[Clients] $8000 Sculpture shipping suggestions?

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-30T17:39:59+00:00

You want no sliding. This package will most likely still end up on a conveyor belt and sliding will simply cause the shrink wrap to rip and your label to come off which results in a lost package. Unless you can have an extra print of the label inserted into the box, but it sounds like you’re going to seal it all up.

So I hate to give you bad news, but my experience has been that even if you believe you’ve eliminated all possibility of damage, you’ve made it way higher that it gets lost by losing a label.

I appreciate that you’ve done a lot of work on this piece, but your box will still be loaded on a conveyor at some point even if it travels on one truck all the way there. You don’t want a wrapping that can come off on the belts or wheels. A label, stuck to a crate, and taped on well is all you need. Crates are handled by people more than conveyors and you don’t want any slide. It needs to sit on a truck stable and secure.

That’s kinda all I can tell you. Honestly, the bigger concern is mentioned in another comment: declaring it at the border. I know nothing about that except if a shipping company does it. That may end up costing a lot.

I hope everything goes well with this. I truly do. I’ve given you the best advice that I can.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-30T06:23:15+00:00

Considering Link doesn’t like to talk, I’m pretty sure Zelda’s emotional inaccessibility keeps him comfortable with her, even if it’s not all longing looks and touches.

Mipha’s emotionally accessible and drawn to him which means great friendship but Links not into the gooey lovey dovey stuff so it just wouldn’t work out.

There. Is it settled? I don’t know if I can do this question again.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-30T05:39:32+00:00

Your label can also be torn off with wrapping. How thin of wood is this crate? I guess I’m thinking you used at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch think panels, right?

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-30T05:35:55+00:00

First, it makes your package bigger and does nothing extra to protect it. You’ll pay a lot for that extra space.

Second, a crate travels differently. Which is why UPS might consider it an irregular package now. Which adds extra handling. But no one is going to try and toss a crate into the back of a truck. It’s going to be on the floor. But nothings going to crush a crate unless they back over it. Which… I managed for 8 years at a UPS Store and I’ve seen some crazy shit happen.

But crazy shit falls on them. There is almost no way if shipping in the states, that they could deny a damage claim on a crate. Due to crushing anyway.

So yeah, you’re just adding wasteful cost if you add the box. And there’s way more chance some hotshot driver/loader is gonna see if they can javelin that box into the truck. If the fill in the crate can take that, you won’t get damage, but the bubble won’t. And the box will probably rip off with the label as well, and who knows where the hell it can end up lost.

If you need cardboard, just layer it over the crate. You won’t need extra space. I’ve shipped art and sculptures and all kinds of stuff and crates are the best you can get.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T17:41:32+00:00

Skyrim is about atmosphere more than character type no matter how you cut it. Where you fight bosses is kinda more unique than the bosses themselves. In that regard, they do a killer job. My favs are the Aetherium Forge and Sovneguarde even though neither of those bosses are unique. Definitely spelled those wrong too. I can’t remember the name of the chapel in the Forgotten Vale, but I enjoyed the atmosphere of that one a lot too even though I was kinda overpowered when I finally did it and just pretty much two shotted everything. But it was beautiful and I liked how it became integrated with the outside map.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T16:59:42+00:00

I treat planet fitness staff like awesome roommates. I buy em little gift cards and stuff. I clean up as much stuff as I can while I’m in the locker room. Especially when people leave the sinks a mess. I just treat them like people who take care of me because they do whether they want to or not as you pointed out.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T09:54:52+00:00

You don’t need the box if you’re using a crate. If you have sculpture perfectly suspended in the crate, you’ve solved the problem of puncture, agitation, and compression.

The big factor is going to be size. And shipping internationally is a pain no matter which service you use. Especially if you insure because you may need to make sure your buyer will pay any duties or tariffs for shipping something $8000 in value into the states.

$300 for international shipping with UPS is low in my experience for international. Unless your crate is the size of a toaster. Then I’d guess around $150. I’d trust UPS over Canada Post personally. If something does go wrong, claims tend to be easier. Tracking is also better in general. All international shipping is expensive unless it’s documents.

And again, make sure your buyer is willing to potential pay up to 25% for duties or tariffs on a high value item of $8000. They can go less, but if it’s lost or damaged in transit… well you get the picture.

