Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 26, 2026

1. Introduction and Company Information

This Privacy Policy explains how Maple Clay Studio collects, uses, discloses, stores, and protects personal information in connection with its pottery business, including in-person sales, workshops, custom orders, website visits, online inquiries, email communications, and other interactions with customers, visitors, and business partners.

Maple Clay Studio is the organization responsible for the collection and processing of personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

Business name: Maple Clay Studio
Address: 2148 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 1N6, Canada
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1 (604) 872-4938

This Privacy Policy is intended to comply with applicable Canadian privacy laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where applicable, British Columbia privacy requirements.

2. Data Collection and Processing

Maple Clay Studio may collect personal information directly from you, automatically through your use of our website or digital services, and from third parties where permitted by law.

The types of personal information we may collect include:

• Contact information, such as name, email address, phone number, billing address, shipping address, and postal code;
• Order and transaction information, such as products purchased, workshop registrations, payment status, delivery details, and purchase history;
• Account or inquiry information, such as messages sent through contact forms, email correspondence, and customer service requests;
• Workshop and event information, such as attendance records, dietary or accessibility needs you choose to provide, and emergency contact details where necessary;
• Website and device information, such as IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages visited, referring URLs, and usage data collected through cookies or similar technologies;
• Marketing preferences, such as newsletter subscriptions and communication preferences;
• Any other information you voluntarily provide to us in connection with our services.

We process personal information using both manual and electronic means, including customer relationship tools, payment processors, email systems, website analytics, and recordkeeping systems.

3. Purpose of Data Processing

Maple Clay Studio collects and uses personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide pottery products, workshops, classes, custom orders, and related services;
• To process payments, refunds, shipping, and delivery;
• To communicate with you about orders, bookings, inquiries, and customer support;
• To manage workshop registrations, attendance, and related logistics;
• To send administrative notices, service updates, and important policy information;
• To send marketing communications where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent;
• To improve our website, services, product offerings, and customer experience;
• To detect, prevent, and investigate fraud, misuse, security incidents, and other unlawful activity;
• To comply with legal obligations, tax requirements, accounting obligations, and recordkeeping duties;
• To protect the rights, property, and safety of Maple Clay Studio, our customers, staff, and others.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under Canadian privacy law, we generally collect, use, and disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent, unless otherwise permitted or required by law. Depending on the context, the legal basis for processing may include:

• Consent: where you have given express or implied consent for a specific purpose;
• Contractual necessity: where processing is necessary to provide products, workshops, or services you requested;
• Legal obligation: where processing is required to comply with applicable laws, regulations, tax rules, or lawful requests;
• Legitimate business purposes: where processing is reasonable for operating and protecting our business, provided such processing is appropriate in the circumstances and not overridden by your rights and interests;
• Other lawful grounds: where permitted under applicable Canadian privacy laws.

Where consent is the basis for processing, you may withdraw that consent subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

Maple Clay Studio does not sell personal information. We may share personal information with third parties only as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and in accordance with applicable law.

Third parties may include:

• Payment processors that handle credit card or other payment transactions;
• Shipping and delivery providers that deliver products or materials;
• Website hosting, IT, and security providers that support our digital operations;
• Email and communication service providers that help us send messages and manage inquiries;
• Analytics providers that help us understand website traffic and usage patterns;
• Professional advisors such as accountants, auditors, insurers, and legal counsel;
• Government authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where disclosure is required or permitted by law;
• Business transferees in connection with a merger, sale, restructuring, or similar transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

We require third parties to protect personal information in a manner consistent with applicable privacy obligations and to use it only for authorized purposes.

6. Data Transfer to Third Countries

Your personal information may be stored or processed outside of Canada, including in the United States or other countries where our service providers maintain facilities or conduct operations. In such cases, personal information may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement, or regulatory authorities in those countries.

Maple Clay Studio takes reasonable steps to ensure that any cross-border transfers are protected by appropriate contractual, technical, and organizational safeguards. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

7. Storage Duration

Maple Clay Studio retains personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to meet legal, accounting, tax, or reporting requirements, and to resolve disputes or enforce agreements.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it was collected. For example:

• Transaction and accounting records may be retained for the period required by applicable tax and business laws;
• Customer service communications may be retained for a reasonable period to support service quality and dispute resolution;
• Marketing consent records may be retained while you remain subscribed and for a reasonable period thereafter to demonstrate compliance;
• Website analytics data may be retained for a limited period in aggregated or de-identified form where possible.

When personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymize it in accordance with our retention practices and applicable law.

8. User Rights

Subject to applicable legal limitations, you have the following rights regarding your personal information held by Maple Clay Studio:

• Access: the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you;
• Rectification: the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information;
• Erasure: the right to request deletion of personal information, where permitted by law;
• Restriction: the right to request that we limit the use or disclosure of your personal information in certain circumstances;
• Data portability: the right to request a copy of certain personal information in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable;
• Objection: the right to object to certain processing activities, including some forms of direct marketing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 12. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

9. Withdrawal of Consent

Where our processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting Maple Clay Studio using the contact details below or by using any unsubscribe mechanism provided in our communications.

Please note that withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal, and it may limit our ability to provide certain services, such as order updates, workshop communications, or marketing messages.

10. Right to Complain

If you have concerns about how Maple Clay Studio handles your personal information, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to file a complaint with the appropriate privacy regulator in Canada, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or with the applicable provincial privacy authority where relevant.

We will cooperate with any lawful investigation and take reasonable steps to address substantiated privacy concerns.

11. Data Security

Maple Clay Studio uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

These measures may include:

• Access controls and role-based permissions;
• Secure passwords and authentication practices;
• Encryption or other security protections where appropriate;
• Secure storage of paper and electronic records;
• Staff awareness and confidentiality obligations;
• Monitoring for suspicious activity and security incidents.

Despite these safeguards, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any account credentials or communications you send to us.

12. Contact Information

If you have questions, requests, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information, please contact:

Maple Clay Studio
2148 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K 1N6
Canada

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1 (604) 872-4938

13. Changes to Privacy Policy

Maple Clay Studio may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. Any updated version will be posted with a revised effective date.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of our services after any changes become effective constitutes your acknowledgment of the updated Privacy Policy, to the extent permitted by law.