How it works
From a photograph to a thing you can hold
Three steps, and you see the result before you pay for it.
1. Bring a photograph
Upload anything. We lift the subject out of its background automatically, so you don’t need to cut anything out first. Then you frame it — drag to move, scroll to zoom, rotate and flip — and add words if you want them, in one of eight typefaces chosen because they hold up at real size on real materials.
2. Choose what it becomes
The same photograph reads completely differently depending on what it lands on. Slate gives near-white on near-black, the sharpest contrast in the range. Bamboo comes up a warm brown. Crystal holds it in mid-air. Each product offers only the treatments that genuinely suit it, rather than all of them regardless.
3. Watch it materialise
Press the button and we build the finished object — your design, on the real material, at its real size. Then you decide.
Questions people actually ask
What kind of photo works best?
One clear subject, reasonably well lit, and around a thousand pixels on the short side or more. A phone photo is fine. Very dark or very busy pictures give us less to work with, and the preview will show you that honestly before you buy.
Do I need to cut the background out first?
No. We do it for you automatically, and you can turn it off in The Workshop if your picture is a landscape or anything without one clear subject.
Why does the preview take a few seconds?
Because it isn't a filter. We build the real thing and show you that, rather than approximating it in your browser. A quick preview that disagreed with what turned up in the post would be worse than waiting.
How accurate is the preview?
It's your design on the real material, at its real size, showing how that material actually behaves — pale on slate and glass, dark on wood and leather. It's a close guide, not a photograph of your finished piece, and natural materials vary.
Why can't I choose a photograph on a pet tag?
Because it would look bad. Steel holds crisp lettering and line work beautifully and continuous tone very poorly, so on a 25 mm tag a photograph comes out as a grey smudge. Each product only offers the treatments that suit it.
Who picks the colours on a layered card?
We do — or rather the program does. It reads the colours in your photograph, works out how many layers it can usefully carry between one and five, and matches each one to the closest card we stock. It tells you what it chose and why once the preview lands.
When will it arrive?
If we have the materials in stock, it's dispatched the next working day. If we need to order them in, two to three working days. Your basket tells you which before you pay.
Can I cancel or return it?
A personalised piece cannot be cancelled or returned once it is made — goods made to your own design are exempt from the usual 14-day cooling-off period, and we say so on the product page, in the basket and again at checkout. Our ready-made stencil sets are not personalised, so those keep the full 14 days. Either way, anything faulty, damaged or not as described is remade or refunded. And if we have not started yours yet, just ask — we can usually still stop it.
What if my photograph won't work well?
We will tell you before you pay, and then make it anyway if you want it. Some pictures — a crowd, a hedge, anything very busy — come out bold and graphic rather than as a likeness once they are cut into flat layers. You get told that, and what would improve it, but we never refuse a photograph. It is your picture and your call.
Can I have the artwork file?
No. The design work is the product, so the files stay with us. You get the physical piece and a watermarked preview.