I did get the approval for this pattern, but sometimes I feel like, even though it was their pick, the end results may not be what they were expecting to see. So just to be sure, before I send it to them, I get a confirmation. If anyone is in anyway, not fully satisfied with something they get from me, I will either refund their money or remake it for them. I do not want anyone to feel they need to pay for something they really would not buy if they were to see it in person. As far as the 50 % up front costs go, I am not worried about that because even if I sent something to someone and I received no pay for it, I am usually out such a small amount of material costs that it would not be worth the hassle to worry about it. So far, I have never had anyone tr to burn me. People are worth way more than the money I may be out if they did not pay me.
I do give away a lot of my work to people that I know, of is someone in the community that has a baby or gets married or loses a loved one. When someone contacts me because they are looking for something special to give to a friend of theirs, for the above reasons, I am honored they think my work worthy of consideration but it is a gift from them and not me and they would have purchased something else for them had they not seen what i do, so I do charge them for my work. I respect you attitude on this and I want you to know that I donate to any fund raiser that I think I can help with my scrolling or intarsia. Every year I donate several pieces and volunteer them to people I have not even met. I sell only requests and do not do craft sales or really push my work. I try to only get enough money to buy my supplies so as to not turn my hobby into a work thing
Dick
heppnerguy