1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how Raices de Sudamerica USA, a weaving loft and textile heritage studio, handles personal information that is shared with the studio through this website, by email, by telephone, in the studio and during commissions. The developer name carried on this website is Raices D Sudamerica, and the operating company is Raices de Sudamerica USA, 6983 S Running Springs Dr, West Jordan - 84084-2321, United States (US). Both names appear in this policy so that readers can match the website records to the legal entity that answers behind them.
The studio is small and works on paper as much as on screens. That habit shapes this policy. We collect only the information that is needed to answer a note, hold a loom bay, prepare an archive run, record a dye batch or complete a commission. We do not build profiles of readers for advertising, we do not sell contact details, and we do not treat a brief visit to this website as an invitation to follow anyone around the internet.
Please read this policy in full before submitting an enquiry, booking a service or visiting the loft. If any part of the policy is unclear, the contact details at the end of this page are the correct way to ask for a plain explanation. Nothing in this policy limits a right that applies under mandatory law in the place where a reader lives.
2. Who We Are
Raices de Sudamerica USA operates a working weaving loft at 6983 S Running Springs Dr, West Jordan - 84084-2321, United States (US). The studio provides loom rental bays, pattern archive runs, workshop circle desks, dye batch reviews, commission fittings and heritage lecture evenings. For the purposes of data protection law, the studio is the controller of personal information that is processed for those activities.
The studio can be reached by email at solutions@raicesdsudamerica.mom and by telephone at +14424600755. Written correspondence may be addressed to the postal address above. Enquiries about this policy should be marked for the attention of the studio desk so that they are routed to the person responsible for records.
The developer name Raices D Sudamerica is used on this website as the technical and editorial signature of the digital property. It is not a separate company, and it does not process personal information on its own account. Any question about privacy, whether it refers to the developer name or to the studio name, can be sent to the same address.
3. Scope of This Policy
This policy applies to the website published at raicesdsudamerica.mom and to all pages served from that domain, including the homepage, the services page, the contact page, this privacy policy and the terms of service. It also applies to information that is collected in the studio or through direct correspondence that relates to the services offered through the website.
This policy does not apply to third party websites that may be reached through a link on this site, to platforms that the studio uses only to send email, or to any printed material supplied by another organisation. Where a link leads away from the studio domain, the privacy notice of the destination site governs what happens there.
The policy does not cover information about companies or organisations as such. It covers personal information about individuals, including weavers, renters, students, designers, conservators, collectors, visitors and the representatives of institutional clients who contact the studio.
4. Data We Collect
The studio collects personal information in a limited number of categories. The category depends on the reason a person is in contact and on the service being arranged. The sections below describe each category in turn.
Contact and identity information
When a person submits a note through the contact form or writes directly by email, the studio receives a name, an email address and, where the writer chooses to include it, a telephone number or a postal address. The subject and message fields may contain any information that the writer decides to share, including project descriptions, dimensions and links to reference material.
Booking and service information
When a loom bay, archive run, workshop circle, dye review or commission fitting is arranged, the studio records the service requested, the dates agreed, the details of the yarn or pattern involved and any notes that are needed to prepare the loom. For commissions, the record may also include measurements, site conditions, delivery arrangements and correspondence about design decisions.
Payment and billing information
Where a payment is made, the studio records the amount, the date, the service to which it relates and the reference supplied by the payment provider. Card numbers and full bank details are not stored by the studio. Payments are handled by the financial institutions and payment processors that the studio uses, and the studio receives only the confirmation and the summary information those providers return.
Technical information
The web server that delivers this website may record standard technical information such as the internet protocol address of a connecting device, the browser and operating system in use, the page requested and the time of the request. This information is used to keep the site available and secure and to diagnose faults. It is not used to identify readers personally.
Studio and event information
For lecture evenings and open studio visits, the studio may record a reservation name, a contact address and the number of places held. Photographs of the studio, of finished cloth and of demonstrations may be taken during those events, and the policy on images in a later section explains how they are handled.
