My first ever commission involved working with members of the Stanley community to bring business and foot traffic back to Stanley market and the promenade when Hong Kong started to open up during the summer of 2021. I made a range of pieces including a construction hoarding, cut-out wild boar and birds for visitors to pose with, and a massive poster that was afixed to the side of the hoarding throughout the summer.

How I got the gig

I had been posting artwork of Hong Kong scenes on Facebook and Instagram, and had posted my first ever Hong Konger... a draft of Room with a View. One of the Stanley team found my work after I shared it on a Facebook group — something like Hong Kong Moms or Hong Kong Expats, and reached out to me through my website.

What I made

• Poster art

• T-shirts

• 3 wild boar characters

• Construction hoarding

• Postcard art

Lessons learned

When I was starting out, I was charging only HK $1000 to $3000 for commissions, adding 20% to printing costs to cover them, and billing extra work at $250 an hour. I treated this commission as an opportunity to learn, so I said yes to everything with the mentality that I could figure stuff out as I went. I learned where to find someone to print and install a construction hoarding; I learned how to find someone who would build custom wood frames for life-size wild boar cut-outs; I learned how to design logos and branding guides. I also learned what I wanted to specialise in and what I wanted to stop doing. This commission taught me a lot about the business side of handling commissions from contracts to licensing to pricing myself.