Commissions and Corporate Sourcing: Winning Work Directly Through Your Dashboard
19 October 2026 · 9 min read
Commissions, corporate sourcing and the Trade directory are a second sales channel sitting alongside individual retail sales - bespoke work for a single client, volume programs for hotels and developers, and direct visibility to interior designers sourcing for their own clients. Most new artists treat this as something to "graduate into" after years of retail sales. There's no actual reason to wait: the tools to do all three are available from the day you join, and the outreach and pricing stay entirely yours.
Signal that you take commissions
A buyer or designer interested in a custom piece needs to know that's actually on offer before they'll ask - most won't message to check if you don't say so clearly. State it plainly on your profile: what kind of custom work you'll take, roughly how it's priced, and what the process looks like. This single piece of information unlocks an entire category of enquiry that otherwise never arrives.
Finding commission clients yourself
There's no commission queue or matching engine handing you briefs - finding commission clients is your own outreach, same as any bespoke service business. Your existing sales are your best leads here: a past buyer who's already furnished one room is a strong prospect for a custom piece in another, and following up with them directly outperforms waiting for a stranger to find your profile and think to ask.
Pricing and structuring the deposit
Use your standard pricing method as the base for a commission, then price in a premium for the bespoke nature of the work - a custom brief justifies more than a ready-made piece because you're directing your time specifically for one client. Structure a deposit before starting, commonly 50%, both to cover your time if a client changes their mind midway and to signal that the commitment runs both ways.
What corporate buyers actually want
Corporate is a different buyer entirely to someone commissioning one piece for a room - it's an organisation sourcing art for itself at volume, like a hotel group fitting out multiple properties or a developer with several buildings in the pipeline. It's not the same relationship as working with an interior designer sourcing for an individual client project; corporate buyers reach out on their own initiative and at their own scale, or you reach them directly.
Getting on their radar yourself
There's no corporate matching queue either - getting on a hotel group's or developer's radar is outreach you do directly, and your profile has to do real credibility work to support it: clear process documentation, past work, and scale and framing options stated plainly, so a cold approach to a developer doesn't read as amateur.
Pricing a volume deal, and why reliability is the product
Quote the whole program honestly - materials, timeline and delivery for the full scope, not just a per-piece rate extrapolated upward. And once you've delivered one program well, that reliability is usually the actual pitch for the next one: a hotel group expanding to new properties, or a developer with more buildings coming, goes back to whoever delivered on time last time. Keep your own record of who you worked with and what you delivered - the single best source of corporate work is a corporate client you've already delivered for once.
Trade: visibility to the people sourcing for someone else
Interior designers and consultants sourcing art for a client project browse the Trade directory directly - the full artist pool, filtered by nothing but their own taste and their client's brief, with direct messaging straight to the maker. Being part of that pool means designers sourcing for a project can find and contact you directly, without you having to separately pitch every design firm in your city.
Zero commission applies here too
Whatever you agree with a commission client or a corporate buyer is the whole deal, negotiated and priced entirely by you, on the same zero-commission basis as any other sale on the platform. There's no separate fee for landing this kind of work beyond the flat membership you already pay.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get commission clients as a new artist?
There's no queue handing you briefs - it's your own outreach, and your existing buyers are the best place to start. Someone who's already bought one piece from you is a strong prospect for a custom piece, and a direct follow-up with them usually outperforms waiting for a stranger to ask.
What's the difference between a corporate buyer and an interior designer client?
A corporate buyer is an organisation sourcing art for itself at volume - a hotel group or developer fitting out multiple properties - and typically reaches out directly or is reached directly. An interior designer is usually sourcing for an individual client's project, often through a directory like Trade.
How much deposit should I take for a commission?
A common structure is 50% upfront before starting, which covers your time if a client changes their mind midway and signals the commitment runs both ways. The exact figure is yours to set as part of your own terms.
Does Solène Haus take a cut of commission or corporate deals?
No - whatever you agree directly with a commission client or corporate buyer is the full deal, priced and negotiated entirely by you, on the same zero-commission basis as any other sale on the platform.
What is the Trade directory and how does it help an artist?
Trade is where interior designers and consultants sourcing art for a client project browse the full artist pool directly, with direct messaging to the maker. Being part of it means those buyers can find and contact you directly without separate outreach to every design firm yourself.
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