The Trade Desk
How a project runs
Process
Brief. Specify. Approve. Deliver. Document
A linear desk for specified interiors. You send the room. We return a spec pack, a confidential quote, and a written hold. Production, crate, and papers follow the same sequence every time.
THE FIVE MOVES
Luxury trade partners do not shop a cart. They brief a room, lock a specification, and schedule the object to the install window. These five moves are the public Process page, the same sequence already named on the Trade Desk, written out so a specifier can brief without a call.
01 Brief the room
Start with the interior, not the catalog. Art consultants and hospitality specifiers who open with a formal brief, scope, palette, scale, install window. Report fewer late substitutions than studios that source reactively.
YOU SEND
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Room type and wall measure (W × H, clear of moldings)
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Palette, woods, stone, and metal finishes
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Quantity and whether specified or gallery inventory
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Install window and site constraints (union dock, yacht, hotel)
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Decision makers: designer, procurement, PM
WE RETURN
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Confirmation that Trade Access is on file
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A reading of scale against the wall (art typically occupies 57–75% of the clear field)
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Edition path: Public, Museum Canvas, Artist’s Proof, or commission
TIMING
Brief reviewed within two business days of an approved account.
NOTE
Personal collectors use the public gallery. This desk is for firms that specify or resell.
02 SPECIFY the object
A spec pack is the document a project manager can hand a contractor. Datasheets, not mood boards, prevent TBD from reaching the wall. Each shortlisted Painted Poem is written to title, edition, substrate, weight, hanging, and lead time.
SPEC PACK CONTAINS
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Title, year, artist, edition type and number
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Image size and finished size (they differ once framed)
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Medium, substrate, weight, crate class
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Hanging hardware and wall load notes
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Lead time from accepted quote
SHORTLIST
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Two to four works against the brief
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Museum Canvas or statement-scale options called out
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Commission path if nothing in edition fits the wall
TIMING
Spec pack three to five business days after a complete brief.
NOTE
Screen color is not a specification. Slight variation in canvas tooth and varnish is inherent.
03 APPROVE quote, hold, deposit
The quote is the only place net pricing appears. A written hold reserves an identified work. Commissioned or made-to-order work does not enter the studio until the deposit clears. This is the gate between specification and production.
THE QUOTE LOCKS
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Object net (confidential to the approved account)
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Hold window — default ten business days
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Crate, insure, ship or white-glove as extra lines
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Deposit: 50% to commence a commission
ACCEPTANCE
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Email from the approved account address
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Quote valid fourteen calendar days unless stated
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Hold is a courtesy, not a sale, until funds clear
COMMERCIAL
Pricing is never on this page. Title passes per Trade Terms. Purchase of the object does not transfer copyright in image or poem.
DEPOSIT
50% to commence commissioned work. Balance before the crate leaves the studio.
04 DELIVER crate, insure, place
Fine-art logistics are scheduled to site readiness, not to the carrier’s convenience. White-glove means appointment arrival, uncrating, placement on the specified wall, and pack-out, so the designer is not the last handler of the object.
STUDIO TO SITE
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Condition photographs before crate close
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Museum carton or wood crate by edition size
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Transit insurance to the stated destination when quoted
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Warehouse receive available if the job is not ready
WHITE GLOVE WHEN
CONTRACTED
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Timed window, floor protection, room-of-choice
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Hang to the specified height and sightline
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Packaging removed; punch items noted same day
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Installation is never assumed — only when quoted
INSPECT
Visible damage: 48 hours, with photographs. Concealed damage: five business days.
SITE
Confirm wall type, hang height, and dock rules in the brief. Yacht, hotel, and union buildings change the crate plan.
05 DOCUMENT COA, care, credit
The papers travel with the work. A Certificate of Authenticity, care notes, and photo-credit terms close the file so the object can be hung, insured, and later photographed for the partner’s portfolio without a second negotiation.
THE FILE
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COA: artist, title, year, medium, size, edition
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Care: light, humidity, dust, no full-poem reprint
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Install notes and hardware schedule
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Credit line for press and portfolio
CREDIT LINE
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Painted Poem by E. Laurence Bake, The Poets Foundation
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Install photography permitted
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No standalone poem reprints
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No public trade roster
RIGHTS
Title to the object only. Copyright in the image and the poem stays with the Foundation.
MISSION
Proceeds support Foundation projects. The invoice is not a donation receipt.
Process notes designers ask
When do I see prices?
After Trade Access approval, on the quote, never on this page.
Is installation included?
Only when the quote names white-glove or hang. Otherwise ship and receive.
How long is a hold?
Ten business days unless the quote states a project window.
Can I photograph the install?
Yes, with credit. No full-poem reprints. No public partner list.
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