Commission Process
Custom Toile Commissions
Your Story, Translated Into Pattern
Hughes Studio creates custom narrative toiles for individuals, families, couples, brands, and institutions.
Each pattern begins with the people, places, traditions, products, and identifying details that make a story distinctive. Through careful research, hand-drawn illustration, and thoughtful composition, those individual elements become a cohesive pattern with a world of its own.
A personal commission might preserve a family history, celebrate a wedding, honor a particular home, or bring together memories from several places and generations.
A brand or institutional commission might express a founding story, celebrate an anniversary, distinguish an interior, support a product collection, or create a proprietary visual world around an organization.
The finished toile can live across fabric, wallpaper, stationery, packaging, event materials, gifts, and other approved applications.
Begin a Commission
Choose Your Commission
Personal Toile Commissions
Beginning at $2,250
Personal toiles translate the people, places, animals, traditions, and meaningful details of a life into a custom narrative pattern.
A commission might celebrate a wedding, preserve a family history, commemorate an anniversary, honor a meaningful property, or capture the places and experiences that have shaped your story.
Personal commissions may include:
Custom illustrated scenes
Supporting motifs and decorative fillers
A seamless repeating pattern
Curated colorways
Two rounds of revisions at each principal creative stage
Production-ready layered and high-resolution files
A limited license for approved personal uses
The final investment and timeline are determined by the number and complexity of scenes, the research required, selected colorways, and intended applications.
Brand & Institutional Commissions
Beginning at $4,000
Brand and institutional toiles translate the identity, heritage, culture, and aspirations of an organization into a proprietary narrative pattern.
A commission might feature a founding story, signature products, craftspeople, customers, important architecture, regional influences, mascots, materials, traditions, or recognizable brand symbols.
The finished toile can support a rebrand, commemorate an anniversary, distinguish an interior, create a product collection, or bring greater depth and continuity to a public-facing experience.
Brand and institutional commissions may include:
Custom scenes developed around the organization’s story
Brand-specific motifs, products, and visual signatures
A proprietary seamless repeating pattern
Curated colorways
Two rounds of revisions at each principal creative stage
Production-ready layered and high-resolution files
Coordination with existing brand guidelines
Planning for approved applications
An extended commercial license tailored to the project
The final investment and timeline are determined by creative complexity, research requirements, stakeholder review, production needs, intended applications, anticipated reach, and licensing scope.
What Can Your Pattern Include?
Every commission is different. Your pattern may incorporate:
People, families, founders, or historical figures
Pets, mascots, and regional animals
Homes, venues, campuses, storefronts, and landmarks
Gardens, trees, shorelines, and meaningful landscapes
Traditions, hobbies, celebrations, and everyday rituals
Signature products, tools, ingredients, or materials
Heirlooms, furnishings, clothing, and personal objects
Logos, monograms, dates, crests, and decorative symbols
Flowers, botanicals, and smaller connecting motifs
Not every detail needs to become a prominent scene. Part of the creative process is deciding which images should anchor the pattern and which can appear as quieter moments of discovery.
The Commission Process
1. Share Your Story
Begin by completing the commission inquiry form. Tell me about the project, what you hope the pattern will capture, how you intend to use it, and whether you are working toward a particular date.
You do not need to have every scene decided before reaching out.
Reference photographs, brand materials, architectural images, personal notes, and other visual resources can help me understand your story and begin identifying its strongest visual elements.
2. Define the Creative Direction
After reviewing your inquiry, I will recommend a scope and prepare a written proposal outlining the creative direction, estimated timeline, investment, deliverables, and licensing terms.
Together, we will identify the central themes, select the primary scenes, and develop a list of supporting motifs. This establishes a clear visual direction before illustration begins.
A 50% deposit reserves the project and begins the creative work.
3. Develop the Illustrations
Each scene is drawn in the signature Hughes Studio style: clean linework, confident silhouettes, graceful curves, open white space, and carefully considered detail.
You will review the illustrations and have opportunities to refine the artwork. Depending on the scene, revisions might include adjusting a figure, simplifying a background, correcting an architectural feature, or adding a small detail that makes the image feel complete.
For brand and institutional projects, this stage also ensures that the illustrations reflect the organization accurately and remain consistent with its broader visual identity.
4. Build and Refine the Pattern
Once the individual illustrations are approved, I arrange them into a seamless repeat.
Larger scenes establish the main narrative, medium-sized motifs create movement, and smaller fillers connect the composition. Scale, spacing, rhythm, and white space are carefully balanced so every element feels as though it belongs in the same world.
