Authenticity & Fair Trade
We would rather make specific, checkable claims than display a badge. Here is exactly what we do and what we will not promise.
What we promise
- We buy direct. Every piece is bought at the workshop that made it. No agents, no export houses, no consolidators.
- We pay the asking price, in full, before collection. Not on consignment, not on 30-day terms, and we do not push for discounts on repeat orders.
- We name the maker. Every product page lists the artisan or workshop. If we cannot name them, we do not list the piece.
- We describe technique accurately. Hand-beaten means hand-beaten. Where a piece is partly machine-assisted, the listing says so.
- We state materials exactly. A pashmina blend is listed as a blend, with the percentages. A synthetic-pigment thangka is described as one. An aged finish is never sold as an antique.
- We do not place orders a workshop cannot fill itself. Volume that forces a family workshop to bring in outside labour defeats the point of buying from one.
What we do not claim
We are not a certified fair-trade organisation and we do not display a certification mark, because we have not been through that audit. We are a small buyer with a short supply chain and personal relationships with about a dozen workshops. That is a different kind of assurance and we would rather describe it accurately than imply something broader.
We also cannot audit our makers' own supply chains all the way back. We know who cast a bronze; we do not independently verify where every kilo of copper originated.
Photographs
Our intention is that product photographs are of the specific piece you will receive, because almost everything is one of a kind.
Where that is not yet true, we say so on the page. Some listings currently carry a licensed reference photograph of the craft rather than a shot of the individual item — every one of those says exactly that directly under the gallery, and every source is listed on our photo credits page. Ask us about any piece and we will send photographs of the actual item the same day.
We would rather tell you which kind of photograph you are looking at than let you assume.
Prices
Our prices reflect what the maker charged, plus shipping, packing, payment fees and our margin. We do not run permanent fake discounts. When something shows a struck-through price it is because it was genuinely listed at that price first.
If we get it wrong
If anything you receive does not match how we described it, tell us. We will refund you in full, pay the return shipping, and correct the listing. Please email through the contact page — we would rather know.