5. How We Collect Data
Most information reaches the studio directly from the person it concerns. A person may send a note through the contact form, write an email to solutions@raicesdsudamerica.mom, telephone +14424600755, speak to a member of the studio in person, or add information to a booking conversation. In each case the person chooses what to share.
A smaller amount of information is generated as a consequence of a service. A booking record is created when a bay is reserved, a dye record is created when a bath is prepared, and a commission file is created when a commission is accepted. These records are necessary to carry out the work and to keep the studio floor running in order.
Technical information is collected automatically by the server that hosts the website. The studio does not use hidden tracking scripts to build a behavioural profile, and it does not buy contact lists from third parties. If information about a person arrives from a referring institution, such as a museum that arranges a fitting, the studio will confirm with that person before adding the details to a commission file.
6. Why We Use Data
Personal information is used to answer enquiries and to carry out the services that are booked. A note about a loom bay is used to prepare the loom, agree a date and explain the orientation. A note about an archive run is used to locate the relevant draft and to estimate how long the document will take. A note about a commission is used to write a brief, prepare a sample and schedule the loom.
Information is also used to keep records. Dye batches, drafts and commission files are dated and numbered so that a piece of cloth can be traced back to the decisions that produced it. This record keeping is part of the craft and part of the studio responsibility toward clients, conservators and institutions that may later study the work.
A small amount of information is used for administration, including keeping accounts, managing the calendar, confirming reservations, recovering unpaid invoices and responding to legal requests. Technical information is used to keep the website secure, to prevent abuse of the contact form and to understand which pages are read most often so that the site can be improved.
The studio does not use personal information for automated decision making that produces legal effects, does not use it to construct advertising audiences, and does not use it to train machine learning models outside the studio. No profile is created for the purpose of selling data to another party.
7. Legal Bases for Processing
Where data protection law requires a legal basis for processing, the studio relies on one of the following grounds. The ground that applies depends on the activity and on the relationship between the studio and the person concerned.
- Performance of an agreement. Processing is necessary to provide a booked service, to prepare a loom, to run an archive request, to complete a commission or to deliver a lecture reservation.
- Legitimate interests. Processing is necessary to answer enquiries, keep the studio secure, maintain business records and improve the website, provided that those interests are not overridden by the rights of the individual.
- Consent. Where the studio asks for consent, for example before sending a newsletter or before publishing a photograph that shows a visitor, consent is requested clearly and can be withdrawn at any time.
- Legal obligation. Processing is necessary to keep financial records, to respond to a lawful request from a public authority or to meet a requirement that applies to the studio.
Where consent is the ground, refusing or withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that happened before the withdrawal. Withdrawal is simple and does not require a reason. A short note to the studio desk is enough.
9. Analytics and Measurement
The studio may use a privacy respecting measurement service to count page views and to see which pages are read. Measurement is configured to avoid collecting direct identifiers, to avoid cross site tracking and to avoid the retention of full internet protocol addresses. Where a service cannot be configured in that way, it is not used.
Aggregate figures help the studio decide which pages need clearer text, which services need better explanation and whether the contact form is reaching the desk. The studio does not use measurement results to follow an individual from one site to another, and it does not combine them with a commission file to build a profile.
A reader who prefers not to be counted can enable the do not track setting in the browser or use a content blocker. The studio respects those signals where the measurement service offers a way to honour them, and no service will be added that ignores them.
11. Service Providers
The studio works with a small number of service providers. These include the company that hosts the website, the provider of the email service, the payment processor used for invoices and the courier used for deliveries. Each provider receives only the information needed to perform its function and is expected to protect it.
Where a provider acts as a processor, the studio relies on the contractual terms that the provider offers, including obligations about confidentiality, security and the return or deletion of data at the end of the engagement. The studio reviews those terms when a provider is engaged and when a material change is announced.
The studio does not permit a service provider to use personal information for its own marketing or to pass it on to another party without instruction. Where a provider is located outside the country of the person concerned, the transfer rules described later in this policy apply.
