To not pay a crafter for a bespoke made item

[wherethewildrosesgrow]

I’ve wanted a really nice bread bin for ages, fed up of my old rusty one leaving marks all over the kitchen worktop, saw a nice one on the internet, lovely design, but it wasn’t big enough, I needed a double/two loaf model.
Decided to splash out and get one made (wooden), spent ages sending pics/designs to local crafter, lots didn’t answer, or didn’t come back with a price after initially showing interest in taking on the project, or some couldn’t make it for nearly a year.
After a while I found a lovely new to crafting lady at an event, her work was amazing, and she quoted me £70 for a reclaimed solid oak bread bin, based on some pics I sent her, and included a rough sketch with measurements (internal& external), but I did say the size could altered slightly if she felt it would look more proportional, as long as it fitted two loaves (one on top of each other, with internal shelf), I even sent her a pic with the tape measure in front of the loaves I use for clarity...she sent me a sketch back, and I asked her to go ahead with the make.
Shes in the final stages, and today she’s sent me an update with pics.
Problem...it isn’t anything like the sketches either of us sent, she’s added the word BREAD in red to the front of it, which I never asked for, and wasn’t included in any of the pics or sketches.
It hasn’t got an internal shelf, the loaves look as if they are to fit side by side, so it’s going to take up far more valuable work surface space, and my kitchen isn’t big.
Im unsure if it’s even going to fit two loaves in...but it’s very hard to judge from a pic.
AND she has told me she’s made it out of pallet wood instead of the reclaimed oak, as she felt it looked more rustic...I did say initially I wanted rustic...but she gave me a samples of wood to chose from, and pallet wood is not the agreed oak.
EEEK.
Would I be really really unreasonable to say ‘I don’t want it, it’s not what we agreed’
I feel awful, as she new to crafting, and she’s lovely....but it, in my eyes anyway, it looks awful, I don’t feel I could use it elsewhere even.
This is my Christmas birthday and Mother’s Day present all in one, I feel like somebody like me should never even of attempted to have something handmade, I should of stuck to one for a fiver from B&M.
She’s on holiday til the weekend, so I don’t want to message her immediately, and spoil things for her

How odd of her to post it when she’s clearly in the wrong very loyal friends...stupid...but loyal

I can't imagine how this lovely lady and her former business partner could possibly have parted on bad terms.

Really, really baffled.

This is no j-oak 😂 the puns are second to nan. I'm mortified for you, hope she Doesn't get you in trouble op and leaves well alone. Silly bitch she is thinking she can get away with this whole thing. 🤷‍♂️

*I can't imagine how this lovely lady and her former business partner could possibly have parted on bad terms.

Really, really baffled.*

No? I think it's aBUNdantly clear.

mathanxiety loving your irony 😂

She got incredibly croiss-ant, OP, didn’t she?

Anyway. Screenshots or it didn’t happen. You can bodgie up quick, useless “diagrams” on the bus. (Prediction: it didn’t happen.)

I do custom work and I work ver closely with the customer. I send pictures of the work, talk about what they want and alter things if they are not correct. The final item must be what the customer ordered.

YANBU to refuse the goods. Explain clearly with copies of your emails or designs to show what you ordered and how it differs. Be polite but firm.

Ye Gods, she sounds a charmer! Lots of sensible comments on here about how to deal with her, and yes, she might not be aware, but even as a freelancer/sole trader she's still subject to GDPR....and, you know, some of their fines can be pretty hefty....

And of course you deserve something nice! I know it's not going to be quite your reclaimed/upcycled/bespoke oak breadbin that you were hoping for, but we got a very, very lovely oak one from Marks and Spencers a while back that is going strong (doesn't fit 2 loaves in though, more, you know, a Hovis loaf and a few crumpets) but it's definitely food-safe!

