Frequently Asked Questions

Contacting Us

What are your opening hours?

Mon - Sat 9am - 5.00pm.

Can I leave a telephone message out of hours?

Yes, we check all messages as soon as we arrive in the morning of our next working day and will call all UK customers back within in the hour. It helps us if you also leave an e-mail address or second phone number.

Ordering From Us

Do your prices include VAT?

Yes, all prices quoted include VAT.

How can I make an order?

We can only accept orders via our website at this time.

What payments do you accept?

We accept all major credit cards and Paypal. You can also pay by Bank Transfer, either depositing the money with your bank or using your internet banking service to transfer the money to us.

Can I order on line and pay by cheque or Postal Order?

Sorry - we don't accept cheques or postal orders at this time.

Do you have a search facility on your site?

Yes we do. You will find it on the top bar of the Home Page, right hand side. If you want to search for a product you can do so by colour, material, and code (if you know it). If you put in fish, or star, or heart, everything with these words in the description will appear. It is a good toy to play with and you never know what you may discover! Follow the link to search and enjoy the facility.

Collecting From Your Unit

Can I order on line and collect from your premises?

Yes, all our stock is held onsite at our unit in Leven and we'd be more than happy to see you!. Please phone or email to let us know roughly when to expect you.

Sending Your Order

Despatching Your Order

How much are your postage & packing charges within mainland UK?

Orders up to the value of £29.99 are charged at just £1.50 per order.
Orders with a value of £35.00 or more are sent free of charge.

Why do you feel the need to charge postage when other bead companies do not?

Compare our prices. There’s no such thing as a free lunch!

Do you send orders outside UK?

We don't post orders outside the UK at this time.

How quickly will my order be despatched?

We aim to despatch your order on day of receipt. The cut off for same day despatch is normally two pm but can be as early as 11am depending on our workload. After this time your order is likely to wait until the following day. It is extremely rare for orders without outstanding queries to be despatched later than 24 hours after receipt.

How quickly will my order arrive?

We always use first class post with your orders. First class post normally arrives within a day or two & is not traceable.

Can I guarantee next day delivery?

Yes, the cost is £6 plus our regular postage charge. We will pull out the stops to get next day delivery orders out the day we receive them. As a guide orders received after midday can be difficult to process immediately depending on our workload, the size of your order and how soon the postie is due. It is always best to email to confirm, we are all very friendly.

Problems With Delivery Of Your Order

What happens if my order doesn’t turn up as expected?

There are, unfortunately, rare occasions when delivery fails to meet expectations. In these circumstances we will do our utmost to find out where the package has gone astray and keep you fully and promptly informed.

If my order has been lost do I still have to pay for it?

Don’t worry though after ten days we will we will refund or credit you if your order has not arrived.

What should I do if any of my goods are damaged?

Please let us know as soon as you receive your goods. We will advise the best course action. In some circumstances we will ask for the products to be returned for inspection. There are occasions when this is not necessary.

Some very small proportion of breakages must be expected. We cannot be held responsible for negligence or improper handling on the part of the Royal Mail. In general if serious damage has occurred in transit (we had tyre tracks across one parcel!) compensation can be claimed against the handler.

Questions About Stock

Are all your items exactly as they appear on your website and in your catalogue?

A proportion of our goods are constructed of naturally occurring materials or may be handmade. We are very strict with quality control to ensure that we supply the closest match possible to our displayed products. Some small variation in colour and size should be tolerated however. Slight variations are part of the charm of hand carved and dyed bone beads and glass lamp beads for example. No two are ever identical. All products are photographed life-size and in full colour, but small variations in colour and size may occur between the beads in the catalogue or on the website and the beads you receive. Slight colour and size differences can occur between batches of beads, if you are not happy let us know. Sizes and weights are approximate. Every effort has been made to ensure descriptions are correct at the time of going to press, product descriptions such as 'gold', 'silver', 'copper' etc are subjective colour descriptions and do not relate to the materials. Sterling Silver items will be clearly stated as such.

What happens if you are out of stock of part of my order?

Most out of stock items are already noted on the site. Where they are not and you have ordered them we apply the following policy.

If the goods are due in stock within 10 working days we will charge you and send the remaining items on without charging for postage. Please let us know if this unacceptable for any reason.

If the goods are not due within ten days and they make up an important part of your order we will try and contact you to ask if you would like to be informed when they arrive in stock.

Can you inform me when goods are back in stock?

If you let us know which pieces you are interested we can contact you when these products are next available.

Can you inform me when out of stock goods are likely to be available?

We may be able to give an immediate broad indication of delivery times. If your needs are very specific or urgent we are happy to provide more detailed information.

Oh Dear I Am Not Happy

What do I do if I am not happy with something?

If something doesn’t seem right please let us know as quickly & politely as possible. We will do our best to work out how the problem occurred & to provide the swiftest possible solution.

Written criticism, (constructive or otherwise!) will be examined in detail & will always elicit an individual response. We are very happy to receive (fortunately very rare) written complaints. Please e-mail us at or write to Bead Workshop, Unit 8, Block 5, Banbeath Industrial Estate, Leven, KY8 5HD. We know who our happy customers are because they continue to shop with us. It is always better to know who our unhappy customers are rather than have any ex-customers.