How to Commission a Custom Metal Sculpture

Commissioning a sculpture sounds intimidating until you have done it once. After that, it is mostly a conversation.

This guide walks through the workflow Corey uses with collectors, interior designers, and hospitality buyers. It also answers the questions buyers actually send us, so your first message is a useful one.

Quick answer: how do you commission a metal sculpture?

Pick an artist whose past work already looks like what you want, then send dimensions, photos, and a budget range.

Agree on a written brief, pay a deposit, and the build begins.

Corey has welded since 2004 and has created more than 3,000 original sculptures. Every commission is a one-of-one piece, never reproduced.

How to choose a commissioned sculpture artist

Before you send a single dimension, make sure the artist is the right fit. A great figurative bronze sculptor is not automatically the right person for a welded copper wall piece.

What to look for

• A real archive in your material. Look for years of finished work in copper, steel, or mixed metal, not just renders.
• A written brief before the build. Scale, finish, mounting, freight, and price should be agreed in writing.
• Mounting and crating know-how. Heavy metal needs the right hardware and a crate built for the piece.
• Provenance. Ask whether the piece is signed and documented.

Every Corey Ellis sculpture is signed in the metal and ships with a certificate listing title, year, materials, dimensions, weight, and care notes. For a longer checklist, see our expert guide to commissioning a sculpture.

Step 1. Decide whether you actually want a commission

Commissions exist for the moment a space asks for something that does not exist yet. If a piece you have already seen would work, buy that piece.

A useful gut check: would a sculpture from the available work archive solve the problem? If the answer is "almost, but not quite," a commission is probably the right call.

Signs you want a custom piece

• The wall or niche has unusual proportions.
• You want a material or finish not in the archive.
• The piece needs to anchor a room, lobby, or brand experience.
• You want a sibling to a work you already own or love.

Still deciding between original and decor-store art? Read custom vs mass-produced art.

Step 2. Gather what the artist needs to see

A useful first message includes:

• Wall or space dimensions in inches or centimeters
• Ceiling height and a note about lighting
• Photos of the room, current state or renderings
• Reference images of pieces you respond to
• Intended use: private residence, hotel lobby, restaurant, office, or gallery
• Any hard delivery date
• A budget range, if you have one

Not sure how big the piece should be? Our guide on how to choose metal wall sculpture size walks through the proportions.

Step 3. Expect a direction conversation, not a sketch

Corey does not lead with full renders. Welded sculpture is a material conversation, and a render of welded copper is fiction until it exists in metal.

Expect a back and forth that resolves into a short written brief: scale, primary material, finish, mounting method, freight method, and a project price. Once the brief is signed and a deposit is in, the build begins.

Progress photos are shared at key milestones, so you are never waiting in the dark.

Step 4. Understand what shapes the price

There is no menu. Pricing moves with six factors:

• Scale: total square footage and depth of the piece
• Material mix: copper, steel, stainless, brass, masonry nail, or a combination
• Finish complexity: raw, oxidized, patinated, polished, or enameled
• Detail density: the number of welded elements and surface labor
• Mounting system: simple cleat versus structural standoff
• Freight: domestic crate versus international freight

Specific numbers are quoted after the brief is reviewed. If you need a number sooner, share a budget range and Corey will tell you honestly whether the project fits.

Questions buyers actually ask us

These come straight from recent commission inquiries.

"Can you make a larger version of a piece I saw?"

This is one of the most common requests. Because every work is one of one, the studio designs a new sibling piece at your scale rather than a copy of the original.

Send the piece you saw, your wall size, and what you love about it. That gives Corey a clear direction to build from.

"I want to commission a sculpture as a gift. Can it be ready by a date?"

Gift commissions are welcome, from anniversaries to milestone birthdays. Timeline depends on the piece, so share the real date in your first message.

The studio will tell you straight whether the window is workable. If it is tight, an available work piece may be the better gift.

"Can the sculpture live outdoors?"

Ask before the brief is written, because placement changes material and finish choices. Outdoor and humid-environment pieces ship with care notes specific to that material and that wall.

"Can a piece be built around something personal?"

Yes. A hobby, an instrument, a place, or a shape that means something to you can become the starting point. Send photos and a sentence about why it matters.

Step 5. Common mistakes to avoid

• Overspecifying the design before the artist has seen the space
• Holding the budget secret, which forces blind redesigns later
• Skipping reference images, since a wall photo beats three paragraphs
• Waiting until the wall is framed to ask about mounting
• Asking for a price without sharing scale

After the piece arrives

Each commission includes mounting hardware fabricated to the sculpture, install notes, and remote support during hanging. The studio does not install on site, so plan for your own installer.

For the hang itself, see how to hang a heavy metal wall sculpture. Indoor copper and steel need little more than a soft, dry cloth.

Hospitality and large-scale projects

For a hotel lobby, restaurant wall, or corporate entry, start with the commercial spaces page. For oversized walls, the large-scale wall sculpture page covers mounting and freight.

Ready to start?

See how the process works on the custom metal sculpture commissions page, then send your wall size and a photo through the contact page. Corey reviews every inquiry personally. For more answers, read our metal art commissions FAQ.