What it means to buy a piece of this weight, made to order, from the other side of an ocean — stated plainly, before you pay rather than after.
Made to order
Nothing waits in a warehouse. When you reserve, a block is selected for you and cut — 4 to 20 weeks at the bench depending on the stone and the form. Your dates are confirmed in writing once your block is chosen, not before.
Payment and the 72-hour window
Every purchase is made directly on this site. Checkout is secure and handled by Shopify: payment in full. Nothing is ordered, and no block is committed, until your payment has cleared to us — that confirmation is what releases your commission to the workshop. You may cancel for any reason and be refunded in full within 72 hours of payment clearing. After 72 hours your order is placed with the workshop and manufacture begins — the block is bought and cut — and the commission cannot be cancelled or refunded, unless we agree otherwise with you in writing by email. None of this affects your rights if a piece arrives late, damaged, faulty or not as described.
One price, delivered
Every price includes freight, crating, export documentation, transit insurance with the sum insured stated in writing on your order, and all import duty and customs clearance. Atelier Earthmade is the importer of record: we clear the piece and the duty is ours. Nothing further is ever payable on delivery. Where we are registered to collect it, state sales tax is shown at checkout before you pay — it is the only amount ever added.
Checkout delivers to addresses in the United States, where this all-in price applies. We do ship internationally — but freight, duty and local tax differ by country, so an international commission begins with a conversation rather than a checkout. Send us an enquiry and we will price it properly for your address.
The journey of a piece
- Reservation — payment cleared. We place the order with the workshop and confirm your piece, its dimensions and your dates in writing.
- Carving — bored, hollowed and shaped from the single block. The stone sets this pace, not us: softer travertine moves quickly; onyx and petrified wood cannot be hurried.
- Finishing and sealing — honed or polished to the specified finish, the waste outlet cored, and an impregnating sealer applied before crating.
- Crating — crated for export by the workshop. Insurance is bound before the piece moves, and the sum insured is confirmed to you in writing.
- Ocean freight — booked and tracked by us, port to port with inland haulage either side. Air freight compresses this leg to roughly a fortnight and is quoted on request.
- Customs — our broker files the entry in our name with the commercial invoice and packing list. We settle the duty and import charges. Nothing is asked of you.
- Delivery — booked with you by appointment, to your ground-floor threshold, still crated. Inspect before you sign, note any damage on the carrier’s receipt, keep the crate and all packaging, and tell us within 48 hours — we handle the insurance claim from there. Rigging, craning and stair carries are not included; we quote them with a specialist in your city.
After delivery
Transit cover runs to the moment of delivery, and our liability ends there. Atelier Earthmade adds no structural guarantee of its own beyond it; where the workshop that made your piece offers a manufacturer’s warranty, we pass it through on their terms and tell you what applies before you buy. Care is deliberately simple — see Materials & Care.