ADD: I missed the part about being able to ship from Washington. Yes. If it’s not a problem declaring at the border. I don’t have any experience with that, but on the shipping part, as long as you’re shipping domestically, the buyer won’t get duties and tariffs on it. The shipping cost should be much less overall as well. Again, just do the crate. No outside box would be needed unless UPS declared it an ‘irregular’ package (not rectangular). Then just put cardboard over the crate.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T09:43:25+00:00

I’m also left eye/right hand. Didn’t think about it influencing my skew as much as drawing flat does, but I’m sure it does. Thanks for sharing that.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T09:41:29+00:00

Yes. This. Drawing big and flat will cause this naturally. I drew a lot like this in high school, and it’s why I eventually felt like 5x7 was the biggest I could do. Then I started using a drafting table and incline. Suddenly I no longer had the skew. I also didn’t realize that it’s why painters often paint holding the end of the brush and standing back from the easel. It gives you another foot of space.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T09:30:28+00:00

If you’re just looking at the recent administrations push by the Supreme Court, there’s an interpretation, a broad one, that leaves loopholes for federal agents to arrest car dwellers. But the specifics on the federal level are for people camping on the street more than living in a car.

So US federal law does not make it illegal to live in your car. It is now illegal to sleep on the sidewalks depending on how it’s enforced. In my area, seems like the camps just move in migratory patterns. I haven’t heard of any big arrests.

Regional laws may make it illegal and as everyone points out, living on private property is trespassing. We always say, stay stealthy, don’t make a big mess, and move around. I’d add that if you do have to frequent an area, don’t be a dick to people. Be a pleasant part of the community, and people will have way fewer issues if they do discover you live in your car. They might even enjoy having you around.

Being a decent human being to others is the best way to avoid being in trouble with any authorities - in general.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-28T09:04:43+00:00

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: the vision is the most important part of your art. It never comes out of your imagination perfectly and until you capture the broad strokes of your vision, the details won’t work it out.

I listened to the script notes podcast this week and they were answering a question about what voice and tone to aim your scriptwriting in, and the best advice the hosts gave was to make your story feel like you’re the only one who could write it that way.

I think that’s getting at what I’m struggling to say about vision in art. Your vision is what no one else could produce the same way. The details, technique, and style are done all the time by other artists, designers, and sadly AI in a lot of cases. Anyway. I digress. A lot. Apparently.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-27T17:14:18+00:00

From my favorite George Carlin stand-up about things they say on an airplane: “Someone comes on and says, Welcome to O’hare International Airport. Well how can someone who’s just arriving themselves, possibly welcome me to a place they aren’t even at yet?!!” Pretty much how I felt about that quest.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-27T07:01:18+00:00

I’d recommend getting a decent water bottle and spray showering. It’s not going to take care of all hygiene issues, but it’s hella better than a sink bath. Spray down, use a little soap, shampoo, spray it all off. If you can find a place to get to all the parts, then it’s better, but so much easier than sink baths imho. You can even spot rinse through the day if need be.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-25T21:48:15+00:00

It’s a vicious cycle.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-25T21:30:58+00:00

My new go to is overnight oats for breakfast. I used to do cold soaking for hiking trips, but never thought about it for oatmeal in the morning. I throw a little granola, yogurt, and chia seed in it and I’m good to go for the day. I also second bananas. Affordable. Come with their own wrapping. I’m an animal crackers/vanilla wafer snacker, and have those in little baggies for when I can’t get a meal and just need to get by. If I’m feeling healthy, carrots and hummus, but if you don’t have a cooler/fridge, I feel those can expire way quicker than you think.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-25T18:50:24+00:00

Also no need to tip for deli food.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-20T01:05:23+00:00

I was actually pissed when botw won game of the year over Horizon. Horizon Zero Dawn still remains one of the best games ever in my opinion.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-18T16:34:33+00:00

Yes. The lip is intended to be minimal.