12. Data Retention
Information is kept for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected. Enquiries that do not lead to a booking are usually kept for twelve months so that a follow up question can be answered without starting again. Booking records are kept for the period needed to manage the calendar and to support the accounts.
Commission files, including the brief, the draft, the dye record and the label number, are kept for a longer period because they form part of the studio archive and may be needed to answer a conservation question years after the cloth was made. Files are kept for no less than seven years and no longer than is reasonably required for the archive purpose.
Financial records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting rules. Technical server logs are kept for a short period, usually no more than ninety days, unless a security incident requires them to be held longer for investigation.
When a retention period ends, information is deleted or anonymised. Where deletion is not immediately possible, for example because a record is held in a backup, access to the record is restricted until the backup cycle completes and the record can be removed.
13. How We Protect Data
The studio takes a practical approach to security. Access to the contact inbox and the booking calendar is limited to the people who need it. Devices used to handle records are protected with passwords and screen locks. Paper records are kept in a locked cabinet in the studio, and the archive is stored in a room that is not open to walk in visitors.
The website is delivered over an encrypted connection so that information entered into the contact form travels securely. The form itself does not store data on the server. It prepares a message in the mail client of the person sending it, which means the message is delivered by that person email service rather than by a database on the website.
No system is completely secure. If the studio becomes aware of a breach that is likely to affect personal information, it will investigate, take steps to contain the incident and notify the affected people and any relevant authority where the law requires it. Notice will be given without undue delay and will describe what happened and what the studio is doing about it.
14. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where a reader lives, a number of rights may apply. The studio will honour those rights in the way the applicable law requires and will not charge a fee unless the law allows one for a request that is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
- Access. A person may ask whether the studio holds personal information about them and request a copy of it.
- Correction. A person may ask for inaccurate information to be corrected and for incomplete records to be completed.
- Deletion. A person may ask for information to be deleted where there is no good reason for the studio to keep it.
- Restriction. A person may ask the studio to limit the use of information while a question about accuracy or lawfulness is resolved.
- Objection. A person may object to processing that relies on legitimate interests, and the studio will stop unless it can show compelling grounds that override the objection.
- Portability. Where processing is based on consent or an agreement and is carried out automatically, a person may ask for a copy of the information in a structured and machine readable format.
- Withdrawal of consent. Where consent is the ground, a person may withdraw it at any time without giving a reason.
- Complaint. A person may complain to the studio or to the data protection authority in the place where they live.
Requests should be sent to solutions@raicesdsudamerica.mom or by post to 6983 S Running Springs Dr, West Jordan - 84084-2321, United States (US). The studio will acknowledge a request promptly and will answer within the period set by applicable law. To protect against impersonation, the studio may ask for information that confirms identity, and will ask only for what is necessary.
15. Privacy for Children
The studio services are intended for adults and for young people who are accompanied by a parent or guardian. The website is not directed at children under the age of thirteen, and the studio does not knowingly collect personal information from a child under that age without consent from a responsible adult.
Workshop circles that welcome younger weavers require a registration completed by a parent or guardian. The registration records the name of the responsible adult, a contact address and any information needed for safety in the studio. That information is kept only for the duration of the circle and for the short period needed to process any follow up.
If a parent or guardian believes that a child has sent personal information to the studio without that consent, they should contact the studio desk. The information will be reviewed and, where the studio has no lawful reason to keep it, deleted as quickly as is practical.
16. International Transfers
The studio is based in the United States, and most records are held there. Some service providers, such as a hosting company or an email provider, may process information in another country. Where information moves across a border, the studio takes steps to ensure that a comparable level of protection continues to apply.
Those steps may include relying on a legal mechanism recognised by the relevant law, such as standard contractual clauses, or relying on a specific exception that applies to the transfer. Where a transfer involves a country for which an adequacy decision exists, the studio may rely on that decision.
A person who wants to know more about the safeguards used for a particular transfer may write to the studio desk. The answer will explain which mechanism is in use and, where appropriate, will provide a summary of the relevant terms.
