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

On no, well she's not so lovely now is she. At least you know she's a chancer. Hope you get one you like.

To op who asked yep we still have a bread bin and rest the bread on top, can't seem to get round to binning the rusty ole thing

But the word bread is written twice on OP's drawing along with two ovals. Surely she should either have copied all or none of it? Actually, I would have expected her to do her own proper drawings with dimensions as part of the clarification?

And once she's changed the wood, I don't think she's got any wriggle room, regardless of the above.

Looking at the sketches, I don't think the 'BREAD' thing is excusable. It's obvious that one is the view with the cover in place (no 'BREAD') & one is a view with the cover up, showing the internal shelf. And aren't both loaves labelled 'BREAD' (can't see the sketches from this page)? I assume she didn't paint the word on twice. Or maybe she did?

If she was unsure & didn't check with the buyer, or she couldn't understand design sketches, she's not much of a maker/seller.

I sincerely hope she won't sell the bloody thing to anyone, she could poison them! OP I hope you get the fecking rolls royce of bread bins sorted out somehow.

Bin Lady sounds utterly unprofessional.

Actually I think it does show you have a charmed life.

Charmed that you understand the value of money, that £70 is a lot - to you and to the crafter. That you've taken time to find someone and create something in high quality materials that works for your home and your vision.

I wish everyone (especially me!) spent their money as considerately, and treated other people who create custom products with the same care!!

But also, you know, GIVE US THE BLOODY PICS. I want to see the wood splintering, chemical poisoning bread bin already

Utterly unprofessional.
Unfortunately I am seeing that sort of behaviour more and more.

Obviously you stick to the clients specification!

Discussting???

Lol, don’t laugh at my crappy drawings they were very very basic, done on the bus on the way to work....I did send one with both the internal and external dimensions on, as I stated in the original post, also the exact dimensions of the loaf size I wanted to fit inside, she also sent me back a much more detailed sketch with exact dimensions on, which I approved..the item she has made is definitely not those dimensions, she’s posted further pics of it on her rant post, with a loaf of hovis inside, there isn’t a shelf on the inside like agreed, and it definitely would not fit two loaves in together, neither side by side, or one on top of the other...my sketches or photos nor her sketches that I approved had any type of lettering on, she apparently decided to add them at no extra charge, as she felt it was too plain, she didn’t add the cut out heart, because the wood could not withstand the cutting.
I hadn’t even thought about food safety issue with pallet wood.

• Back in the day a friend of a friend thought it'd be rustic and trendy to make a bed base out of pallets.

Things crawled out of it. He had to bin it, and the mattress and bedding,

Just saying.*

🤢🤢🤢

She's taking the piss, swapping out for pallet wood and adding decoration you didn't ask for, and completely unprofessional with her ranting. Her friends are idiots if they would accept the same from someone.

We really need to see a picture of what she's made!

@wherethewildrosesgrow you did the right thing in refusing the toxic bread bin. Sorry you've had to put up with her bad mouthing you but as pp said she's showing herself up to any potential customers!
I hope you find the bread bin of your dreams, sometimes the little things bring us joy and we all deserve a bit of joy ❤️

Oh and yes @wherethewildrosesgrow you need to show us the pictures of what she's made.

It's very important, for research purposes 😬.

Show us what she made!

She really is a CF. What a really disappointing experience. Karma will get her.

No, the word bread is only written on once, and the handle she’s attached is in the centre of the E, so it looks more like an L, she has admitted that I did not ask for the lettering, but thought she would add it as it looked a bit plain without the cut out heart I asked for.
She apparently get the oak for free...maybe that’s why she was so cheap, although I had prices from other crafters for around the same price, unfortunately they couldn’t start the commission til Dec 2020.

Well, she obviously did try to sell you some inferior shit wood to make a bigger profit. Hope the dozy mare goes out of business. I used to design and build stuff for commissions and many of my clients were far from well-off but saved up and it was a big treat for them. I can totally understand how you would be gutted to get something so very inferior.

I think I'll advertise "hand made gold rings, to your size" and post my customers ring-pulls off beer cans.

Old pallet wood is almost certainly unsuitable for making a food container. Reject it on those grounds if no other.

Can we see the pictures of the bread bin she made?

Well I can see why she put the word bread on the front, it's not 100% clear that you were indicating that the rectangles were the bread but if the rest of what she made isn't what you agreed you aren't being unreasonable to query that.

I perhaps think it’s not appropriate to use her pics/ and sketches and post them on here, as she has watermarks on them ?

It’s her with the problem.

If she’d paid someone to make her wedding cake and the person decided to make it 2 tiers instead of 3, out of plain vanilla instead of fruit, added decorations that she didn’t ask for, and stuffed fresh flowers that were toxic in it she’d be livid. This is the same principle.

So, is it oak?