Terms & Conditions

1. Who you are buying from

This website, matiasspreiss.com, is operated by Matiass Preiss, ceramic artist, Iceland — the full postal address is provided with every order confirmation and on request by email.

Email: matiass@matiasspreiss.com. Email is the fastest way to reach the studio and is answered personally.

2. What these terms cover

These terms apply to every purchase made through this website. By placing an order you accept them. They do not limit any rights you have under the mandatory consumer law of Iceland, the EEA, or your own country of residence — where such law gives you more protection than these terms, the law prevails.

3. The work

Every piece is made by hand and sold as a one-of-one object. The photographs on each piece’s page show the actual piece you receive, not a sample. Small irregularities in form, weight, surface, and glaze are inherent to handmade ceramics and to crystalline and crackle glazes in particular; they are characteristics of the work, not defects.

Dimensions, capacity, materials, and firing details listed on a piece’s page and in the Piece Registry are measured by hand and given in good faith; minor deviations are possible.

4. Ordering and when the contract forms

You place an order by adding a piece to the bag and completing checkout. The contract of sale is formed when your payment is completed and you receive the order confirmation email. Because each piece is unique, a piece can only be sold once: in the rare case that the same piece is bought twice at nearly the same moment, the first completed payment wins and the second is refunded in full immediately.

Placing a piece in the bag, or an email enquiry, does not hold it for you. A piece is held only briefly while a checkout payment for it is in progress; it is yours only on completed payment.

5. Prices and taxes

All prices are in euros (EUR) and include any tax the studio is required to charge. Shipping is calculated at checkout from the destination and the weight of your order, and is shown before you pay.

Orders ship from Iceland, which is outside the EU customs area. Your country may charge import VAT, customs duties, or handling fees on arrival; these are set by your authorities, are not included in the price or collected by the studio, and are your responsibility as the importer.

6. Payment

Payment is processed by PayPal. You can pay with a PayPal account or, where PayPal offers it, directly with a card. The studio never sees or stores your card details. Your order is confirmed once PayPal reports the payment as completed.

7. Shipping, delivery, and risk

Every piece is double-boxed by hand for ceramic transport. Available pieces are normally dispatched within a few working days; delivery estimates by destination are shown at checkout, and international delivery from Iceland typically takes one to three weeks. Full details are in Shipping & Returns.

Risk in the piece passes to you when you (or someone you nominated) take physical possession of it. Until then, transit risk is the studio’s.

Where studio pickup in Iceland is offered at checkout, the piece is handed over in person at the arranged time and place, and risk passes at handover.

8. Your 14-day right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer in the EU/EEA (or another jurisdiction with an equivalent rule), you may withdraw from your purchase without giving any reason within 14 days of the day you (or someone you nominated) received the piece.

To withdraw, email matiass@matiasspreiss.com within that period with a clear statement that you are withdrawing from the purchase — your order number or the piece’s registry code is enough to identify it. You may use the model form at the end of this section, but you do not have to.

You then have 14 days to send the piece back. Return the piece in its original double-boxed packing (or packing of equal protection). You bear the direct cost of the return shipment. The studio recommends a tracked, insured service — until the piece arrives back, it travels at your risk.

The refund covers the price of the piece and the original standard delivery cost, paid to your original payment method within 14 days of your withdrawal notice — the studio may hold the refund until the piece has arrived back or you have shown proof of sending it. You are liable only for any diminished value of the piece resulting from handling beyond what is needed to establish its nature and characteristics — with ceramics, chips, cracks, or signs of use.

Exception: pieces made to your specification — commissioned work made to order for you — are exempt from the right of withdrawal under EU/EEA consumer law. This is stated before you order any commissioned piece. Ready-made pieces from the shop are never exempt.

9. If a piece arrives damaged

Transit damage is the studio’s problem, not yours. Photograph the box and the piece as they arrived and email the studio, ideally within 48 hours of delivery so a carrier claim is possible. You will be refunded in full, or offered a comparable piece where one exists. Because each piece is one of one, an identical replacement is usually not possible. Reporting later never removes your statutory rights.

10. Statutory guarantee

Independent of anything in these terms, you have a legal guarantee of conformity: if a piece is defective or not as described, you are entitled to the remedies of consumer sales law — repair or replacement where possible, or a price reduction or refund — for at least two years from delivery, or longer where your local law provides it. The natural characteristics of handmade work described in section 3 are not defects.

11. The Piece Registry

Every piece is recorded in the Matiass Preiss Piece Registry with its own number, materials, firing notes, and photographs. The registry documents the studio’s work and a piece’s provenance; it is provided as information, not as a valuation, investment advice, or a promise of future value.

12. Images and intellectual property

All photographs, text, registry records, and designs on this site are the property of Matiass Preiss and are protected by copyright. They may not be reproduced or used commercially without written permission. Buying a piece transfers ownership of the physical object, not of any copyright in it or in its images.

13. Liability

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so — including liability for intent or gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or under mandatory consumer law. Beyond that, the studio’s liability is limited to the price paid for the piece. Ceramics are for the uses described in the care guide; pieces are not guaranteed for uses contrary to it.

14. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by Icelandic law. If you are a consumer, you additionally keep the protection of the mandatory rules of the country where you live, and you may bring proceedings there. The studio’s honest preference is simpler: write first — matiass@matiasspreiss.com — and nearly anything can be resolved directly. You may also contact your local consumer protection authority (in Iceland, Neytendastofa) for out-of-court help.

15. Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated from time to time — the date at the top shows the current version. The terms that apply to your purchase are the ones published when you ordered.