The Trade Desk
New to the Trade?
A first briefing for the design desk
What "to the trade" means at The Poets Foundation, who it is for, and how a Painted Poem moves from the archive into a finished room.
The Sequence
After Approval
Discover
Browse the archive. Shortlist works that fit the room, the wall, and the install window.
Qualify & Connect
Submit a Trade Access request. After approval, you are assigned a desk contact.
Select & Reserve
Name the work. A courtesy hold reserves it while the specification is written. Holds default to ten business days.
Specify & Approve
You receive a spec pack and tear sheet: size, edition, substrate, weight, hanging, lead time. Approve the quote. Commissioned work requires a fifty percent deposit to begin.
Produce & Deliver
The studio completes the specified edition or Museum Canvas. The work is crated and shipped to the site or warehouse. White-glove hang only when the quote names it.
Install & Document
Inspect on arrival. Papers travel with the work: certificate of authenticity, care notes, install notes, and photo credit. Purchase of the object does not transfer copyright in the image or the poem.
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Works released to approved accounts
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A named desk contact
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Spec pack and tear sheet
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Written hold on an identified work
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Confidential quote
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COA, care notes, install notes, photo credit
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Viewing or archive preview only when offered in writing
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Proceeds support Save a Child Artist. The invoice is not a donation
KEY TERMS
PAINTED POEM: The work. An original composition issued as an edition or as a Museum Canvas.
PUBLIC EDITION: A numbered work available through the public collection.
MUSEUM CANVAS: Statement-scale work specified through the Trade Desk after approval.
ARTIST'S PROOF: Outside the numbered edition. Released by invitation only.
COURTESY HOLD: A temporary reservation while the project is specified. Default ten business days.
TEAR SHEET: A short project-ready sheet: title, size, finish, and provenance.
SPEC PACK: Technical file for the specifier and installer: size, edition, substrate, weight, hanging, lead time.
NAMED LIAISON: The desk contact assigned after Trade Access approval.
SAVE A CHILD ARTIST: A Foundation project supported by proceeds. A trade invoice is not a donation.
Poets Foundation Inc. - Florida non-profit Corporation and 131 non-profit Corp. Canada
2026 Poets Foundation Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Purchases will Benefit the Mission Projects of The Poets Foundation Inc. non-profit