CARE INSTRUCTIONS
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We all love sparkly new things. There are steps we can take to keep your accessories as good as new.
FABRIC FACE MASKS
・Hand wash or machine wash in bag; remove nose wire prior to washing
・Warm iron to keep shape (do not iron elastic straps)
・Feel free to pre-stretch elastics to get a comfortable fit
・Masks are not medical grade and may be used in conjunction with social distancing etc, and are used at your own decision.
FOR ALL HAIR ACCESSORIES & EARRINGS
・Do not submerge in water, wear to sleep or shower, go swimming with them. Please remove before these activities.
・Keep in a dry cool place out of direct sunlight, and store accordingly (eg. earrings in a box, and not loose in your handbag)
・Keep away from chemicals such as perfumes, oils
・Always use under adult supervision if using on children
STAINLESS STEEL VS STERLING SILVER
・Stainless steel (surgical grade) and sterling silver apart from the colour of the metal has a few differences, with both mostly being hypoallergenic.
・Irritation may occur due to your skin type. Please discontinue use if this is the case, though it is rare.
・Silver may possibly tarnish over a period of time, if any gold plating wears off if plated. This is normal and you may gently polish with a soft cloth or silver polishing cloth, to keep its shine.
・Stainless steel does not tarnish, and stays more or less the same (like a watch band), unless it comes under a lot of chemical contact or friction. Due to a person's skin chemistry, it may affect the gold tone of our gold tone stainless steel, but this is different user to user.
POLYMER CLAY AND RESIN COATED ORIGAMI EARRINGS
Please treat all clay earrings as you would with a ceramic bowl. Polymer clay is pretty tough, but with extra care, they will last you for many years. This is the same for our resin coated origami pieces. We recommend to (as much as possible) only touch or handle the metal hardware, instead of touching the clay or origami parts to keep them in their optimal condition. Paper items should be kept out of humid conditions (just like any paper). Try not to crush, squeeze, pull, drop or scratch these, to keep their integrity.
To clean your polymer clay pieces, you may use a soft brush to remove dust. You can also use a baby wipe to wipe flat surfaces clean. Store your pieces in the packaging (pouch or box) provided.
BOX CHAINS
Occasionally, box chains may be used. These need a little bit of extra caution - try not to bend or pinch these, and store them gently as flat as possible to prevent them from kinking (which is irreversible).
SCARVES AND HEADBANDS
Dry cleaning is best for this item. Any hand washing is done at your own risk (you can search up how to wash a kimono, but I cannot guarantee it will work as each piece of fabric is different) - sometimes hand washing may be alright, but sometimes it won't work due to the nature of the dye.
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POSTAGE WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Mochi La Vie charges a flat rate of $11 for regular post within Australia, regardless of how many items you purchase.
All items are sent via Australia Post as they have the most reliable and largest network. All items are sent by eParcel post (regular post), and items are sent from Sydney. Mochi La Vie aims to despatch all in stock items within 1-2 business days from receiving your fully paid order.
PLEASE NOTE THAT MOCHI LA VIE WILL BE ON MATERNITY LEAVE UNTIL MID NOV 2023
Current despatch time is next business day and is resuming as normal.
This is subject to stock quantities and I will continue to work as fast as I can (with someone to help me with postal runs) but cannot guarantee or rush orders as you can appreciate caring for a mini human is very time consuming! Thank you SO much for your support and I really appreciate you all being patient with me in a difficult time.
EXPRESS POST is a flat rate $15 per order for orders within Australia and is not a guaranteed next day delivery. AusPost is experiencing a high level of delays across Australia, but is prioritising express post parcels over regular post parcels.
Current estimates for receiving parcels in Australia (to be used as a guideline only):
ACT/NSW 2-5 business days
QLD/ VIC 3-5 business days
SA/WA/TAS/NT 5-10 business days
For rural areas, it will take longer.
Unless the express post option is chosen, orders are sent via free regular ePost, upon minimum spend (only when promotion is valid).
DELAYED OR LOST PARCELS
As we send using eParcel post, all our parcels are insured. In the event the parcel is delayed or perhaps lost, please contact us with your order details so that we can be in touch with AusPost. In the event of lost parcels, an item of similar value (if item cannot be replicated), refund, or store credit to exchange items may be issued.
In the event a parcel arrives but is delayed beyond a customer's expectations, we apologise on behalf of AusPost for the delay, however no postage/ partial refunds will be applicable as postage paid (even with free shipping orders - as shipping for us is not free) has already been paid to AusPost, and they in turn do not offer compensation for delayed delivery. We recommend that you contact AusPost directly if you are experiencing issues with deliveries in your area and thank you for your patience and understanding.
LOST/STOLEN PARCELS
There is a difference between lost and stolen parcels.
With lost parcels (ie. never delivered, lost in transit) there may be compensation from AusPost due to losing the parcel.
