Privacy Policy | Sewing Room

Last updated: 1st September 2025

1. Who we are

We are The Sewing Room, in Scotland, UK. Our registered address is: Highland House, Unit 7a, 20 Longman Road, Inverness, IV1 1RY.

You can contact us by email at marice@sewingroominverness[dot]com or by post at the above address.

2. What this policy covers

This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal data when you:

visit our website,
place orders online or in person,
subscribe to our newsletter,
interact with us by email or other means.

It also explains your rights relating to your personal data, and how we use cookies and similar technologies.

3. Data protection law

We comply with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR. We also follow the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) in relation to cookies, email marketing, etc.

4. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect, hold, use and transmit the following types of personal data:

Category / Examples

Identity data / Name, date of birth or age (if relevant), title, gender

Contact data / Postal address, email address, telephone number

Payment data / Payment card / bank account details managed via SumUp; transaction history

Technical & usage data / IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited on the site, time & date, referral source

Marketing & communications data / Preferences in receiving communications, newsletter subscription status

In-person purchases / If buying in person, data from receipts, contact details if you request receipts or warranty etc

5. How We Collect Data

Information you give us directly (e.g. when you place an order, fill in a contact form, subscribe to a newsletter).
Automatically collected when you use the website (via cookies and similar tools).
From third parties: e.g. if you pay via SumUp, SumUp will provide us with transaction confirmation and relevant info; or from Wix for analytics and website hosting.

6. Purposes and Lawful Basis for Processing

We use your data for purposes including:

Fulfilling orders. Processing payments, delivering goods or services, handling returns etc.
Communication. Sending order confirmations, responding to enquiries, sending receipts, notices.
Marketing and newsletters. If you subscribe, send you updates, offers, etc. We will only send marketing if you have given your consent (or if another lawful basis applies and you have not opted out).
Website operations & improvements. To ensure website security, monitor usage, understand how users interact with our site, and improve user experience.
Legal and regulatory compliance. Keeping records, preventing fraud, complying with tax, accounting, or consumer law obligations.

Lawful basis will vary depending on purpose:

Consent (for marketing communications, non‐essential cookies, etc).
Contract performance (to process your order, deliver goods, provide services).
Legitimate interests (for website administration, fraud prevention, improving service), provided that we balance those interests against your rights and privacy.
Legal obligation (e.g. accounting, tax).

7. Cookies & Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to provide, protect, and improve our service, to understand how people use our site, and to personalise content.

Strictly necessary cookies: These are essential for the website to function (e.g. shopping cart, login, security).
Performance / analytics cookies: To collect information about how visitors use the site (pages visited, errors, etc.), to help us make improvements.
Functional cookies: To remember your preferences (language, region, etc.).
Marketing cookies: To help with advertising, tracking across sites, etc.

Before placing non-essential cookies, we will request your consent via a cookie banner or pop-up in line with PECR and UK GDPR. You’ll have the option to accept or decline non-essential cookies, and you can withdraw your consent or change preferences later.

We also provide clear information (in our cookie policy or notice) about the specific cookies used, who sets them (us or third parties), how long they last, etc.

8. Who We Share Your Data With

We may share your personal data with:

Service providers who support our operations: e.g. payment processors (SumUp), website hosting & platform (Wix), email / newsletter service providers (Wix / third-party mailing tools), cloud storage, IT support.
Third party analytics providers (via Wix, possibly Google Analytics etc) to analyze site usage.
Law enforcement or regulatory bodies, where required by law, to comply with legal obligations, to protect rights etc.
Other businesses if required in relation to a merger, sale, or reorganisation (with appropriate protection for your data).

9. Email & Newsletter Specifics

If you sign up for our newsletter, we’ll collect your name and email address.
We send you marketing only if you’ve opted in (or in other circumstances permitted by law).
Each marketing email will include an option to unsubscribe / opt-out.
We use Gmail (or Google’s infrastructure) to send and receive emails. This means your email data is stored and handled by Google, subject to their policies.

10. How We Store, Secure, and Retain Your Data

We will take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage of your data. This includes secure servers, access controls, encryption where appropriate.
We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors who need to know.
We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. Specific retention periods may vary: e.g. orders & transaction records are kept for [e.g. 6 years] for tax / accounting; marketing data until you unsubscribe; website data (logs, analytics) for a defined period (e.g. 12-24 months) unless needed for longer.

11. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have certain rights, including:

The right to be informed about what data we hold and how we use it.
The right of access: you can request a copy of your information.
The right to rectification: if your information is inaccurate or incomplete, you can ask us to correct it.
The right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) in certain circumstances.
The right to restrict processing in some circumstances.
The right to data portability (receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format) in certain cases.
The right to object: e.g. to certain direct marketing, or processing based on legitimate interests.
The right to withdraw consent at any time (for things based on consent).

If you want to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [contact email].

If you are unhappy with how we’re using your data, you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): https://ico.org.uk.

12. International Transfers

If your data is transferred outside the UK (e.g. to servers outside UK operated by Wix, Google, or other providers), we ensure there are appropriate safeguards in place (e.g. standard contractual clauses or that the service provider is in a country with adequate data protection laws) so that your privacy rights are respected.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time (for example, if our systems change, or laws change). When we do, we will post the updated policy on our website, and the “Last updated” date at the top will reflect that. If the changes are significant, we will try to notify you (for example, via email if you are subscribed).

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this policy, or how we handle your data, or your rights, you can contact us at:

Email: marice@sewingroominverness[dot]com
Post: The Sewing Room, Highland House, Unit 7a, 20 Longman Road, Inverness, IV1 1RY