Cash In Hand.

I read recently about an illustrator who kept a list of 'dream clients' on her wall. I don't have such a thing - I've always thought it was a bit limiting - as in, what do you do when you've worked for them all? - and besides a dream client is actually, as my friend Jill Calder put it, 'one that creates an exciting brief, allows you to do your job, communicates well, has a sense of humour, pays well and is fun to work with.'

Or, it's one that pays you in chocolate.

I designed some packaging for D & D Chocolates who specialise in dairy-free chocolate and carob, and (amen) happen to be down the road from us. We used to buy their gear anyway, then when we had a couple of big shows they provided the bespoke chocolate and carob bars we made as giveaways (below).

Check the latest stash I collected yesterday. I had the run of the store room (we'd already given two bars and two eggs away and eaten one of the fondants). This was payment for the plain chocolate; I've not been paid for the mint version, the 100g version or the orange flavour. Bring on the twitchy sugar-fuelled settling of THOSE invoices...