Nothing much happening today, but wanted to write some stuff from the last 7 months so that I don't forget it in the future.
The Good:
I love making customers happy! When people get their babies, they are always amazed at how real they feel and look. I love getting the email, after they get the package, and hearing about how much fun they are having with the doll. Custom portrait customers can't believe how much the doll looks like the baby picture. Other custom orders who just want a certain type of baby always love their babies too. One of my neighbors ordered one (awake girl with dark brown hair, 0-3 months size, you choose the rest, you do great work) and was so pleased with the baby that she almost cried. It was a birthday gift for her best friend and her friend was so happy with it that she did cry. :)
The Bad:
There are many kinds of pleasant and enjoyable customs, but 2 kinds of dreaded customs. One is when there is no picture and the customer wants an exact shade/tone but can't show you what it is. There are so very many tones and shades of "copper" or "peach" that this does not work at all and takes a lot of patience, time, layers, and stress to finally get it to "that's just what I wanted." The other kind is when there is a picture but the customer wants it "like this except like this other picture for this and this picture for this and..." so on. Different sized babies and different shapes faces are not going to look just like the picture. This is also usually the type of custom where the customer is trying to be the artist, directing and leading every step. With no room for the artist to create, this is very stressful as well as even more time consuming to try to follow the customer's directions exactly.
The Ugly:
Airport security and reborns do not mix! One of my customers took their baby with them on a flight. When they got off, security stopped them to check the baby. Why a metal detector and x-ray wasn't enough, I don't know, but it wasn't. The security guys cut the soft body open and sifted through the inside. :( My poor customer was in tears, as was her fiance when he found out what happened. I had never heard of such a thing before, only heard of no problems with airport security, but have since found out that this is not a rare occurence. They are bringing the baby back for repairs and thankfully she can be fixed.
The Very Good:
When I have a non-custom baby done and for sale, I take them with me when I go out. Running errands, grocery, etc. Once the girls and I went into Walmart and, inside at the front of the store, was stopped by someone asking how old the baby was. Soon we were surrounded by a large crowd of some customers and a lot of employees. The store manager came up to see what was going on, thinking something was very wrong. After figuring out what was going on, he told everyone the show was over and go back to work. I started apologizing, but once the crowd was gone he turned back to me and said "That is just wonderful work. Do you sell them? Great! Can I have a card?" and then started asking me all about them. LOL
2 comments:
I don't blame your customer for being horrified. Imagine paying all that money only to have it cut open!! I would have FLIPPED!
Wow at the cons of portrait babies. I don't think I'm brave enough to do them. Love the fact that you are! lol
I couldn't believe that security did that and felt so sorry for them. I also felt a little bad that I didn't know so I couldn't warn them. Now I do, so if a customer asks me, I can tell them.
Most custom and portrait babies are really fun and I love them. There's only been 2 orders that were so stressful that I didn't enjoy them much, and it wasn't the babies - it was the customers. LOL As long as they can show me what they want the baby to look like and then back off a little and give me room to work, I'm good to go. :)
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