You will review the full pattern and the colorways included in your proposal before final production files are prepared.
5. Receive Your Toile
After final approval and payment of the remaining balance, you will receive the production-ready pattern files and license described in your agreement.
Your files may then be used for the approved personal or commercial applications.
Licensing and Usage
Every Hughes Studio commission includes a license defining how the finished pattern may be used. The commission fee does not automatically transfer ownership of the artwork or grant unrestricted usage.
Personal-Use License
Personal commissions include a limited, non-commercial license for the applications approved in the project agreement.
Approved personal uses might include:
Fabric or wallpaper for your own home
Wedding and private-event materials
Personal stationery
Gifts for family members or private-event guests
Keepsakes created for personal use
A personal-use license does not permit the artwork to be resold, sublicensed, distributed as a digital asset, used to promote a business, or applied to products offered for sale.
If you later wish to use a personal toile commercially, Hughes Studio can prepare an expanded license and provide any additional production files required.
Extended Commercial License
Brand and institutional commissions include an extended commercial license tailored to the approved scope of the project.
Depending on the agreement, licensed applications may include:
Interiors and environmental design
Packaging and printed materials
Marketing and promotional materials
Events and branded experiences
Corporate or donor gifts
Employee materials
Specified products or merchandise
Approved digital applications
The agreement will define the permitted applications and may also address duration, territory, exclusivity, production quantities, resale, and other relevant terms.
Because every commercial project has different goals and levels of reach, commercial licensing is customized rather than offered as a single unrestricted license.
Copyright and Authorship
Hughes Studio retains the copyright and authorship of the original artwork unless a separate written copyright transfer is negotiated.
Clients receive permission to use the finished toile for the personal or commercial applications specifically defined in the project agreement.
Production and Applications
Hughes Studio specializes in illustration and surface-pattern design rather than manufacturing or installation.
You will receive production-ready files for the applications included in your proposal and can work with your preferred fabric, wallpaper, stationery, packaging, or manufacturing partner.
If you are unsure where the finished toile will eventually live, that is perfectly fine. We can discuss potential applications during the project so the pattern is developed with an appropriate scale, format, and level of detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know exactly which scenes I want?
No. You may arrive with a detailed list or only the beginning of an idea. The discovery process is designed to identify the strongest scenes and determine how they can work together.
Can you work from old or imperfect photographs?
Yes. Family snapshots, archival photographs, real-estate images, phone pictures, and other visual references can all be useful.
When an important subject is not fully documented, I can often combine multiple references to create an appropriate interpretation.
Can people and pets be included?
Yes. People and animals often give a toile its emotional center. They may be depicted as recognizable portraits or interpreted more generally, depending on the scale and purpose of the pattern.
Can you incorporate an existing logo or brand identity?
Yes. Brand and institutional commissions can incorporate existing logos, monograms, colors, typography, architecture, products, mascots, and other visual identifiers.
The goal is to make the toile feel connected to the broader identity while giving it its own illustrative richness.
Is the pattern available in color?
Yes. The signature Hughes Studio style begins with black linework on white, and curated colorways may be developed as part of the commission.
The number and type of colorways will be defined in your individual proposal.
Are revisions included?
Two rounds of revisions are included at each principal creative stage unless otherwise stated in the proposal.
Requests beyond the approved scope or included revision rounds will be quoted separately and approved before additional work begins.
Can the scope change after the project begins?
Yes. If you discover an important story, scene, or application that should be included, we can discuss expanding the scope.
Any resulting adjustment to the investment, timeline, deliverables, or license will be provided for approval before the additional work begins.
Do I own the finished artwork?
Hughes Studio retains the copyright and authorship of the commissioned artwork unless a separate written copyright transfer is negotiated.
Your commission includes a license allowing you to use the finished pattern for the applications defined in your agreement.
Can I sell products featuring my personal toile?
Personal commissions do not include product resale or other commercial uses.
If you later decide to use the pattern for a business, fundraiser, promotion, licensed collection, or products offered for sale, Hughes Studio can prepare an expanded commercial license.
Do you arrange printing or manufacturing?
Hughes Studio provides the custom artwork and production-ready pattern files but does not manufacture or install finished products.
You may work with your preferred production partner, or the files can be prepared for an agreed vendor or application as part of the project scope.
Begin Your Commission
Every custom toile begins with a conversation about what matters.
Tell me about the people, places, traditions, products, or ideas you would like to see translated into pattern. You do not need to have every detail decided before reaching out—just a story you would like to preserve, celebrate, or bring to life.