*Sigh* Okay. Here we go again.
First off, I'll just throw in my vouch for Arrowchild. She's a fantastic faceup artist. I've sent ... what ... five, six of my dolls to her so far? And I've gotten every single one of them back, and they're all gorgeous. I trust her with my dolls completely. She's never let me down.
I agree, allowing one horror story to make you decide to never send your dolls anywhere, and buy a plane ticket to wherever is just a little ... weird. And rather insulting to the artists, truth be told. That horror story was a rather unique case. There are a LOT of faceup artists who are perfectly honest and have great integrity.
Lets think about this logically, shall we?
Many faceup artists make extra income off their services. Hell, some of them probably even make their ONLY income off their services, either to fund this hobby, or to fund everything else. If they were to start causing problems, even if it were due to extenuating circumstances (as has happened time to time), word would soon get out. The news would spread across forums and throughout the community, and people would no longer trust that artist with their dolls. Nobody would commission, and that artist's reputation will basically be ruined for life. No more money. The end. The same idea applies to commissioning clothes and wigs and every other little thing your doll might need.
Now, kindly tell me what artist (who isn't completely off their rocker like that one girl) would DELIBERATELY go and bite the hands that feed them? Hmmm?
Yes. Sending your dolls off to be faceupped can be a scary thing. Yes, sometimes, things happen, and problems arise, and sometimes it ends badly. It's a risk we ALL take. And refusing to trust ANY of the artists on the basis of ONE story that happened years ago, I feel is a VERY judgmental call on your part. Sending dolls out for faceups and blushing and modding is a big part of this hobby. Sorry, but there it is. Still, if you're still dead-set against it, then I'd suggest you either have the company you buy the doll from do the face, or learn how to do faceups yourself. That makes a hell of a lot more sense than buying a plane ticket to the artist's home, anyway. That's ... just a little on the creepy side there.
And back to the topic ... when is the last time Landwhale has posted here? I can't seem to recall seeing her name for awhile. I hope there aren't any serious issues going on with her life, but it's not looking good, is it?