From Sketch to Table: How a Custom Commission Works

The most common message we get is some version of: “This is probably a weird ask, but can you make…” The answer is almost always yes. Custom work is half of what the shop does. If you can sketch it, we can usually cut, print, or press it. Here’s how the whole thing actually works, start to finish, so there are no surprises.

1. Request

It begins on the quote form. Tell us what you’re imagining, the game, the quantity, your deadline, and upload any artwork or reference you have. A napkin sketch is genuinely fine; so is a logo, a photo, or “something like this but goblin-themed.” The more you can tell us, the sharper the quote comes back.

One note on artwork: we can work from your art, your logo, or your original design. We can’t reproduce card art, game logos, or other artwork you don’t own the rights to. (Framing or mounting a real card you already own is a different thing; that’s your card.)

2. Quote

You’ll get a written quote with scope, price, and turnaround. No obligation, no pressure. Quotes are valid for 30 days, and they’re estimates until a proof is approved, so this is the moment to ask questions and change your mind.

3. Proof

This is the step that keeps everyone happy. We design a proof and send it over, and nothing gets made until you approve it in writing. Email counts. Two rounds of revisions are included, so we can get the goblin’s expression exactly menacing enough before a single piece of wood is cut.

4. Deposit

A 50% deposit, paid through a secure Stripe invoice, puts your job on the production schedule. Until material is cut or printed, that deposit is fully refundable. Once we start making, it isn’t, for the obvious reason that a box with your name engraved on it isn’t something we can resell.

5. Production

Now the fun part. Laser cutter, UV flatbed printer, or hat press: whatever your piece needs, it gets made by hand in Burlington. Most custom runs deliver in 2–4 weeks after proof approval, depending on quantity and complexity. Rush work is sometimes possible; just ask early.

6. Balance & ship

The final invoice goes out on completion, and your order ships once the balance is paid. Tracking lands in your inbox the day it leaves the shop.

What people actually order

It’s a wide range: dice boxes with someone’s own art, tokens and counters for a specific game, challenge coins, trophies, prize-card frames, backer gifts for a Patreon, team merch for a weekly playgroup that got serious. Batch pricing improves meaningfully at 10 or more units, and there’s no minimum for a one-off.

The short version: you bring the idea, we handle the making, and you approve everything before it’s real. Start a quote whenever you’re ready, even if it’s still “probably a weird ask.”