I want to continue offering customs as it’s my fave part of the business, I love the challenge, and being able to create a special baby for someone and work toward their vision for that sculpt, while maintaining my own personal style.

In order to continue offering customs, however, I have to adjust some of my parameters. So here they are, and a little explanation for why.  😀

1 – Orders will now take about 2-3 weeks from start to finish.  Longer if rooting is involved. With 4 babies per work queue. I will only book two queues before shutting up my custom shop until I’m through my 2nd batch. And then starting again.  Slots fill so fast, so these windows will be advertised, and if you’d like to still be considered for a spot when my shop is shut, allowances may be made if you’re okay with waiting a little longer and getting into the 3rd queue.  Otherwise, I’ve set it up this way so that there will never be a wait longer than 2 mos for any new interested parties. Working on four at a time has always been the best use of my time. I have a tutorial project in the works which will show my process in greater detail. More on this.

2 – Given that my usual turnaround time has gotten longer. It used to take me about 1-2 weeks to paint and my painting is SO MUCH more detailed than it was even last year at this time, let alone when I started, I’ve compensating by increasing my cost per baby (about $50 – 100 more depending on the customization). This still means my custom babies will be a steal next to most high quality babies on ebay. My babies will now range from $549-899 approx.

3 – For the near future, sculpt selection will be the sculpts I currently have in stock. I just have too much inventory to offer sculpts I don’t currently have in stock right now. The awesome news is that I have a TON of sculpts in stock for customization, including a lot of sold out sculpts I’m dying to reborn. The list is up here! Once they are taken, they’ll be removed from the album or marked sold/or in progress. In extenuating circumstances, and space in the queue, I can consider reborning a sculpt I do not have in stock. But please know priority will be given to another client if there is a request for one I currently have in stock and limited space available. I am also still able to take on any painting for hire work if you have the sculpt already! Just don’t want to further add to my own inventory, unnecessarily. I will also still be offering painted hair and combi hair for hire services (not subject to the queue). My turnaround for hair is 1-2 weeks. 🙂

4 – This one is just worth repeating: Deposits are non-refundable after a sculpt has been confirmed and ESPECIALLY after work has been begun! A custom baby  is a baby made to someone else’s vision, not necessarily my own. As such, the ability to resell it, if someone backs out of their custom order, is questionable. Especially after birth marks, stork bites or hair and eye colour are chosen. Deposits are in place to protect both the buyer and the artist.  You’re securing your position in my queue, the sculpt I have in stock, AND I’m securing someone to buy the work I’m creating and pouring resources into (time, materials, clothing, etc).  Things happen, and I understand completely if there are extenuating circumstances that do not allow you to continue a layaway plan or paying for baby once they are done. But your deposit is non-refundable. Period. I do not know when the doll will sell, if you abandon your purchase. It may sell in one week. It may sell in 6+ mos. I’ve seen it all. And I cannot afford to wait to find out. This is especially critical IF you order a rooted doll from me.

Which brings me to. . .

5 – If you order a fully rooted baby from me, at the time when baby is ready for hair, the balance for rooting the doll will need to be paid in advance.  This will also become non-refundable if you end up stepping out of your custom order.  This is because I work with a rooter, splitting rooting between myself and Sharon Gregg (Sharon’s Reborn Treasures).  I have a shoulder injury which means I just cannot root as much as I’d like to, without risking an injury. I have now been working with Sharon for almost a year and I adore her rooting, but I do pay her immediately upon starting rooting and afterward. This ends up being the same cost I’d charge to root myself. Which means, if you have only paid a deposit (which covers sculpt and materials) to start, and decide not to purchase your doll, I have lost approx $200-300 depending on the head size. In rooting cost + shipping fees both ways. And cost of mohair. Needles. Etc. This has happened twice this past summer, and both babies are still available for purchase now. Consider it extra insurance on both of our parts, that this cost will now be required once rooting is initiated.  I’m flexible on layaway as well and can always hold off sending a head onto my rooter until you’re ready as well. Just know that this is now part of the protocol for fully rooted babies moving forward. 🙂

6 – No matter what the request, my custom babies will be done in my signature style. This means, customizations will limited to only things like gender, skin tone, hair type & colour, eye colour and details like birth marks, stork bites etc. Additional detailing will not be customizable. Lip colour, shape of eyebrows, and subtle skin details will be subject to my own style or artistic vision. Babies will not be made to reproduce other artists work, unless it’s inspired by that artists work – in other words, same type of hair and skin tone, but in my own style (my own interpretation of a rooted Quinlynn Eagles, not Silvia’s version of Quinlynn, etc). I’ve made over 220 babies.  My portfolio will give you an idea of my own range within each category. When you request a custom from me, your trusting in my vision, and my artistic choices along the way. If you’re not comfortable with this, and would prefer a doll made to look exactly like another artist’s creation or a prototype, I will no longer be doing it as its too subjective. One can always argue it’s not exact (because it isn’t). If you want a doll from a specific artist, wait and get it from them instead. ❤

7 – I have now created a spreadsheet to keep all my current clients in the know about my custom orders. This can be checked at any time and will be updated periodically. I will also still update via email, and pictures will still be put up whenever I have pictures available of your little bundle in progress. This will hopefully let everyone know what is happening and when. When I am not replying to emails, I am painting, or rooting, or assembling babies, or doing photoshoots. I work 7 days a week and post updates as regularly as I possibly can. Please be respectful and mindful that I am a one person business, and handle all my customer inquiries solo as well. I aim to please but there are always time delays around certain sculpts shipping to me (if a sculpt is on backorder, it will be recorded, and you’ll know just as soon as it arrives). And, of course, issues do arise that might set me back a few days from time to time as I am a WAHM of two small children. I love what I do, and I do my best to please every client I have in the timeliest fashion possible. My FB email service is notoriously unreliable for replying. I have done everything (hardware and browser wise) to figure it out, but I still experience bouts of being unable to load my mail server or (even more frustrating) replying only to have an error msg pop up saying msgs fail to deliver when I do. I always recommend inquiries come through my email directly customreborn@gmail.com. Any delay replying from there is a time issue, not me missing a message (I hope). And if in doubt, email again. Can’t hurt! 🙂

Thank you so much for supporting my art and my process,

Shaylen ❤