When I was decorating our house, the thing that frustrated me most wasn't the price of art. It was not knowing what I was waiting for. A site would say "ships in 3 to 4 weeks" and nothing else, and I'd spend those weeks wondering whether anyone had started.
So here's what "made to order" means on BlankWall, step by step, in the order it happens. Every made-to-order piece is produced at our Burlington studio in Ontario, after you order it, at the size, finish and frame you chose. Nothing is pulled off a shelf.
Made to order takes 3 to 4 weeks. The lead time for each piece is on its product page, beside the price, before you add it to your cart, and it comes from the studio's own record, so the number you see is the number the studio works to.
1. What happens when you place an order?
It goes to our Burlington studio as a production order with the exact configuration: the image, the size in inches, the medium, the frame and its colour. There's no warehouse in between. You can cancel within 24 hours of placing the order.
After that, the piece is being made for you alone. It's custom-made at the size and finish you chose, so it can't be resold, and that's why made to order is final sale. If you're unsure about a size or a finish before you order, email me at diana@blankwall.ca or use the contact page first; I'd much rather answer a question than have you wait weeks for the wrong piece.
2. How is a made-to-order piece printed?
As a giclée: a print made with archival pigment inks, which sit on the surface of the paper or canvas rather than soaking in. That keeps the colour steady for decades indoors and the blacks deep. It's printed at your size, not cropped down from a stock size, plus the margin the medium needs.
So a 40″ × 30″ (102 × 76 cm) order is printed at 40″ × 30″, with room for stretching or matting. Large prints take time on the printer and more time to dry before they can be handled. Our finishes page covers each medium up close.
3. How is it finished?
By the finish you chose, and this step takes the most time. A framed canvas is set in a floating frame, a gallery wrap is wrapped round a deep stretcher, a glass framed print is matted and framed, and canvas on board is mounted flat, then framed. Anything that needs to dry or set waits.
- Framed canvas: the printed canvas is stretched and set in a floating frame. Where a piece has a textured surface finish, its product page describes it.
- Gallery wrap: the canvas is wrapped around a deep wooden stretcher so the image continues around the edges, with no frame.
- Glass framed print: the print on fine-art paper is matted, if you chose a mat, and framed behind glass in the moulding named on the product page.
- Canvas on board: the canvas is mounted on a rigid board so it stays flat, then framed.
Each frame is made to the size of your piece. That waiting between steps is a lot of what the weeks are.
4. How is it checked?
Against your order, before it's packed: the size, the frame colour, the corners, the surface, the glass and the hanging hardware on the back are all looked over. If something isn't right, it's redone before it leaves the studio rather than after it reaches you.
5. How is it shipped?
Packed for courier travel and shipped direct from Burlington to your door. It ships from Canada and is priced in CAD, so there are no duties or brokerage at your door. Shipping is free on orders over $499, and a flat $29 below that.
When it arrives, open it within 5 days and email me a photo at diana@blankwall.ca, or send it through the contact page, if anything is wrong, and we'll make it right. The shipping and returns page has the details.
Why choose made to order?
Because the piece is made for your wall: your size, your finish and your frame, made the month you order it, by a studio you can name. The honest cost is time. If a room has to be finished for a date, look at the lead time first, or look at ready to ship.
- Your size, from the sizes on offer. Most made-to-order pieces come in several sizes, listed on the product page, so you can order the one the visualizer says fits rather than whatever is in stock.
- Your finish and frame. The same image as a gallery wrap, a framed canvas or a glass framed print reads as three different pieces. You choose.
- Nothing sits in a warehouse. Nothing is printed until someone orders it, so there's no overstock.
- You know who made it and where. Burlington, Ontario, named on the product page, not a vague "imported".
When is ready to ship the better choice?
When you need the wall done for a date, when the piece you love already comes in the size you need, or when you'd like the option to return it. Our ready-to-ship pieces come from our Montreal studio, finished and in stock, and leave within 2 weeks.
They come in the size and frame shown, and the product page describes how each one is finished. They suit:
- a move-in, a party or a holiday;
- a piece that's already the size you need;
- a return option: ready-to-ship pieces can be returned within 30 days, unhung and in the original box, with a 10% restocking fee and return shipping paid by you.
Many of our customers mix the two: a made-to-order piece for the main wall, and ready-to-ship pieces for the hallway while they wait.
Next step
Before you choose a size you'll wait weeks for, measure your wall and see the piece at approximate scale in Your Blank Wall. Then browse made to order, or, if you need it sooner, ready to ship. More questions? The FAQ covers ordering, lead times and returns.
Questions we get asked
Yes. Email me at diana@blankwall.ca, or use the contact page, with your order number and I'll ask the studio.
Within 24 hours of placing the order, yes: you can cancel it and order the size you want instead. After that, the piece is already being made at the size you chose.
Some steps can't be hurried: inks and finishes need to cure, and frames need to set. The studio also works through orders in sequence. When the studio's lead time stretches, for a holiday or a busy season, the product page says so before you order.