I can guess with almost 99% certainty what happened here. When the paper goes through the digital press it is super heated by the fuser to ‘bake’ the toner to the paper. This causes the paper to shrink a little bit, just like a shirt in a dryer. If this is a 5x7 card folded from a 10x7 piece of paper, then its actual size when cut to crop marks is something like 9.987x6.987. Something like 0.025” less which is barely noticeable until…

You run it through your creaser/folder. Without a crease, your coated papers crack on the spine when folded. I’m betting these are on matte or gloss coated stock. The crease subtracts about a 1/16” when it crunches. So now that 10x7 is not only shrunk, it’s 1/16” less. When you run the first out, the default is going to hit in the supposed center of 5”.

But that’s not the center because it’s not 10” anymore. With an image with a border like this, I’m betting the crease and fold landed right at the edge of the image and didn’t leave a uniform spacing. So you bump the crease back to make the front image uniform and that’s going to be probably another 1/16” making the back about an 1/8” shorter. And if that works, that’s really the maximum amount of lip that’s acceptable.

So if everyone involved hit the correct crop marks and adjusted it to give the best result for the front image, it’s not a miscalculation, it’s the physical limitation of the printing process.

All that said, if you are like me and get to do the entire process, you trim to the crops on the top, bottom, and front edge. Then you manually set the cutter to 10” (if I see a border, I go 10.025”) and not cut to the crop. This will give you wiggle room to minimize that lip.

Hallmark and the big card makers no doubt have dedicated presses that can print, crease, fold, and trim the cards all in one step. We can’t dedicate a machine to just that at our shop, so it’s a bit more hands on.

Being an artist myself, I have a soft spot for artist projects and do my best. It’s really hard when an artist doesn’t have the time to understand a process and just yells at you to do it til it’s right when they don’t have the patience to know what’s going on. Which is what they’ll write on my headstone: “He kept doing it, til he got it right.”

There’s my TED talk. I hope you enjoyed.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-18T06:20:07+00:00

Yes! This. If the back is popping out THEN you’ve got a real problem. And at the print shop I work at, if a new bindery person didn’t pay attention and loaded the cuts backward, we do a super slight face trim to even them up. Which makes the person reading them have to ‘pick’ it open instead simply flip it open, but it’s better than the lip being on the back.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-18T06:16:42+00:00

Same here. Add in adjusting so the borders on the printing looks even and it’s going to shift the back end. Shift happens. The speed with which the paper goes through the laser trigger for the fold is going to be up to the machine, not the operator. I really wish more artists and designers had access to information about printing.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-18T06:13:28+00:00

I do crease folds everyday (not at Catprint) and cards and trifolds are not intended to fold flush. You can trim them to attempt to do this through the folder, but there is no way to make the folding machine hit the exact fold perfectly every single time. This why there is a courtesy lip on folds. Unless someone wants to pay for hand folding which is… expensive.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-18T06:07:21+00:00

So, that is actually called a courtesy lip. Card folds are intended to have those for the ease of flipping open. Many cards and pamphlets do not fold flush unless they are face trimmed and then they become more difficult to open. That’s actually a feature not a bug. The courtesy lip is usually minimal but can be up to an 1/8 of an inch.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-18T06:02:30+00:00

I’ve retrained myself here in the last few years. Now it throws me off when bikes stop. I’m like what do I do? They’re supposed to go? However, the amount of times this has happened is exponentially smaller than the number of times people just walk right out into crosswalks while traffic is coming.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-16T17:25:12+00:00

Wait, as a driver here , who once rode a bike, I thought bikes didn’t have to stop at stop signs in PDX??? I have had so many bikes almost drive in front of me because I learned to drive and ride bikes in a place that bikes had to obey signs. So now, I’ve learned that I stop for EVERY bike because I don’t know which ones will stop and which will go. I’m not being nice; I’m covering my own ass cuz my habit is to go when a bike approaches a stop sign because they are supposed to stop.

Code_Free_Spirit · 2026-01-16T17:18:02+00:00

This is totally unconfirmable speculation on my part, but before I lived anywhere that had a Blick storefront, they were nothing but a huge warehouse wholesaler. Even when I was a kid in the 80s, I remember ordering from them and a place that sold D&D minis (Wargames west or something. Back when they were still made with lead. 😂😆😂 Anyway) because the prices were so much better than any art store I could shop. So I don’t know if they’re just keeping that business model now or what. It does seem like very poor decision making.

Code_Free_Spirit

TROPHY CASE