A sample, made to your brief
A paid sample of your own design, made to the size, surface and finish you ask for — before anything goes into production.
Sampling is a paid service: we make a physical sample of your design to the specification you ask for — size, format, surface, finish and frame — in 5–7 days. The fee is quoted with each request. Once you approve the sample, it becomes the reference the production run is checked against.
How sampling works
Four steps, from request to an approved reference.
Tell us what to sample
Send the design and say what you need to decide: the size, the format, relief or 3D texture, a finish, a frame. Sample one version, or two side by side if you are choosing between them.
We quote the sample
The fee depends on what is being sampled, so it is quoted with your request. Nothing is made until you have agreed it.
Made in 5–7 days
Counted from the start of sampling. Shipping the sample to you is separate and depends on where you are and the method chosen.
Approve, or revise
An approved sample becomes the reference the run is checked against. If something needs to change, the revision is agreed with you before it is made.
What to include in a request
Send what you have. Anything you leave open, we will ask about or suggest.
- Design
- Your image, or the subject for us to design from
- Size and format
- Tile, framed piece, magnet, disc — at the size you intend
- Surface
- Relief or 3D texture, if you already know
- Finish and frame
- Any you want to see before deciding
- Expected quantity
- Affects the production quote, not the sample
Why a physical sample
Four things that cannot be judged from a screen.
Photographs of relief lie in both directions
Flat light flattens the surface and undersells it. Raking light exaggerates it. Neither photograph is what your wall will look like, and thirty seconds with a physical piece settles what a week of images cannot.
Screens lie about warmth
Every monitor renders colour differently, and none of them render it the way ink on a ceramic surface does. Warm tones in particular read lighter on screen — the most common reason a first proof surprises people.
Finish changes how colour reads
The same colour value looks deeper under a gloss clear finish than on a matte surface, because gloss reflects less diffusely. If a finish is part of the decision, it belongs on the sample.
A small sample does not prove a large panel
Sampling confirms colour, surface and how an image reads. It does not confirm how a 1200 × 2400 mm piece behaves structurally or in a crate — that is checked separately.
Sample questions
How long does sampling take?
5–7 days. That is the time to make the sample itself and does not include shipping it to you, which depends on where you are and the method chosen.
What does a sample cost?
Sampling is a paid service. The fee depends on what is sampled — size, format, surface, finish and framing — so it is quoted with each request rather than published. Whether it is credited against a later order is agreed per order.
What can I ask to have sampled?
Whatever you need to decide. One piece of the final design is the usual request. Some clients ask for two surfaces, finishes or frames on the same image to compare them. Tell us what the decision is and we will suggest what is worth sampling.
Will the finished piece match the sample?
The approved sample is the reference for colour and surface, which is the point of approving one. Where a full-size piece differs, it is usually about how the image reads at a different scale — so for large work, sample the detail you care most about rather than a shrunken version of the whole.
Do I need a sample for an existing Thangka design?
Usually not, since the design already exists — and if it is in stock, a single piece can be bought to check in hand. Sampling matters most for custom work — including a Thangka design re-made at a new size — where the thing you are approving does not exist yet.
Can I add a new material or finish after approval?
Yes, and the change is sampled again. A different substrate, coating or decorative material changes the piece, and approval of one combination does not carry over to another.
Send the image. We'll send it back in ceramic.
Sampling takes 5–7 days, and the fee is quoted with your request.