Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 September 2026

This privacy policy explains how SARK PARTNERSHIP LTD, trading as Sewing-Sanctuary, collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you visit sewing-sanctuary.com, buy from us, create an account, contact us, join our mailing list or otherwise deal with us.

 

1. Who we are

SARK PARTNERSHIP LTD is the controller of the personal information described in this policy. Sewing-Sanctuary is a trading name of SARK PARTNERSHIP LTD.

Company number: 10734528

Registered office: 1 High Street, Dorchester, Dorset, England, DT1 1UW

Trading and returns address: 1 High Street, Midsomer Norton, Somerset, BA3 2LE

Email: info@sewing-sanctuary.com

 

2. Personal information we collect

Depending on how you use our website and services, we may collect:

·       identity and contact details, such as your name, billing and delivery addresses, email address and telephone number;

·       account details, such as your login information, order history and account preferences;

·       order and transaction details, including products purchased, amounts, delivery information, refunds and your recorded consent to immediate supply of digital content;

·       payment-related information, such as payment method, payment status and transaction references. Payment providers process card or account details; we do not normally receive or store your complete payment-card details;

·       communications, enquiries, complaints, returns information, survey responses and product reviews;

·       Customers’ Gallery submissions, such as photographs, your name, information about the item you made, your story and any other details you choose to provide for publication;

·       marketing preferences, newsletter sign-up information and engagement with marketing messages;

·       technical and usage information, such as IP address, browser and device information, cookie or similar identifiers, pages viewed, referral source and actions taken on the website; and

·       fraud-prevention and security information where needed to protect customers, our website and our business.

 

3. How we collect information

We collect information directly from you when you place an order, open an account, subscribe, contact us, submit a form, review or Customers’ Gallery entry, or otherwise interact with us. We also collect some information automatically through cookies and similar technologies, and may receive information from payment providers, delivery providers, marketing and review services, analytics providers, social platforms and fraud-prevention services.

 

4. How and why we use personal information

UK data-protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of personal information. The principal purposes and lawful bases are set out below.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the likely impact on you and do not use information in that way if your interests, rights and freedoms override ours. Contact us if you would like more information about that assessment.

 

5. Marketing

We use Mailchimp to manage and send email marketing. We will send marketing only where you have consented or where another lawful marketing rule permits it. You can stop marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in a message or contacting us. Unsubscribing from marketing will not stop essential service messages about an order or account.

We may keep a minimal suppression record after you unsubscribe so that we can honour your choice. We do not sell your personal information.

 

6. Customers’ Gallery

If you submit material for our Customers’ Gallery, we may publish the photograph, your name, details of the pattern or fabric used, your comments and any other information you have agreed may appear with the entry. Gallery pages are public and may be viewed, copied or indexed by other people and search engines.

We will ask for clear permission before publishing your personal information. You may withdraw that permission at any time by contacting info@sewing-sanctuary.com. We will then remove the gallery entry from places we control within a reasonable period, although copies previously made by other people, search engines or internet archives may remain outside our control.

Please submit photographs only where you have the right to do so. If another identifiable person appears in a photograph, you should have their permission before sending it to us. If the person shown is under 18, permission should be provided by their parent or legal guardian. Separate permission should be obtained before we use a gallery photograph for advertising, email marketing or another purpose beyond the use explained when it was submitted.

 

7. Cookies and analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to operate, remember choices, measure use and improve performance. We use Google Analytics 4 to help us understand how visitors use the website. Google may receive online identifiers, device and usage information through this service.

We provide information and choices about cookies as required by law. Where consent is required for a cookie or similar technology, it will not be used until consent is obtained. You can change your choices through the website’s cookie controls and browser settings. Blocking some essential technologies may affect how the website works. Further details, including cookie names, purposes, providers and duration, should be set out in our Cookie Policy or cookie preference tool.

 

8. Who we share information with

We share personal information only where necessary and proportionate, including with:

·       website, hosting, cloud, backup, IT support and cybersecurity providers, including services supporting WordPress and WooCommerce;

·       payment providers, including PayPal and Stripe, which processes card payments at checkout;

·       postal, delivery and courier providers used to fulfil your order;

·       email and communications providers, including Mailchimp for marketing and Brevo for transactional messages such as order and review communications;

·       analytics providers, including Google Analytics;

·       review, customer-service and abandoned-basket providers where those features are enabled;

·       members of the public, search engines and social-media users where you have consented to publication in the Customers’ Gallery;

·       professional advisers, insurers, banks, auditors and accountants;

·       government authorities, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other parties where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and

·       a buyer, seller or adviser involved in a genuine proposed sale, merger or reorganisation of all or part of our business, subject to appropriate confidentiality arrangements.

Some providers act as our processors and may use information only on our instructions. Others, particularly payment, delivery or platform providers, may act as independent controllers for parts of their service and will provide their own privacy information.

 

9. International transfers

Some of our service providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we use an applicable adequacy regulation, approved contractual protections such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum, or another lawful safeguard. You may contact us for more information about the safeguards relevant to your information.

 

10. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention and dispute-resolution requirements. In particular:

·       company accounting and transaction records are generally retained for at least six years from the end of the financial year to which they relate, and longer where the law or an active enquiry requires it;

·       account information is kept while an account is active and for a reasonable period after closure, subject to any records we must retain;

·       customer-service, complaint, returns and review records are kept for a period appropriate to the issue and any possible claim;

·       Customers’ Gallery material is normally kept while the gallery entry remains published or until you withdraw consent, after which we remove it from the places we control within a reasonable period;

·       marketing contact details are kept until you unsubscribe or we determine they are no longer needed; we may then retain limited suppression information; and

·       analytics, cookie and backup data are kept in accordance with the settings and retention schedules of the relevant systems, subject to periodic review.

When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it where reasonably practicable.

 

11. Security

We use appropriate organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure or access. Access is limited to people and providers who need it for legitimate business purposes. No internet service can be completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password and contact us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

 

12. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

·       ask for a copy of your personal information and information about how it is used;

·       ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

·       ask us to delete information in certain circumstances;

·       ask us to restrict how information is used in certain circumstances;

·       object to processing based on legitimate interests and object at any time to direct marketing;

·       receive certain information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and ask us to transfer it where technically feasible; and

·       withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. We may need information to verify your identity before acting on a request. We normally respond within one month, although the law permits an extension for a complex request. We do not normally charge a fee.

Your right to object: You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing. You may also object to processing based on our legitimate interests; we will stop unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or need the information for legal claims.

 

13. Automated decisions

We do not use your personal information to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects for you. Payment and fraud-prevention providers may conduct automated checks under their own policies. Contact us if you have concerns about a decision affecting an order.

 

14. Children

Our website is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. We will not knowingly publish an identifiable child in the Customers’ Gallery without permission from their parent or legal guardian. If you believe a child has supplied information to us, or appears in a gallery entry without appropriate permission, please contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.

 

15. Other websites and social media

Our website may link to third-party websites and social-media services. Those organisations control their own processing, and their privacy notices apply when you use their services. We are not responsible for their privacy practices.

 

16. Questions, requests and complaints

To exercise a right or ask a privacy question, email info@sewing-sanctuary.com or write to SARK PARTNERSHIP LTD at 18 High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, England, DT1 1UW.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data-protection regulator. We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first.

ICO website: ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

 

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our practices, services or legal obligations change. The current version will be posted on this page with its last-updated date. If a change significantly affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention.