Artist Beware - Falvie

[weylinamaterasu.livejournal.com]

My experience with Falvie has not been at all pleasant. She has lacked communication with me since I commissioned her. Apparently I am not the only one and it has gotten to the point where she now has a 'helper' to get all of her commissions in check. Completion promises have been made (by the third party) and not completed or reached and commission lists have been purged! I have lost money on more then one account because of this fandom and some of it's 'artists'. Keeping my mouth shut ends today.

WHO: Falvie (Artist)

WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/falvie/

WHAT: I commissioned a $15 sketch in late May to be mailed to me after completion after she moved (approx a month after the commission was paid for).

WHEN: The initial journal was posted May 24th 2013 on which I commented and grabbed a slot.

PROOF:
Journal: http://imageshack.com/a/img96/4550/7tl6.png
Comment requesting a commission: http://imageshack.com/a/img845/693/7pj0.png
Payment: http://imageshack.com/a/img18/843/tm21.png
Falvie admitting she got my payment: http://imageshack.com/a/img209/9521/8wa7.png

EXPLAIN: When I saw she had opened up I commented on the journal and asked for a commission and if it could be shipped when completed. I was willing to pay extra for shipping. She told me she could send it in a month after she moved for which I happily waited. A month went by with no word. She was posting other journals opening for more sketch commissions, one on which I commented on and never got a response from her. ( http://imageshack.com/a/img191/381/fd8j.png )(I had e-mailed her because her profile, at the time, told commissioners to do that. Not surprisingly, she never e-mailed me back: http://imageshack.com/a/img94/2830/85w.png) Instead I got a response from Socks-the-fox, a helper of sorts for her, on the journal. Later Falvie deleted the journal so the comments went with it. I had not written the name of her helper down, but when I checked Falvies main FA page I saw Socks commenting in her shout box trying to get a hold of her so I put two and two together and contacted Socks. Seen here: http://imageshack.com/a/img546/2035/zgcl.png
**So I contacted Socks and this is what was said:
Note 1: http://imageshack.com/a/img163/618/9tn7.png
Note 2: http://imageshack.com/a/img10/973/qsu5.png
Note 3: http://imageshack.com/a/img703/8558/oa42.png

As you can see Socks even promised that Falvie would get the art finished and completed within the next few days to a week. (Since apparently she has to be in the -right mood- to do the art she was paid to do.) That was on August 28th 2013, Over a month ago. (Socks has been commenting to Falvie via her shout box TODAY (10-2-2013) about some sort of queue. Whether it's the one with my commission on it or not is still to be determined: http://imageshack.com/a/img59/169/mlut.png )Socks also said that I was not on the 'master list' and that I was added after that. (I provided a link to the commission journal) Only just the other day did I find out exactly why I wasn't on this 'master list' to begin with. She apparently had purged her commission list July 14th 2013. I wasn't around much so I didn't see the journal at the time. ( http://imageshack.com/a/img853/37/p9vl.png ) I did, however, send her a note July 7th, in which she read but never got back to me: http://imageshack.com/a/img6/8365/scm2.png

That goes to show she -knew- about my commission during the purging and STILL never added me to the list. I shouldn't have to fill out some form because the artist can't remember all of who commissioned them. That is -their- job as a person who makes a living off their art.
Personally, this is theft and when I commission someone I expect what I am promised. I WANT the art I am owed. I rather have that then a refund. It's been 4 months since I commissioned a sketch, in which I was told Falvie can do in a matter of minutes. Yet to do this day, instead of doing my sketch she is opening for other pieces that take longer and completely disregarding those commissions she already owes. A good friend of mine commissioned her awhile back and got their art in a timely manner so I figured this artist was trust worthy. In my case, it seems it's not so.

Comments

[zackfig.livejournal.com]

And this is why I remarked on the Purging on the previous thread. Seriously, how the hell could one think this was ok to begin with!

Really sorry to hear you're going through this. The purging shouldn't have happened in the first place.

[spytdragonfyre.livejournal.com]

How exactly did Falvie justify purging her list? I'm not understanding ;u;

[morti-macabre.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I'm sorry this happened. I wish everyone would step forward about their problems with her.

I really don't know how she justifies anything she does, as it is completely over the top and morally reprehensible.

Between not even able to be bothered by the people paying her bills because everyone has to do the dance with "Socks the Fox" instead of just hearing it from Falvie herself, to purging her commission list, to just flat out ignoring people-- she's bordering on a serious scammer and IMHO it's only her "popularity" that's keeping her dangling by a thread.

She should feel lucky, considering things could be going much more south for her, such as how things went for SweetNightMare when everyone got fed up. She better get it together before that is her waking reality.

Very disappointing, especially as someone who finishes art in a timely manner and if I can't, I will always keep commissioners informed.

Frustrating.

I hope she takes the literal 5 minutes it would take to slip your piece in the mail.

Edit: Wrote "Lying" instead of "Ignoring" somehow. You'd have to talk to your commissioners first to lie to them looooooooooool

[lem0ntrees.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that FA administration in stepping in here, because she really has no business taking commissions with that attitude.

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

What is the administration doing?

[sableantelope.livejournal.com]

Disappointing to read this after all the assurances about changes that were going to happen and "prove A_B wrong".

I have to admit the gift art to Lakota, who specifically said they did not want anything other than their refund, rubbed me the wrong way as that time could have been used on finishing an owed commission. I wonder if everyone who complains loudly enough/posts on AB will get a gift as well as their refund.

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

Gift art doesn't require returning money, though.
I'm just going to make an assumption, but perhaps they are being offered gift art because there is no money to give back.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

The whole purging thing really bothers me. A lot. I would never commission her on that alone, as it shows a lack of character that she would think it okay to neither give people their art OR money back if they don't respond to a random journal she made. It is absolutely not the commissioner's responsibility to constantly remind her that they paid her for something.

You don't just get to take people's money and then wave away their commissions whenever you feel like you have too many.

[weylinamaterasu.livejournal.com]

This! ...and I never even saw the journal. How was I supposed to even know? With all the people I watch my journals fill quite fast and I don't get on every day to clear them. As you said, I shouldn't have to go breaking down doors and checking up on people I commissioned. It's not very business like.

[corghi.livejournal.com]

I'm sincerely confused, Falvie's "PR" is doing all the work SHE should be doing.

Socks-the-Fox (StF) should NOT be doing this work. If they really wanted to be a friend they would make her do it. It's not their problem. She should be dealing with her customers, she hasn't even spoke a word to most of them other than just taking their money.

Falvie isn't even appreciating what StF is doing for her, so why bother.

I really hope she cleans up her act.

[sbneko.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't personally say a person taking for you is a bad thing, as some people are just really bad at talking to people, but are great to work with. It's better to do it yourself, but some people really benefit from it. Problem here is that Falvie isn't doing the work at all, or takes forever.

[vindictiivespet.livejournal.com]

I have a piece from her I am waiting on as well, =/ Socks has talked to me about it but I feel pretty much the same as you do here. It shouldnt be someone elses job to make sure Falvie gets her work done without missing anyone.
At this point I think anyone that has had something waiting from her this long, should just move on to get a refund. c.c Sad as it is, her work is gorgeous, but its not right...

[socks-the-fox.livejournal.com]

I will admit I made a mistake in making a promise I had no way to keep. The delivery date failure was entirely on me. I should not have given a timeframe without discussing it with her. I was under the impression that she was doing all of her sketches at the time. However it seems that this was around the time her depression hit, and I lost consistent contact with her.

Regarding the purge, I've made the decision to reverse that as I've said in the other A_Bs comments. Unfortunately due to the disparate means that Falvie took commissions, some of which I do not have access to (such as notes and emails) I have to rely on people contacting either Falvie or myself to get the ones I've missed. It is not the best method and I plan on having her turn over as much as I can to finish building my list.

[corghi.livejournal.com]

I am really sorry, but you really, really shouldn't be doing this. Falvie should be the one contacting commissioners, updating them, and reassuring them their art will get done.

On the other thread try so hard to defend Falvie, it just seems like a lost cause.

We should be seeing Falvie go out of her way to post here and defend herself, not yours. It just looks like she doesn't even really care about her reputation at this point.

Please don't make her problems, your problems. You're digging yourself deeper.

(frozen)

[lackoflollies.livejournal.com]

The fact that Socks' has to continually spam her FA shouts for any communication should be hint enough she doesn't give a shit.

If she gave more then half a shit for the kind of scammer she's made herself out to be, should would be fixing this on her own instead of using someone else to take the fall FOR her. I await the day I see the "!" by her username on FA.

(frozen)

[timelapsedecay.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed it.
"One of these days you and I are finally going to be on at the same time X3"
"Don't forget your chat with me! I'm ready whenever you are, and there's a bit to go over!"
I've seen Socks posting like this on Falvie's page for a couple days now.
That doesn't seem to be very effective secretary-ing. Isn't spamming her page with shouts something her (ignored) clients do? Because now it seems like she talks to Socks as much as she does her clients.
Obviously I'm not an insider but if you ask me, I don't think this secretary thing is working at all. On the flipside, it's making things worse for both Falvie and Socks

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

Mods, feel free to screen/freeze this if necessary, but I feel this needs to be said.

I think this focus on Socks needs to end. This beware is not about Socks. It is about Falvie. Any compensation Socks may receive is irrelevant to this beware, and focusing on that is drawing away from the root of this issue.

At this point, after mulling it over, I really think it shouldn't matter who is handling PR. The fact remains that a large and correct list of commissioners has come forward, and that list continues to grow. There is someone holding a fire under Falvie, and work and refunds are slowly being churned out. The fact that this is happening is a good thing. The purging no longer "exists", as people who were purged are able to be re-added to Sock's master list without payment (as mentioned earlier in these threads). The administration is also now keeping a keen eye on this situation. There are plenty of people looking out right now.

I think the focus of this beware should remain on Falvie and her behavior. Her reputation will be interpreted by those interested in commissioning her in the future, and I hope that after this fiasco, we begin to see some true changes over the next through months in regards to the queue, and how commissions are handled if she continues to take them.

Let's not shoot the messenger, as this person has provided more progress and answers in a week than many people have seen in months.

((Edit: mistyped a word.))

[dannyazazel.livejournal.com]

Completely agreed. Yeah Socks is getting kind of desperate and honestly? I think it's because she might be a little frustrated. Falvie isn't even responding to HER and that to me is a bad sign.

I REALLY do hope that Falvie will continue to work on her commissions and stop taking new ones until her queue is clear. I understand that it gets hard when things are rough, I've gone through a LOT. But I still got my work done. Sure sometimes it was slower than others, but she needs to push through as best as she can.

I wish she'd understand that if she just RESPONDED to people, most of them wouldn't even be mad! A lot of people are okay with waiting so long as there is some form of contact going on and they don't feel like it's been abandoned.

I overall think Socks is doing a pretty dang good job considering the situation.

(Edited because of a typo)

[socks-the-fox.livejournal.com]

Someone left a shout linking the A_B on her page. Am I allowed to contact them about that being against the rules, or is that something I should just report and leave for the mods to handle?

Edit: Looking at some of the shouts on their page it almost seems that they're the kind of person that tries to start up drama.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

Thank you for letting us know. Do not contact them. Leave that up to us mods.

You can PM or email us in the future if you see more of that, or if other email/note harassment occurs.

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

The proxy rule refers to cases where someone wants to beware a person, but they are an uninvolved party. Examples being a friend wanting to post for someone who "is scared of retaliation", a significant other who only finds out after the transaction sours, or a bystander who wants to "warn others".

Socks coming in as the PR person is a non-issue really. Their actions are actually pretty noble, its just the one they're trying to save, isn't helping the cause.

Honestly I will take Socks' list over Falvie's anyway as it is likely more accurate of what is owed... And if Falvie keeps this up, it'll be that list that bans her.

So no, Socks cab stay. As long as they remain professional and realize by being Falvie's voice, she will get Falvie's criticism.

[tayruu.livejournal.com]

I probably don't have an issue anything like others, but I tried to organise a commission with her in February via email, she seemed interested, and then email responses afterwards simply stopped.

She even seems to have disregarded an email to her "commissions" email asking about the commission post-"purge". It probably doesn't help me that she seems to only do business via FA journals.

It's a shame, since prior business with her went nice and smoothly. I feel like she's become overloaded with commissions/ers and isn't managing them well, nor managing unfulfilled requests - which ought to come first or be refunded if needed. (It's something I hope I don't run into myself in the future...)

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

Falvie also appears to have a dA page, with different artwork posted there than her FA page. Not sure if this is helpful or not. The last submission was in September, and there appears to be commissions posted on there as well.

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'm not good with FA. Apparently they were submitted to both accounts. But still; another account in her name.

[vertizontal.livejournal.com]

Something thats been getting at me, and I dont know if has been mentioned..but havent FA users been suspended from FA for not delivering on their commissions? Usually they would have to have a hefty list of them. I think Chevi got suspended for pretty much the same thing that Falvie's been doing , or at least similar, in so far as having a big list of people she still owes art to, and having less than no communication with their commissioners.

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

I don't want to speak on behalf of the FA mods, so hopefully one sees this and can chime in.

Maybe they're given a chance to make amends and to remedy the situation they got themselves into?

[socks-the-fox.livejournal.com]

I've gone in and added most of the finished commissions that I had marked on my offline list that I hadn't added to the online one 'cause they were finished. It doesn't include any of the ones that I never added to my offline list yet, and there were a couple that I had marked as finished but couldn't find the pieces at a glance (at least one of which I know was actually finished because the commissioner told me so, I just need to find it).

The list automatically sorts them down to the bottom to prioritize unfinished work, so that's where they are.

I plan on spelunking through the journals and adding more finished pieces to better give an idea as to the actual ratio of finished to unfinished work.

