Welcome to our latest pet portraits business post about our Pet Portraits Gift Vouchers service. I thought it might be a good idea to create a blog post about them as we are getting quite booked up for the year. We always have many enquiries for pet portraits, especially September time. I think that’s the point in the year when many people start thinking about Christmas. Eek! I am certain by September we will be booked up for the oil paintings, overspilling into January 2025. So I’m thinking that our pet portraits gift vouchers will be utilised quite a bit this year.
While surprising someone with a completed portrait is absolutely wonderful, gifting a voucher allows the recipient to fully enjoy the experience of working with us to create a portrait that they have full control over. They can choose or take reference photos themselves, which can be quite challenging if you’re trying to do it secretly! They have the chance to have full input into the design and size, plus ensure it’s exactly what they want. It makes them a part of the creative journey from start to finish… this is a gift in itself! There are several ways our gift vouchers can work, depending on your needs, read on to find out more.
Pet Portraits Gift Vouchers: How They Work
1. For a Friend:
If you’re purchasing a gift voucher for a friend, it’s often best to cover the full cost of the portrait. This way, your friend won’t have to worry about any additional expenses when the portrait is ready to start.
- Choose the Amount: Decide on the type of portrait you’d like to gift. Our pencil portraits start at £650, and our oil paintings start at £1500. You can choose the size of portrait you want to give.
- Obtain a Photo: Try to get a photo of their pet in advance. This helps us design a professionally printed gift card that’s personalized for the recipient. Alternatively if you know that the recipient has amazing photos, but you don’t have access to them, any photo will work for the card. We don’t want to ruin any surprises at this stage.
- Personalized Gift Card: Once we have the photo or an idea for the design, I can create a personalised gift card. You also have the option to use one of our existing drawings or oil paintings for the card.
- Waiting List: We will add their portrait into our commissions list, however if they don’t come back to us with photos by the time it gets to the top of the commissions list, we will just keep moving them down a few spots until the time is right for them to get in contact with the photos and details for the portrait.
- Delivery of the card: We can have the gift card delivered to you, or send it direct to the recipient with words of your choice. All of the information they will need will be printed on the inside of the card itself so they have plenty to read to get them started!
Vouchers for a Family Member
2. For a Family Member:
If the gift is for a family member, a deposit works wonderfully:
- Deposit Options: We offer a deposit of £200 for pencil portraits and £500 for oil paintings. This initial payment secures their spot on our waiting list and covers part of the portrait’s cost.
- Share Your Ideas: Tell us what you have in mind for the portrait. Is there a specific photo, pose or background you’d like? Providing a few photos of the pet will give us a better idea of how the portrait will look.
- Custom Gift Card: Based on your input, I will design a professionally printed gift card that’s personalised just for them and it can be delivered direct to you to write the card and present to the recipient on their special day.
Why Gift Vouchers are Perfect for Special Occasions
Pet portraits take time, there are only so many hours we can concentrate to draw and paint in a day. So it doesn’t take long for our work to build a waiting list. We have been working to around a 6 to 8 month list for the last 20 years or so. This makes our gift vouchers an excellent option for birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions, especially when dates are approaching quickly.
At the moment, we are taking commissions for the end of November 2024 for oil paintings and can only fit ONE more oil painting commission this year. For pencil portraits, we’re booking into September 2024 and I will be able to fit 4 or 5 more drawings this year. So, if you’re thinking of a portrait for a special event, a gift voucher allows the recipient to plan everything they would like and get in touch knowing they will be placed in our commissions list, wasting no time!
The oil pet portraits below are from a series of commissions for a special family in the USA. The PA contacted us just prior to Christmas in 2019. We helped create a very special gift voucher booklet for the recipient to give to his family. This meant the recipients the wife and children knew what they would be having painted in the following March. The frames for the portraits were also very special. The PA commissioned them to match other frames and our paintings in their home. Thankfully everything came together at the same time. The portraits are all displayed in their family home which you can see below… a gallery of work by Nicholas!
Customizable and Flexible
One of the best parts of our pet portraits gift voucher service is its flexibility. We love hearing your ideas! Our pet portraits are bespoke, and our gift vouchers can be too:
- Digital Options: If you’d prefer everything emailed instead of printed, we can send you a digital version of the gift card. This is perfect for last-minute gifts or for those who prefer to keep things paperless.
- Personalized Webpage: For an extra special touch, we can create a personalized webpage for the recipient. This page can include details about the commissioned portrait, their favourite photos, we have even previously added poems the family have created themselves. This really makes everything so personal. These ideas are especially great if other family members are contributing. The webpages are private so only you and the recipients have access. Let us know your ideas!
Pet Portraits Gift Vouchers – How to Get Started
Contact us through our website or drop us a message via WhatsApp. We’ll discuss your needs, guide you through the options, and ensure the process is smooth and easy for you. Why not take a look at our pet portraits prices and sizes page where you can find out more about our gift voucher service.
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing photos of your pets. Feel free to get in touch with any questions or to start your commission process. If you missed our previous pet portraits business post, please do take a look as it works quite well with this months gift voucher post.. How Long Does a Pet Portrait Take! … Quite a while!!
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