A custom suncatcher takes two to three weeks to make after you approve the design, then ships tracked in a double-walled box; a ready-made piece from the shop leaves within three to five days. You can put a name or up to 20 characters of text on the glass, and the design stays free until you approve it.
How far ahead should I order a gift?
Count back from the day you need it: two to three weeks of making for a custom piece, plus the delivery time shown at checkout for your country. A ready-made piece skips the making and leaves within three to five days.
| Piece | Made in | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Custom suncatcher, from your photo | 2–3 weeks after you approve the design | Posted, tracked, in a double-walled box |
| Custom Christmas ornament, from your photo | 2–3 weeks after you approve the design | Posted, tracked, in a double-walled box |
| Ready-made piece from the shop | Already made | Leaves within 3–5 days, tracked |
Delivery is on top of that and depends on where you are; shipping and any duties are calculated at checkout. For a faraway address, allow more. We put Australia at eighteen to twenty-one days on the checkout estimate after a buyer's piece took longer than the estimate said; we would rather the number be honest than hopeful. The stage-by-stage timing is in how long a custom suncatcher takes.
What can I write on the glass?
A name, or any text up to 20 characters. It goes in the "Name or text" box on the create page and is drawn into the design, so you see where it sits before you approve.
The pet's name alone is the clearest choice; it is what the glass has room for and what the eye reads first. Twenty characters is enough for a name and a year, or two short names, or a single word. If you want more than that, it belongs in a card rather than in the glass. The text is part of the drawing, so if you change it, run the design again and it is redrawn, free, as many times as you like.
- The pet's name alone: the most common choice, and the clearest at a distance.
- A name and a year: for a memorial, or a first Christmas.
- Two short names: for a pair in one photo, if both faces are clear; ask us first.
- A single word: a nickname, a place, the thing they are always called.
Can I make one of a pet they have lost?
Yes, and a good share of what we make is exactly that: we cut glass for one person in particular, usually theirs, sometimes the one they lost. An old photo works; it does not need to be sharp.
Before we start, one of us checks the design against the photograph, and with a memorial piece we will sometimes ask a question or two first; a buyer who had lost two dogs wrote that both our questions were the right ones. If the drawn design does not catch the animal, say so in the box and one of us will draw it by hand instead, and we will be in touch the same day. The photograph is used to draw the piece and nothing else, and it is deleted when the order closes. Upload it on the create page and see the design before you decide.
How does it arrive?
In a double-walled box, tracked all the way to the door, signed on the back and on its brass chain, ready to hang the day it arrives.
If you are sending it straight to the person, put their address at checkout; the parcel is tracked all the way to their door, and the Track your order link in the footer follows it. If you would rather hand it over yourself, keep it in its box until you do, laid flat; the box is made for the journey and makes a fair gift box too. The piece needs no assembly and no hook of its own, only something to hang the chain from, which the hanging guide explains.
What about Christmas?
For a tree, make the Christmas ornament: a 10 cm bauble of thick translucent glass with a gold cap and their portrait at its centre, $59.99, made from a photo in the same two to three weeks. For a window, the suncatcher is the year-round piece.
We do not print a holiday cut-off date on this page, because a date goes stale and a wrong one is worse than none. Count back using the table above, add the delivery estimate at checkout, and if it is close, message us before you order; a person answers, usually within the day. The ready-made ornaments in the shop are the fallback when it is too late for a custom one: they leave within three to five days, and the shop shows how many of each are left.
Questions this leaves
Can I get it faster than two to three weeks?
A custom piece takes the time it takes: cutting, painting, firing, leading and framing by hand, by two people. For something sooner, the ready-made pieces in the shop leave within three to five days. If a date is close, message us before you order and we will tell you honestly whether it can be met.
Is the price in the box?
The order, the price and the receipt are handled at checkout through Tedooo. If you want to be certain that nothing with a price on it goes in the box, say so in a message before you order and a person will confirm how your piece will be packed.
Can the person I am giving it to return it?
No. It is made for one person, so it is not returnable; that is why the approving happens before the paying. If you are unsure of a size or a photo, message us first, or show the design to the person before you approve it.
Does a ready-made piece make a good gift too?
Yes, and it is the one to choose when time is short. A ready-made piece is the same glass, the same kiln and the same brass frame as a custom one; the only difference is that it started from one of our photographs rather than yours.