17. Studio Visits and Images
Visitors are welcome in the loft during open studio hours and during lecture evenings. The studio may photograph the room, the looms and finished cloth for its own records and for its website. Where a photograph is likely to show a visitor clearly, the studio will ask for consent before publishing it, and will not publish a portrait against a refusal.
A visitor who prefers not to appear in any photograph can say so at the door. The studio will note the preference on the reservation record and will take care to keep that person out of shared images. Photographs of hands at a loom are usually taken without a face, which respects the craft and the person at the same time.
If a photograph has already been published and a person later withdraws consent, the studio will remove it from the website as soon as it can. Copies held in the archive will be marked so that the withdrawal is respected in future use. The studio will confirm when the removal is complete.
18. Commission Records
A commission file holds the information that is needed to make and to document a piece of cloth. That includes the brief, the dimensions, the chosen yarn, the draft, the dye record, photographs taken during weaving and the final label number. These records belong to the studio archive and are kept so that the cloth can be understood and cared for in the future.
Client contact details in a commission file are kept separate from the technical record. If a client asks for contact details to be removed after a commission is complete, the studio will do so while retaining the technical record, provided that the record can be kept without identifying the client. Where the technical record cannot be separated from the contact details, the studio will explain the position before making a change.
Commission records are not published in full. Summaries, drafts and photographs may appear on the website or in a lecture presentation only with the agreement of the client. The studio will never publish a client address, a private site photograph or a floor plan without written consent.
19. Marketing Communications
The studio does not send marketing email to people who have not asked for it. A person who books a service may receive a confirmation and a short practical note about the visit, which is part of the service rather than marketing. A person may also choose to receive an occasional studio letter about new archive runs, lecture evenings and workshop dates.
Subscription to the studio letter is opt in. Every letter contains a way to unsubscribe, and an unsubscribe request is honoured promptly. The studio does not share a subscriber list with any other organisation.
If a person has asked for a studio letter and later prefers not to receive it, one short reply is enough. The studio will remove the address from the list and will keep only the minimum record needed to make sure the address is not added again by mistake.
20. Third Party Links
This website may link to other websites, such as a museum collection, a yarn supplier or a payment provider. Those sites are outside the control of the studio, and their privacy practices are described in their own notices. A link does not mean that the studio endorses every practice on the destination site.
A reader who follows a link should read the privacy notice of the destination before sharing personal information there. If a link appears to lead to a site that is misleading or harmful, the studio would be grateful to hear about it through the contact address so that the link can be reviewed.
The studio is not responsible for the content of a site that it does not operate, and it does not receive information about a reader from a destination site unless the reader chooses to share it with the studio directly.
21. Changes to This Policy
This policy may be updated when the studio changes a service, adopts a new tool or when the law changes. The effective date at the top of the page records the date of the current version. When a change is material, the studio will make the new version visible on the website and will describe the main change in plain language.
A person who has an active booking or commission will be told directly about a change that affects the handling of their information. A reader who returns to the page can always compare the effective date with the date of an earlier visit.
Continued use of the website after a change takes effect means that the updated policy applies to the new visit. It does not change the basis on which earlier information was collected, and it does not remove a right that a person already holds.
22. Contacting the Studio
Questions about this policy, requests to exercise a right and reports of a possible privacy problem should be sent to the studio desk. The desk answers written notes within two working days and will explain any step that needs more time.
Email: solutions@raicesdsudamerica.mom
Telephone: +14424600755
Post: Raices de Sudamerica USA, 6983 S Running Springs Dr, West Jordan - 84084-2321, United States (US)
If a person is not satisfied with the answer from the studio, they may complain to the data protection authority in the place where they live. The studio will cooperate with a regulator that is investigating a complaint and will keep the complainant informed within the limits that the law allows.
This policy is written for the weaving loft operated by Raices de Sudamerica USA. It is reviewed at least once a year and whenever a new service, a new payment channel or a new hosting arrangement is introduced.