We paid a bit more than £25 for it, it's come down in price since -www.marksandspencer.com/small-oak-wood-bread-bin/p/hbp22310517?extid=ps_ps-pla_ggl_home_ch__-UK---&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAiA-vLyBRBWEiwAzOkGVKjnDe383zBiHRFJTLUHn4z1zabzh2r-fQwVdO4WRdjMfk4qICAlXBoCz7kQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds or there's a bigger one for £35 -www.marksandspencer.com/oak-slatted-bread-bin/p/hbp22233220?color=OAK

And as others have said, I simply can't understand how this lovely woman fell out with her previous business partner, no siree....

I've been running an online craft group on FB for years and I have to be honest, I thought this was going to be another thread bashing crafters. Having read through everything, I really wouldn't worry at all - she's going to find there's people out there who aren't as gentle as you.

I've mediated in quite literally thousands of selling complaints over the years (it's a big group we have!). If you were clear about what you wanted, and it sounds like you were, you're not to blame for her deciding to do something completely bloody different. Crafters also tend to take deposits before they start work because they can't afford to risk people not paying - she's going to start learning some expensive lessons.

Make sure you keep the screenshots, whatever you do. I'm pretty sure it will blow over but it's bordering on harassment already. Believe me when I say a small minority of unprofessional crafters do this kind of thing all the time, and it gives everyone else a bad reputation! She'll damage her own business in the long term with those kinds of posts and attitudes.

Are you looking elsewhere for another bread bin now? Try Etsy - there are some phenomenal handmade items on there and you'll be protected too.

She's really not using her loaf is she ?

Sandwich short of a picnic.

it sounds as if the chemicals in the pallets she is using have addled her brain cell, as for her friends, well, words fail.

I just read through seven pages to see a picture. I NEED TO SEE A PICTURE!!

She's used pallet wood because it's cheap, if not free. I'd tell her it's nothing like the design you agreed on, and you don't want it. Be buggered if I'd spend £70 on a bread bin in the first place, let alone one I hated.

And she's not that nice. Reclaimed oak you pay for, pallet wood is free. I think you're being diddled.

Sorry OP, just read your updates. Definitely not a nice person! I'd be inclined to reply if she's put it on local pages and include the pics, watermark or not, so people can see she's full of shit. I'd also say she's been harassing you in your workplace and if she doesn't stop you'll report it to the police. And I'd leave a review reflecting all this if she has a Facebook page.

Wow how dramatic this has turned out to be

It’s all fine pete tong in the space of a few hours

What a silly bitch. Dear God.

You should baguette what you asked for.

It is in fact clearly unreasonable to expect a bespoke solid oak piece of joinery for 70 quid, in the sense that it is just not possible to produce one for that price and make a profit

As op was told that the crafter could get the oak free of charge, then most of the £70 would be profit. I don't disagree that people often think handcrafted items should be cheaper than that deserve to be, but op didn't suggest the price.

I've got that Amazon one and it's looks fine with oak worktops. I can also testify as to capacity - at the moment mine is carrying a loaf of Kingsmill 50/50, a loaf of Genius gluten free, a large pack of rice cakes, a pack of wraps, 2 scones, 6 sugar waffles and a flapjack tray bake.

She's definitely a few loaves short of a bakers dozen

Practically, the first thing you need to do this morning when you get to work is meet with your manager and HR if possible or necessary. They need to be aware ASAP of the impact this has had or is likely to on your coworkers as well as you. Your email and screenshots should be able to prove that you've been polite and have largely not done what has been suggested - you queried whether you had been sent the correct photo as it didn't match the brief, you did not threaten not to pay or any of the rest. Your personal data has been breached and that's led to this impacting the workplace.

I make fine art mosaics and sometimes take on commissions. I am careful about agreeing the brief with the client and also explaining that I will need to use my own expert judgement to assess whether or not what the client wants is technically achievable and aesthetically acceptable. YADNU in this instance to refuse to pay for the bread in as the craftsperson has not met your brief, unless they had previously explained that the breadbox could be made using other woods, other design and could include wording.