Privacy Policy

01 Who I am

I am Inessa Falina, a botanical artist trading as Art Inessa, based in London, United Kingdom. For anything relating to your privacy or personal data, you can reach me at hello@artinessa.com. I am the "data controller" for the information described here.

02 What I collect

I only collect what I need to reply to you and fulfil orders:

• Contact details you give me — your name and email address when you use the contact form, place an order or commission, or join a waitlist or the journal.
• Order & delivery details — postal address and the works you've ordered, so I can invoice and ship to you.
• Course enrolment — when my online course, Painting with Inessa, launches: your name, email and course progress, so I can give you access and support. Course payments and hosting may be handled by a trusted third-party platform under its own privacy policy.
• Messages — the content of what you write to me.

I do not collect or store your card or bank details on this website. Payments are processed securely by Square or PayPal, who handle your card information under their own secure, PCI-compliant systems — I never see or store it.

03 How I use it

• To reply to your enquiries and discuss commissions.
• To process, invoice and deliver your order.
• To give you access to and support for any online course you enrol in.
• To send you the journal or waitlist updates — only if you've asked to receive them.
• To keep proper records of sales as required by law.

I will only use your details for the purpose you gave them, and I rely on your consent, or the need to fulfil our agreement, as the legal basis for doing so.

04 The contact form

The contact and waitlist forms on this site open your own email program with a pre-filled message — so your enquiry reaches me by ordinary email. Your details are processed by your email provider and mine in the normal way, and kept only as long as needed to help you.

If you'd prefer I didn't keep your email at all, just say so when you write to me, and I'll delete your message and address once I've replied.

05 Cookies & how this site remembers things

This website is deliberately simple, and your privacy is respected by design.

• Essential storage only. The site uses a small amount of "local storage" in your browser to remember the items in your shopping selection between visits. This stays on your device, is never sent to me, and is needed for the basket to work — so it doesn't require consent.
• No tracking. I do not use advertising, marketing or analytics cookies, and I don't track your browsing or build a profile of you.
• Payment pages. When you click Buy now, you're taken to a secure checkout hosted by Square (or PayPal). Those pages use their own cookies under their own privacy policies — that part of your visit is handled by them, not me.
• You're in control. You can clear or block local storage and cookies at any time in your browser settings. Clearing it will simply empty your saved basket.

If I ever add visitor analytics, or my online course runs on a platform that sets its own cookies, I'll add a clear cookie notice and update this policy before doing so.

06 Sharing your information

I never sell or rent your information. I only share it where necessary to serve you — for example, with a delivery/courier service to ship your work, or a payment provider (PayPal, Square or my bank) to take payment. These providers handle your data under their own privacy policies.

I may also disclose your information where I am legally required to do so — to comply with the law or a lawful request — or where necessary to protect my legal rights, copyright or safety. And in the unlikely event that the studio is ever sold or transferred, your information may pass to the new owner, who would be bound to protect it in the same way; I'd let you know if that happened. Otherwise, your information stays with me.

07 International transfers

I'm based in the United Kingdom. Some of the trusted providers I use — such as Square or PayPal — may process your information on servers outside the UK. Where that happens, your data remains protected by appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) so it keeps an equivalent level of protection to that required under UK law.

08 Children's privacy

This website and my offerings are intended for adults. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided me with their details, please contact me at hello@artinessa.com and I will delete it promptly.

09 How long I keep it

I keep enquiry messages only as long as needed to help you, and order records for as long as the law requires (typically six years for tax purposes). Waitlist and journal subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe.

10 Security

I take reasonable steps to keep your information safe. Payments are handled by PCI-compliant providers (Square, PayPal) over encrypted connections, and I limit access to the personal details you share. While no method of transmission over the internet is ever completely secure, I work to protect your data and to deal promptly with any issue.

11 Your rights

If you are in the UK or EU, you have the right to access the personal data I hold about you, to ask me to correct or delete it, to object to or restrict its use, and to withdraw consent at any time. Just email me and I'll take care of it. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you have concerns.

12 Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, I'll update the date at the top of the page. Significant changes will be noted clearly.