Frequently Asked Questions

Ordering and Delivery

Do you ship worldwide? Yes! I ship all over the world.  Postage is automatically calculated at the checkout.  Please note that orders outside the EU may incur import taxes, which are the responsibility of the customer.  Delivery times vary greatly depending on the end destination.  Order withing the EU can take around 5 working days to arrive but orders outside the EU can take up to 21 working days to arrive.

Occassionally there may be delays in the postal system which are out of my control.  Please check your postal service for an weather related delays, strikes or other problems.

My order hasn't arrived yet? Don't worry.  First, please check your dispatch email and refer to the delivery estimates.  Estimated delivery refers to working days of Monday to Friday and does not include weekends.  I always use a postal service that provides full tracking information and the relevant tracking number is provided in your dispatch email - please do check online with the postal service to find out the progress of your delivery but if you're still worried send me an email.

My order has arrived but I'm not totally happy with it.  What can I do? I quite understand that you might've ordered a present for someone and it's not quite right or the product just isn't right for what you wanted.  Send me an email and we can have a chat about what's wrong and what your options are.  Please note though, I am unable to accept returns or exchanges for earrings for pierced ears due to hygiene regulations and, I cannot accept returns for commissions or besoke orders.

The Studio

CLare Lloyd from Colour Designs Jewellery

Can I visit the studio? Yes, you're very welcome to visit the studio.  However, the Silk Mill isn't generally open to the public so it will be necessary for you to pre-arrange an appointment to visit me.  I also run my bridal business from the studio and have frequent appointments with brides-to-be so I'm afraid I can't accommodate unexpected visits. If you'd like to visit the studio, please email me and we'll arrange a convenient time.

Do you hold Open Studio Events?  Since the pandemic, I am doing less events than I used to do and my studio is only available to visit by pre-arranged appointment.  Hopefully, this will change as things improve.  A group of the artists and makers at the Silk Mill put on regular craft events in the Gallery space to coincide with the annual Frome Festival in July and also at Christmas.  More info about these events can be found on my Events Page.  I sometimes take part in Somerset Arts Week depending on their program so please check my Events Page for more information about what's happening and where.

Jewellery Care Instructions

Clare Lloyd'from Colour Designs Jewellery studio in Frome

How do I look after my jewellery? I use polymer clay for my handmade beads and I use resin clay for the coloured in-lays in my Colour Dot studs, earrings, rings and small dot pendants.

Resin Clay is hard wearing and easy to look after. Each piece is made over a period of three days.  I custom colour the resin and once it is cured, it is filed and sanded to a smooth, matt finish that resembles softly coloured stone or chalk.

Polymer clay is a robust, durable yet lightweight material that is custom coloured and then fired at low temperatures to fully cure. 

To keep the resin clay and polymer clay beads looking their best, please be gentle with it and, if it needs cleaning, please use mild soapy water and a very soft brush to remove any dirt before drying thoroughly with a soft cloth.  Please avoid contact with chemicals such as perfumes, chlorine, anything abrasive or acetone (nail varnish remover). 

Please avoid prolonged water exposure and don't wear your jewellery in a swimming pool - chlorine will not be kind to it.  The clays certainly won't mind you washing your hands whilst wearing a ring but please do not leat your jewellery soak in water for any length of time.  

I use recycled sterling silver for all of my metal work (with the exception of some brass for the settings of some of the stacking rings).  I don't believe in using chemical cleaners in my jewellery making processes nor do I recommend them to clean metal.  Please do not use silver dip on the clays as it will damage them.  Silver will tarnish when exposed to air and whilst not being not worn so to minimise this, please keep your jewellery in an airtight container.  Any tarnish can be removed with a very soft nail buffer or, again a gentle scrub with mild washing up liquid (such as Ecover) will work wonders.  

An extra note regarding care for the metallic beads - I use precious metal leaf for the metallics range so either 24carat gold, pure silver or pure copper leaf. The metallic leaf is applied to the beads before firing and then they are sealed with Renaissance Wax after firing to seal the metal to the surface of the clay.  Whilst this is a pretty reliable method of keeping the metal leaf on the bead, they do need a bit of extra care to protect them so, in addition to the care instructions above, please do not get the metallic beads wet and do not expose them to cosmetics or chemicals.  Hairspray can permanently damage the metal leaf and some body lotions, particularly sun creams can discolour, dull and damage the gold leaf.

Colour Accuracy and Jewellery Sizing

Handmade polymer clay round beads by Clare Lloyd

Colour Accurancy

Help! I need a more accurate colour match - as my jewellery is predominantly about colour, I try to mix my custom colours to a Pantone Equivalent colour reference.  As all computer monitors display colours differently, please be aware that the real life jewellery may appear a slightly different colour than shown on your screen. If you need a more accurate colour reference or you're trying to colour match, please contact me and I will send you the Pantone colour reference.  I have also worked towards colour matching with well known paint manufacturers such as Farrow and Ball and Fired Earth so, please do not hesitate to contact me if you're stuck with colour matching or need more accurate information.

