Hey guys! This is a pretty long post, but it contains some important information about our upcoming commission opening, how we will be handling slots, and how we will be handling slots in the future. If you are interested in getting a slot or just curious, we ask that you please read the following information carefully!

First and foremost, we are going to be opening early! We had some customers drop slots, and to make up for the loss of revenue we will be opening a bit sooner than expected. As we’ve been in the business longer, we’ve noticed that, the longer people’s wait times in the queue are, the less likely they are to be able to pay when their payment is due. We always thought longer wait times would allow people to save, but it seems like people have a harder time saving the longer they have to wait!

Because of this, we want to change the way we take commissions. We hope to open for fewer slots at a time, probably three to five, and open four times a year. That way we will not only have shorter queue times, but it will help our work remain consistent from the time something is commissioned to the time it’s made – artists are constantly improving! It will also ensure that those who approach us for commissions are able to afford them, and won’t be financially stretched when their payments are due.

Unfortunately we won’t be able to enact these short wait times for this commission opening – our earliest available completion slots are starting next summer! But this is something we want to implement in the future. For now, we will stick to taking a small number of slots per opening until we can whittle away at our (currently) long queue and reach an equilibrium with the shorter wait times we want.

So, how this affects you for this opening: we will be taking five large project slots between now and October 6th. Plushies, bandannas, single item orders (paws, tails, etc) and other small accessories do not count as large orders and will remain open indefinitely.
• Slots will be accepted in brackets. The first bracket is for Patrons only, and accepts applications from September 13th – 19th with applicants being contacted with their slot status on the 20th. If any slots remain after the Patreon bracket, the second bracket (open to the public) will run from September 21st-28th with the contact day on the 29th. If any slots still remain, the third and final bracket will run from September 30th-October 6th with the contact day on the 7th. If slots still remain after all three brackets have run, our slots will remain open indefinitely until all five are filled.
• Patreon subscribers get first dibs! If you are subscribed to our Patreon at the $30+ level you get early access to our commission application form. Patrons are pretty much first come first served, unlike our other applicants who will be chosen based on our interest level.
• Our general / public applicants (non-Patrons) will be chosen based on our personal interest in the project, the commissioner’s reputation (if any,) response times, and payment availability.
• You will have until your bracket’s contact day to make your downpayment. If your slot is chosen, we will contact you on your bracket’s contact day to inform you of the selection. In order to claim your slot, you must make your 30% downpayment within 24 hours of being notified or your slot will be forfeit. Please be ready to make at least your downpayment if you contact us about a commission!
• You will be contacted during your bracket’s contact day whether you got a slot or not, to help assure you that we saw your submission and it didn’t get lost or eaten. That being said, if it’s the day after your bracket’s contact day and you still haven’t heard back regarding the application you submitted, please feel free to reach out to us!
• If your slot is not chosen but we like the idea a lot, you will have the opportunity to be put on a waitlist. If a chosen applicant is unresponsive, unable to pay, or backs out, we will contact anyone on the waitlist to see if they would like to claim the slot instead. If all slots are filled with no issues, anyone waitlisted will be informed of this so they aren’t left hanging. Being waitlisted does not guarantee a future slot, it just gives you a second chance.
• We VERY HIGHLY recommend getting a quote ahead of time. Now would be an excellent time to get a quote! Our commission form contains enough information for us to be able to give you a quote, and if you submit an application by the day your bracket ends it will still be considered; that being said, we would hate for you to miss an opportunity because you had to waste time getting a quote. Getting a quote ahead of time will let you know how much your slot will be and help you by going in with more information; it will also familiarize us with your project and allow us to make a decision faster.

We don’t know how much of this will stay the same in future commission openings. Ideally we’d like to stick with the “fewer slots, shorter turnaround” model (once we get there, of course) but are hoping we will be able to give people more of an opportunity to pay in the future. We just need money coming in to make up for the lost revenue, so this time the payment windows will be a little stricter.

Thank you for reading! We hope to hear from you.
All the best,
CFS