For stolen parcels that were delivered (eg. delivered to your doorstep, but taken by someone) you will need to lodge a police report and claim it on home and contents insurance or a similar policy you may have that will cover the cost of your order. I do feel sorry about this possible scenario, however I am not responsible and the postal insurance does not cover for theft, so please exercise vigilance where possible or use an address that is attended regularly (eg. a work address, a parcel locker etc).
PARCEL PICK UP AT POST OFFICE
Sometimes AusPost may not find a suitable place to leave your parcel unattended, or if your PO Box is not large enough they will notify you to bring some ID and collect at your local post office counter. In my opinion this is 100x better than risking the parcel getting wet from rain, or being stolen. AusPost only holds parcels at the post office for about five (5) business days, so it is the customer's responsibility to collect it on time.
REDELIVERY
Should a parcel be returned, and it is not at the fault of Mochi La Vie - for instance, including but not limited to: customer entering incorrect address, customer not picking up the parcel on time and it is returned back to Mochi La Vie, customer refusing delivery etc., a $11 postage charge will incur for redelivery to you.
If you choose not to pay the redelivery fee of $11 and forfeit your order, your original order may only be refundable of a total of (your order total less $11 and 5% restocking fee = refund amount) to compensate for the original postage paid for the first delivery. A small restocking fee may be charged to cover transaction fees, overheads and labour and is usually charged at 5% of the order total. Please note that these charges still apply to orders with free delivery, as we do pay postage (it is not free on our end, but it is provided as an incentive), and in many cases, we pay even more than $11 as we insure parcels over $100 value.
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INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY
Mochi La Vie is currently trialling international postage to New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and United States.
Rates will be displayed at checkout and is a flat rate based on weight. Two services are available: Airmail and EMS.
Please note that with extended delays due to COVID, we are unable to provide a delivery timeframe.
If you are interested in a particular item/items and your country is other than listed above, please email us with a link or list of links of the items you wish to purchase, along with your country of residence. We can set up a temporary international shipping destination on the website for you to complete checkout. Due to implications of VAT and import duties in the UK and EU, Mochi La Vie is suspending postal service to this region until further notice. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
All buyers are responsible for any additional taxes and duties imposed by customs (if applicable) once the parcel arrives at the destination.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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PAYMENT METHODS ACCEPTED
Currently on mochilavie.com PayPal is the main accepted payment method. All payments will go to an email called "askwildgene@gmaill.com" (yes this is me! I won't change it as it's working fine). Orders will be sent out upon cleared payment (so if it's an eCheque payment, I will despatch after the payment is cleared. For all instant payments, despatch is ASAP).
You may use the PayPal checkout to also pay with your preferred credit card, if you do not have a PayPal account.
On Market Days, I will have a Square card reader to process card payments, and I will also accept cash.
WHEN WILL A SOLD OUT ITEM COME BACK INTO STOCK?
99.9% of items with the (SOLD OUT), (CLOSED) or (DISCONTINUED) message means that it will never be remade again. The only exception will be cotton fabric accessories, if I have the fabric available. For all polymer clay and paper earrings, only items with the word "Classic" in the title are remade. The Classic series are "permanent" designs in my catalogue. For everything else, it is unlikely they will be remade as it keeps every earring unique, and the pricing is indicative of the batch work/ particular series. You can however, ask anyway and I might be able to make one (probably even better than the original) if I have the colours still on hand.
BESPOKE/ CUSTOM MADE ITEMS
Yes, I accept custom/ bespoke orders - this was one of the foundations for Mochi La Vie. Currently this service is on hold until 2024 due to personal reasons.
My bespoke service is strictly an omakase service, which means that you can specify general things like base colour, shape, size and elements, but how these elements are arranged are up to me, the designer. This means that while you can specify a colour swatch (eg. lilac), all colours may vary as that is the nature of polymer clay. No edits and changes are to be made once work has started or been completed - it's almost like a mystery piece. No sketches will be provided prior to starting work, and you will only see your order once it has been complete.
This service relies a lot on trust, and I am so thankful for a lot of you who have trusted me in this service. This service also costs a more than usual due to parts (I have made brooches and other things that are usually not part of my usual catalogue) and the time required to sit down to design and work on your project only.
From September 2022, full payment must be made in advance before any work begins. I thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Feel free to reach out to me, or simply search "Bespoke" to view the full details of a bespoke service.
DO YOU DO CLIP-ONS?
Yes!
If you require clip-ons, you will simply need to leave a note at checkout and I can do the rest. There is currently no extra charge for clip-ons (limited until end of 2024).
Your clip-on will either be brass, or plastic (plastic clip-on is used for all ear studs/ designs that need to sit over the ear lobe)
I will choose the type of clip on best suited for the earring, unless you note a specific preference. Earrings with ball studs will be quite similar to the original, but will be a bit longer due to the clip-on earring part design.
If in doubt, please send through an email or message and I can send some pictures over to explain a bit better.
