Privacy Policy

Shimmus Studios is run by me, Seamus, as an independent artist and illustrator based on the Wirral. I’m responsible for the personal information collected through this website and in connection with enquiries and commissions.

If you have any questions about how your information is used, you can contact me at seamus@shimmusstudios.com.

The information I collect depends on why you get in touch and whether an enquiry goes on to become a commission. It may include:

• your name and email address;
• anything you include in your enquiry or later correspondence;
• reference photographs or other images you send for a commission;
• your postal address if I need to send finished artwork to you;
• basic records relating to a commission and its payment, such as the agreed price and whether a deposit or final payment has been received;
• basic technical information generated when you use the website, such as your IP address, browser information and requests made to the site, where this is processed by the website or hosting services for security and operation; and
• if you consent to analytics cookies, information about how you use the website, such as pages viewed, interactions with the site, approximate location, device and browser information, and how you arrived at the website.

I don’t collect or store card details through this website. If a commission goes ahead, payment is arranged directly with you by email using bank transfer or PayPal.

I use your information only where I have a clear reason to do so. This may include:

• responding to questions or enquiries you send me;
• reviewing a commission enquiry and deciding whether I’m able to take it on;
• discussing and agreeing the details of a commission with you;
• creating the artwork using the reference photographs and information you provide;
• arranging payment and keeping a record of payments received;
• sending finished artwork to you and dealing with any delivery issues;
• keeping appropriate business and accounting records;
• protecting the website and my business from misuse, fraud or security problems; and
• understanding how visitors use the website and how they find Shimmus Studios, where you have consented to analytics.

Where you ask me about a commission, I generally use your information because it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to carry out that contract once a commission has been agreed.

For general enquiries and routine website or business administration, I may use information where it is in my legitimate interests to respond, operate the website and run Shimmus Studios effectively, provided those interests do not override your rights and interests.

Where I need to keep information to meet legal or tax obligations, I use it because I am required to do so by law.

You are not legally required to provide personal information to me. However, if you do not provide the information I reasonably need to respond to your enquiry or arrange and carry out a commission, I may be unable to provide the service you have asked for.

Where I use non-essential analytics cookies or similar technologies, I rely on your consent. You can refuse these technologies when you first visit the website and can change or withdraw your choice later using the Cookie settings link in the website footer.

I don’t sell your personal information or share it for advertising or marketing purposes.

I may share limited information with trusted services where this is necessary to run the website, manage a commission or provide the service you’ve asked for. This may include:

• Hostinger, which hosts this website and its associated data;
• Google Analytics, where you have consented to analytics, to help me understand how visitors use and find the website;
• Cloudflare, which provides spam and automated-bot protection for the website contact form;
• email and website services used to receive and respond to enquiries;
• PayPal or your bank where these services are used to arrange or record payment;
• postal or delivery services where I need to send finished artwork to you; and
• professional advisers, regulators or public authorities where I am legally required to provide information.

I only share the information that is reasonably necessary for the purpose concerned. Where another organisation processes personal information on my behalf, I remain responsible for making sure it is handled appropriately.

Some of the services I use may process personal information outside the UK. Where this happens, I use service providers that put appropriate safeguards in place to protect personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law, such as recognised adequacy arrangements or approved contractual protections.

I only keep personal information for as long as I reasonably need it. Different types of information may be kept for different lengths of time depending on why I collected it.

As a general guide:

• general or unsuccessful enquiries may be kept for up to 12 months, in case you get back in touch or I need to refer to our earlier conversation;
• reference photographs and other images supplied for a commission will normally be deleted within one month of the commission being completed or the enquiry being declined;
• information connected with an active commission will be kept for as long as I need it to complete the work, arrange payment and delivery, and deal with any reasonable follow-up;
• Google Analytics is configured to retain user-level and event-level data associated with cookies or other identifiers for up to 14 months. This retention setting does not affect most aggregated reporting data in Google Analytics; and
• business, payment and accounting records may be kept for longer where I need them for tax, legal or record-keeping purposes.

I review the information I hold from time to time and delete it when I no longer have a reasonable reason to keep it.

This website uses a small number of cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies and browser storage are necessary for the website to function properly. This includes storing your cookie preferences so that the website can remember whether you have accepted or rejected optional cookies. WordPress may also use limited technical browser storage for basic website functionality. These technologies are not used for advertising or to track your activity across other websites.

With your permission, this website uses Google Analytics to help me understand how people use Shimmus Studios and how visitors find the website. This may include information such as the pages you view, interactions with the website, how you arrived at the site, your device and browser type, and your approximate location. Google Analytics uses IP addresses at the point of collection to derive general location information, but Google states that IP addresses from UK users are discarded before the Analytics data is logged or stored.

Google Analytics cookies are not set unless you choose to allow them. When you first visit the website, you can Accept All, Reject All, or customise your choices using the cookie banner. Your choice is remembered using necessary consent storage. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link in the website footer.

I use Analytics information to understand things such as which pages are most useful, where visitors have come from, and how the website is being used. I do not use Google Analytics to serve personalised advertising, and I do not sell your personal information.

The website and its hosting services may also process basic technical information, such as your IP address, browser type and requests made to the site, where this is necessary to operate, secure and maintain the website.

This website also uses Cloudflare Turnstile on its contact form to help protect against spam and automated abuse. Turnstile processes limited technical information needed to distinguish legitimate visitors from automated traffic. Cloudflare states that Turnstile does not access, store or transmit the contents of form entries or other page inputs. You can find more information in Cloudflare’s Turnstile Privacy Addendum.

You have rights over the personal information I hold about you. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

• ask what personal information I hold about you and receive a copy of it;
• ask me to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask me to delete personal information where there is no longer a valid reason to keep it;
• ask me to restrict how I use your information in certain circumstances;
• object to certain uses of your information; and
• receive certain information you have provided to me in a portable format, where that right applies.

These rights do not apply in every situation, and I may sometimes need to keep or continue using information where there is a legal or legitimate reason to do so.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, contact me at seamus@shimmusstudios.com.

If you have a question or concern about this privacy policy or how I’ve handled your personal information, please contact me first at seamus@shimmusstudios.com and I’ll do my best to resolve it.

If you’re not satisfied with my response, you also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection. You can find information about making a complaint on the ICO website.