Sizing Details

Sizes, Dimension and Measurements of Jewellery - please see each item description for details of the size of each style/item of jewellery.  I try to list all measurements as accurately as possible in centimetres, millimetres and inches so you can check whether an item is going to be suitable for you.

Some of my designs, especially my Tiny Colour Dot Studs and Tiny Dot Pendants are very small so please make sure you read the descriptions carefully to make sure the size is what you're looking for. 

Ring Sizes - Most of my rings are difficult or impossible to resize so it's very important to get this bit right.  Most high street jewellers will be able to measure your fingers for you at no cost. 

All of my rings are listed in whole UK sizes but I can make half sizes to order.  If you need any help, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Product Info and Environmental Policy

colourful handmade round and disc bead necklaces and statement ;polymer clay earrings by Colour Designs Jewellery

Product Information and Environmental Policy - it is very important to me that my jewellery making has as minimal impact upon the envrionment as possible and I try very hard to make choices to ensure that I source and use recycled materials wherever I can, that I eliminate any waste by being as efficient as possible with my work processes and that I use local or UK based suppliers for my materials.

Gift Wrapping and Packaging - all of my jewellery is gift boxed and protected with tissue paper before placing inside a sturdy cardboard postal box.  My gift boxes, tissue, ribbon, stickers, postal boxes, labels and packaging tape are now made from fully recycled materials and, are all fully re-cyclable.  My business cards and all paper goods are either made fromm 100% recycled paper or 100% recycled t-shirts.  All of my packaging and promotional paper goods are produced in the UK 

Do you use recycled metals? More positive news about the recycled sterling silver as I am now able to source recycled sterling silver chains and findings such as earring scrolls so that's great new.  As of Summer 2022, all of my  jewellery is made with recycled sterling silver sheet, tube, wire, chain and findings. So that's all the silver! Hurrah! 

I have started to use brass for some of my designs and this is almost always a sutainable metal as it's just not ecomonic to produce new brass for industry and so the tube that I use for my ring settings is made from locally sourced recycled brass.

Any gold that I use in my designs is always recycled.

What brand of Polymer Clay do you use? I am currently using Fimo Professional , Sculpey Premo (made by Polyform USA) and Cernit polymer clays to make my jewellery,  Both Sculpey and Cernit had previously confirmed that their polymer clay was vegan and contained no animal products, however, this appears to be a matter of some uncertainty as a quick search of Google (2021) shows many posts saying that NONE of the polymer clays are vegan any more and that they ALL now have raw materials that MAY contain animal products.  This is not ideal.  Cernit - which is the clay I use the most of - have now said that they will be releasing an all vegan formula in July 2021 so we'll see what happens.  Fimo have advised that they don't use any animal based ingredients in their polymer clay but that they won't confirm that it is entirely vegan! Well, it either is or it isn't so that's as clear as mud.  From summer 2021 I have found it increasingly difficult to source Sculpey Premo clay so I have decided to use only Fimo professional and Cernit porcelain white clays and I am now mixing all of my colours using artists' pigments. Artists' pigments (all are either synthetic or natural plant pigments - I won't touch anything with animal products in it) go a long way so I think these are going to last for a very long time and they give me amazing scope to mix all sorts of incredible colours and finishes. You can read more about my use of pigments and colour mixing adventures in my Journal

The planet's welfare is a big concern but It's also important to me that no animals or people are harmed in the making of my jewellery and therefore, I will only use materials that are ethically manufactured and sourced. Polymer clay is a form of plastic but I always ensure that I never waste any clay - any unused clay can just be remixed into another colour and another design.  I even save any filings from my clay and mix it back into translucent or white clay to add colour and texture.  My finished beads are also very durable so should last you a very long time and, if you ever get fed up with them, just ask me to make them into something new! 

Resin Clay? What is it?  I use a brand of resin clay that is made in the UK by a company called Sylmasta.  Sylmasta have confirmed to me that their resin clay is vegan and does not contain any animal products.  I have chosen to use a resin clay rather than a liquid resin because it is less noxious and toxic than the liquid form.  I also never waste any clay in my jewellery making; with resin clay, I can mix up very small amounts of product and I just make smaller and smaller studs until it's all used up. There is no residue and nothing to throw away.

Commissions and Wholesale Enquiries

Do you undertake Commissions or colour matching?  Yes, if my work load permits (I work with a lot of brides with my other business so that can get very busy during summer months) I absolutely love commissions and I'm more than happy to colour match to an outfit or colour scheme you may have - just ask!

Do you have a wholesale range? I do sell a limited range of my work through independent shops and galleries.  Please get in touch if you're interested in stocking my work as I'd love to hear from you.

Anything you'd like to ask me?

If you would like to ask me about something else that's not covered here or if you'd like more informaton about any of the topics discussed above, please get in touch.