GIFT WRAPPING
Currently the personalised gift wrapping add-on option is unavailable due to time constraints. As always, all jewellery comes boxed, ready to gift - without any pricing for peace of mind.
Thank you for your understanding!
WHAT HAPPENS IF I PLACE AN ORDER AND IT'S OUT OF STOCK?
This may happen if you place an order during my pop up/market hours, and I am trading in person (luckily this has never happened yet)! In this case if the item you have purchased has sold before I am able to fulfil your order, I can offer to make one as similar as possible, depending on what the item is and if I have materials. If I am unable to do this (and some things I really can't, like certain fabrics and polymer clay series), I will offer you an option to exchange for another item, or a full refund.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
Gift Certificates have been temporarily suspended due to suspicious activity (if it isn't suspicious, please contact us and we'll sort it out).
Please note that gift certificates are non-refundable, are valid for 1 year (365 days), and are based on the code, so please keep it safe so that others don't see or use it.
Mochi La Vie reserves the right to double check the purchaser's identity and validity of any gift certificate transactions to protect the card/account holder. Thank you for your understanding.
REFUNDS AND EXCHANGES
Due to the nature of products and for hygiene reasons, all sales are final, so we do not offer any refund or exchange for any change of mind.
In the event of a major failure that was not user generated and is a fault of craftsmanship or damage during delivery, a refund, store credit or exchange may be offered.
Refunds are to be made to the same method, email, or account the original payment was made with. Under no circumstances will a refund be issued by any alternate method other than that of the method used to complete the original purchase.
DEFINITION OF "IMPERFECTIONS"
Some imperfections include but not limited to: marks from sanding, buffing, bumps, fingerprints, cracks, dents. These are all normal and do not affect the structure of the polymer clay product.
For fabrics, loose threads, stitching not perfectly straight and being able to see seams are all perfectly normal.
I try my best to keep products free from the above imperfections as much as possible, but a lot of the time I leave these imperfections. Unless these imperfections affect the structural integrity of the finished product, they are not considered as imperfections/ a reason for exchange or refund.
CARING IS KIND
All products need to be cared for in order to keep them in good condition and last for a long time.
For detailed care instructions, please see the CARE page- otherwise, please exercise general common sense, for instance - please do not wear paper jewellery to swim or in wet weather.
HOW ITEMS ARE PRICED
Mochi La Vie items are priced on size/ amount of materials used, amount of detail/time used, nature of hardware/ fabric used, and two other objective factors - creativity/originality, as well as difficulty/ design process. Why is bespoke more expensive? A lot of my pricing also has to do with batch work - it is more time efficient to produce in a batch than in an individual sitting. Pretty much all of our products are not able to be replicated, so please bear in mind you are paying for something that is highly unlikely to be worn by someone else. Sure, there are collections, but none of them are ever the same. Mochi La Vie tries as much as possible to keep prices as reasonable and affordable as possible, to ensure that there is a price range for everyone.
MATERIALS USED
100% cotton, 100% cotton made in Japan, polymer clay (premium being Sculpey Premo, Sculpey Souffle, Kato, Cernit), stainless steel hardware (surgical grade, 316 or 304L), 925 sterling silver (some being 18K gold plated), non-woven polyester for bow lining, recycled paper, chiyogami paper, resin, red thread for all stitching of fabrics. Glues, cardboards, elastics etc may also be used. This list is not complete.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
Mochi La Vie aims to have all product descriptions as accurate as possible, however due to human error there may be discrepancies between the description and product you may receive, as such. Mochi La Vie reserves the right to correct the description post-sales to uphold the integrity of the accuracy of our listings.
PACKAGING
Most earrings will come boxed and a care instructions card. This is for your keepsake and also to protect the earrings from transit.
To be transparent, all polymer clay earrings and paper cranes come in a box. The paper cherry blossoms will most likely come in a pouch.
Aside from the bubble envelope, any bubble wrap will be upcycled bubble wrap (not purchased new) to keep environmental impact low.
Plastic packaging will be avoided where possible, with the exception of face masks for hygiene reasons, and hair clip sets (due to rainy weather packaging - can be removed upon point of purchase to be reused).
I also upcycle any boxes or packaging I have on hand and may use these to send out your order.
All earring cards are recyclable (just made of plain old paper), and are only used for informative/ display purposes only.
PRIVACY, IDENTITY AND FRAUD
I take all three of the above very seriously. I make sure that I do not share anything beyond a state and your first name (if I really need to).
I do not send emails/ newsletters unless you have ticked a box indicating that you have given me permission to add your email to the mailing list.
For any suspicious transactions, Mochi La Vie reserves the right to run a full security/ identity check to confirm the legitimacy of the order before proceeding with the order.
DO YOU HAVE SALES?
In short, no - I try to get the pricing accurate the first time round so that there is no need for sales. There is usually only one of each item, so if it's something that appeals to you, I suggest you make it yours before someone else does (and this happens a lot!). However there is a SALE section on the website for some collections where the odd one or two are still available.