How work travels

Collection from the studio, insured delivery, sculpture by hand, and what to check when the parcel arrives.

An original has to travel from one wall to another without meeting anything harder than air. There are three ways a work from the studio reaches you: collection from the studio by appointment, insured delivery by art courier for a painting or a work on paper, and, for a ceramic sculpture, careful hand-delivery by arrangement. Prints travel a different road, straight from the lab that prints them.

Collection from the studio

You are welcome to collect any original from the studio in Surrey, by appointment, free of charge. It is the calmest way to take a painting or a sculpture home: you meet Anahita, see the work in her light, and hear the story of how it was made. For originals, collection is the default option at checkout. To arrange a visit, write to the studio after you order and a few times will be offered. For a painting, bring a blanket for the back seat and carry the work flat or upright on its edge, never face down on a hard surface.

Insured delivery for paintings and works on paper

Framed and unframed paintings, and works on paper, can be delivered anywhere in the United Kingdom by an insured art courier. The work is packed with corner protectors, glassine against the surface, weatherproof wrapping and a rigid outer case; larger canvases travel against a plywood face. Delivery is signed for, and a date is agreed with you before dispatch, so nothing arrives when nobody is home. Insured delivery within the United Kingdom is included in the price of every painting and work on paper: choose delivery or collection at checkout and the price you see is the price you pay.

Sculpture travels by hand

Glazed and terracotta ceramic does not travel safely by ordinary courier: the vibration and knocks of a parcel network can crack a hollow piece or shear a modelled feature from a solid one. Ceramic sculpture is therefore collected from the studio, or, for larger pieces, hand-delivered by arrangement in the South East and quoted after the order, once the studio knows the address and what is involved. Sculpture is not sent internationally.

Outside the United Kingdom

For a painting or a work on paper going abroad, write to the studio with the work you would like and the delivery address, and you will receive a quote for an insured art courier and a note of the timing. Import duties, taxes and customs handling fees in the destination country are the buyer’s responsibility, as they are for any international sale.

What to check on arrival

Take the parcel indoors and photograph the outside before you open it. Open it on a clean floor with a soft blanket beneath, and photograph the packaging as you unwrap. Once the work is out, hold it up to a good light and look over the surface, the corners of the frame and any modelled detail. If anything looks wrong, email the photographs to the studio within 48 hours of delivery with your order number; the studio will raise a claim with the courier straight away and arrange a repair, a replacement where possible, or a full refund. Keep the packaging until the next step is agreed, because the courier may ask to see it.

If everything is well, keep the packaging for a fortnight anyway. If you buy from the website as a consumer you have a 14-day right to change your mind after delivery under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and the terms of sale set out exactly how a return works; a work that arrives faulty, damaged or not as described is covered separately by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and the terms explain that too.

Michael, for the studio