | Up to 6 months |
| Delay at proofing stage | Add delay length + 1 week. |
| Production time of a watercolour piece: | |
| Image provided at checkout | 10 weeks |
| Image provided later | Delay period for photos +10 weeks |
| Spines sourced, generic vintage editions or first editions | 12 weeks |
| Spines sourced, specific editions required | Up to 6 months |
| Delay at proofing stage | Add delay length + 1 week |
Shipping
Once a piece is complete, it will be carefully packaged and posted to you by a tracked and signed service only. Please note all pieces are supplied unmounted and unframed. If you would prefer a mount, please contact us for a custom quote.
Each piece will include a certificate of authenticity
Cancellations
Commissions are a significant undertaking, and even before a pencil hits the page the amount of administration that is required is extensive. For this reason the standard cancellation and refund policy does not apply.
If you wish to cancel your order within 48 hours, you are free to do so, just send us an email. Once you have received and replied to the first email from me about your commission and we begin the process, commissions are no longer refundable, as at this stage I have begun to commit valuable time into preparing for your piece, communicating with you about the process and potentially purchasing supplies.
If you are not certain when you wish for your commission to be completed, or you think you might be waiting on images for a long time, I suggest purchasing a book spine commission gift card as these have a 2 year expiry, can be sent to the recipient for them to choose the books themselves, and can be used at the right time for them.