Handling & Care
Handling & Care
Glass items are sometimes a little delicate. We do our best to create designs that are suitable for the uses we envisage. But we ask you to be as careful as you would with any other glass or ceramic artwork.
Quality
Our pieces are handmade. There will be variations in design, the glass used, and the soldering finish. We ask you to appreciate that this is a feature of genuinely unique pieces, just as the best leather furniture has subtle variations in colour and texture.
We undertake to make pieces that you’ll enjoy owning and looking at. If you’re not happy with what we send you, just tell us. We’ll do what we can to put it right for you. The glass we use is not painted, so the colours will last for many decades.
Care
To polish your piece, gentle cleaning with light pressure and a mild glass-cleaning solution is recommended. Avoid applying pressure to the areas of solder.
If your piece has a copper or lead-effect black patina applied to the areas of solder, please avoid applying pressure or too much cleaning liquid to these areas.
The patina is a coating and can be worn or scraped away.
What to do if it gets damaged
Please contact us. If you can send it back to us carriage paid, we’ll assess the damage and advise the cost and time needed for repairs before we do anything. Repairs are charged at time and materials cost. If we don’t think we can repair at a practical cost, we’ll suggest alternatives.
We want you to enjoy your piece. Much of our custom is through word-of-mouth so we promise we’ll do what we can to help!
Lead in solder
The solder used to assemble your piece contains lead. The amount of lead in solder has been steadily reduced in recent years, to the point where the potential hazard to health is negligible.
This is one reason why solder for non-electronic products wasn’t included in the Reduction of Hazardous Substances legislation now in force. It does mean, however, that the metal content should not be disposed of in landfill. Instead, please arrange to send it back to us so we can dispose of it ourselves. We also aim to re-use the glass where possible.
It’s important to stress that the potential health implications from the small amount of lead used is so small that legislation hasn’t been thought necessary.
Illuminated pieces
We use 12V LED strips in our illuminated pieces. The connection to these is deliberately loose, so that if the cable is pulled, the whole piece less likely to fall or tip over.
If the connection is separated from the LED strip, simply reconnect it, making sure that the connector is the correct way up. The shape of the connector matches that of the LED strip when the right way up.
The LEDs are specified to last more than 30,000 hours in continuous use, so they should last for many years in intermittent use. The LEDs generate almost no heat, and operate at a safe low voltage. However, avoid allowing them to become damp.
The Power Supply provided is CE marked, warranted for 1 year excluding misuse, and matched to the LEDs. Please don’t use a different supply as incorrect polarity or electrical specifications could damage the LED strip.
If you have any problems with the LED strip or Power Supply, contact us for advice / replacements.