Refund policy

Returns & Refunds Policy

First, a word about natural materials

Every Swaylight piece is grown before it is made. No two gourds share a shape; no two pieces of wood share a grain. Differences in size, weight, color, markings, and surface tone — and, on decorated pieces, the small variations that come with hand-burning and hand-carving — are part of the work, not faults in it. Your piece won’t be identical to the photographs, and that’s rather the point. Where pieces are sold as a matched pair, they’re matched as closely as natural materials allow, and slight differences between the two are to be expected.

Our pieces are also made to change. Handled regularly, the surface deepens in color and takes on a warm patina over the years. That slow shift is intended — it isn’t wear, and it isn’t a defect. It’s the piece becoming yours.

Returns & exchanges

Because of what these pieces are, we handle this a little differently from an ordinary shop — and we’d rather say so plainly, up front.

Every Swaylight piece is one of a kind, and made from natural material that begins to change from the very first time it’s held. So we don’t offer change-of-mind returns or exchanges: once a piece has been handled, it has quietly started becoming yours, and can’t go back on the shelf for someone else — and because each piece is unique, there’s no identical copy to swap it for.

That isn’t a shrug. If a piece reaches you damaged or wrong, that’s ours to put right, in full (see below). Personalized, custom, and commissioned pieces are made for you alone and, for the same reasons, can’t be returned or exchanged.

If your piece arrives damaged, or it’s the wrong one

Our work is light and, however carefully it’s packed, transit is transit. If your piece arrives cracked or damaged, or you’ve received the wrong item, email us within 7 days of delivery with your order number and clear photos of the piece and its packaging. We’ll arrange a replacement or a full refund, at no cost to you. There’s nothing to negotiate.

Looking after your piece

Care varies a little by material, and where it helps, a piece arrives with its own care card. In general: keep it away from long soaking, harsh direct sun, and heat — and handle it often. Regular contact is what brings out the color and the glow. Given a little attention, a Swaylight piece will keep you company for years.