Edit: Link to the list: http://socksthefox.net/comlist/index.php?user=Falvie

[sillygosling.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is quite the que- and quite the hole she has dug indeed. I think with your help though it's not entirely impossible to surmount on her end. It will take awhile, and she will probably have to find another source of income in the mean time, but the end result of not being in debt and having it hanging over her head will be worth it. I hope you get a hold of her soon and wish you luck in that endeavor.

[socks-the-fox.livejournal.com]

So bazeel is telling Falvie that she has to take the list of commissioners that I spent weeks on, throw it out the window, and redo it from scratch in 48 hours by herself, defeating the primary purpose she brought me in for.

They've also said there would be administrative action against me if she didn't comply.

[bazeel-pooka.livejournal.com]

Correct. Since you feel it is necessary to air my business here, I will reply in a public forum, as well:

This has been an ongoing issue for a long time. Let's not pretend it hasn't been. The mere fact that Falvie was unwilling to reply to me until I convinced you to speak to her says volumes about the current situation as a whole.

I have asked her to furnish her own commission queue to show that she is willing to work for a solution to this problem, not merely shove it aside onto someone else while asking people for more money.

You have taken the mantle upon yourself to speak for Falvie, and in doing so, taken responsibility in connecting yourself to her business practices. This is also evident on her FA page, as well as latest journal mentioning you.

Please tell me you can understand the difference in doing this to show initiative, vs. doing so for spite.

[lakotawolf.livejournal.com]

Falvie appears to be planning on asking OTHER PEOPLE to donate to this customer of hers in lieu of her paying back the $600 refund she owes him if it gets "too hard" for her to pay back what she owes him by the deadline he gave her:

http://www.splintyr.com/artists_beware/f_donations.jpg

[norsepaw.livejournal.com]

Thats a bit sad and gives hint she dont really want to improve.

[bazeel-pooka.livejournal.com]

This issue has been resolved on our end, pending further contact / efforts from the artist. Further details will not be granted, as this would constitute a breech of User/Administration communications / Appeals. Please rest assured that we are willing to work with all parties to make this as mutually painless as possible. Thank you for all the assistance the community has provided in this matter.

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

Thanks Bazeel. You're a real champ doing all this for AB and the community at large. Keep up the good work!

[fenflux.livejournal.com]

So, while I have had good experiences with Falvie (I got a livestream sketch some time back) and she was not at all rude and was extremely prompt. But this post and what I've seen on FA have been rather... Off putting.
I've seen the backlog of commissions and DAMN. Like, I know she gets a lot of people wanting her art, but she really needs to close at 5 (or ten or 15) so she can catch up. Seeing a list like that with unpaid commissions having been completed and some paid ones not even started.. It makes me very sceptical about wanting to commission her if I'm going to be honest.

[dragontripmon.livejournal.com]

And already people are on her page complaining about the suspension. This really bothers me especially considering her fanbase.

[lackoflollies.livejournal.com]

Not like they can really do anything about it. :3

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I always see the 'how is (artist) supposed to get their work to their commissioners if they're suspended!?' excuse and I'll never understand it.

I mean, what are you implying? That once someone has taken commissions, they are now immune to banning? Would it be different if she had been banned for harassment or spam or something?

How does that even begin to make any sense?

I don't know, I don't get it. I don't get how anyone can say someone shouldn't be banned because they owe work and now 'can't get it to them'. That's not true regardless. Other mediums of communication than FA exist. It's also honestly not a good idea to begin with to run your business entirely off FA, with how poor the note system is and how often the site goes down. But overall, there are plenty of ways to get your work to your customers without having to do it via FA, directly.

Besides... I thought that was part of what Socks was brought on for. I'm sure she can help get work to customers, and then when things are untangled, Falvie will probably be let back onto FA. I just worry this will happen all over again unless Falvie overhauls her entire commission system.

Google Drive spreadsheets are really easy to use for commission lists, and of course there's Trello. There's no excuse that it came to this, and there'll be even less if it happens again.

[celestinaketzia.livejournal.com]

This is exactly my thoughts. It isn't like its hard to get in contact with someone. Especially since Falvie does have a manger of sorts to help her.

Seeing the paid not done list is incredibly scary. I couldn't imagine having that much of a workload waiting on me whose money I already spent.

[slinkslowdown.livejournal.com]

Wow, she's actually banned?

I'm pleasantly surprised!

[vivvy fox (from livejournal.com)]

Nice to know that you find pleasure in other people's misfortunes.

[timelapsedecay.livejournal.com]

Finally banned. At least she won't be taking any more money from unsuspecting FA users until this is resolved. Thank you, Bazeel!

[dragontripmon.livejournal.com]

Has anyone been reading the recent journal considering there are still a lot of comments on here especially one by her manager socks the fox. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5139245/#cid:36596418

[norsepaw.livejournal.com]

Wow! Someone need to calm down big time.