Terms of service

Last updated: 2 September 2026

These Terms of Service apply to purchases from Marelle Portraits (“Marelle”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a UK sole-trader business. By placing an order, you agree to these terms. They do not limit rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Contact: support@marelleportraits.com

1. What you are buying

Marelle creates personalised fine-art portraits from customer-supplied photographs. The approved artwork is printed on Hahnemühle German Etching 310 gsm paper, framed with acrylic glazing and fulfilled in the size, frame and extras shown in your order.

Marelle Portraits is a trading name of Matthew Reidy, a sole trader.
Business address:

Marelle Portraits
3rd Floor
45
Albemarle Street
London
W1S 4JL

2. Order workflow

1. You upload a photograph, choose the crop and order options, then pay through Shopify.
2. We check that the photograph and order are suitable.
3. We create portrait versions and make them available in your secure Marelle order dashboard.
4. You may approve an available version, request a recreation where offered, or cancel before approval.
5. Only an approved portrait is sent for printing, framing and fulfilment.

An order acknowledgement is not a promise that we can accept every photograph. If we decline an order, we will cancel it and provide a full refund.

3. Your photograph and permissions

You confirm that you own the photograph or have all permissions needed to upload it and allow us and our service providers to process it to fulfil the order. This permission includes cropping, image generation, quality review, printing, framing, fulfilment and customer support. It does not give Marelle permission to use the photograph or portrait in advertising without separate agreement.

You must not submit unlawful material or content centred on nudity, violence, abuse, public figures, political campaigning or protected characters, artworks, logos or other intellectual property that you do not have permission to use. Incidental background details may be acceptable and may be removed where appropriate. Context matters, and we reserve the right to decline content that we reasonably consider illegal, unsafe, exploitative, offensive, politically sensitive or inconsistent with our service. Where practical, we may suggest a workable change. If we decline the creation, we will refund the order in full.

4. Source-photo quality

You are responsible for choosing a clear, suitably lit photograph with the important features visible. We may ask for a replacement. Creation deadlines begin only after payment is accepted and we have a usable photograph and any information reasonably needed to start. If a suitable replacement cannot be provided, either party may cancel for a full refund before approval.

5. Creation and Express

Standard creation provides the first preview within 5 working days. Express creation provides the first preview within 1 working day. These creation periods are guaranteed once the conditions in section 4 are met. Express changes the artwork-creation priority only; it does not guarantee faster printing, framing, carrier collection or delivery. Express pricing and availability are shown before checkout and may be included for some size options.

If circumstances outside our reasonable control prevent us from meeting a creation deadline, we will contact you as soon as practical and provide an appropriate remedy without affecting your statutory rights.

6. Preview, recreation and approval

The dashboard is the place to review portrait versions. A portrait is approved only when you select a version and complete the final confirmation action in the dashboard. Messages that merely express a preference do not constitute approval.

Before approval, you may use the recreation option where it is offered. A recreation is a fresh interpretation rather than a promise to make a precise edit, and limits displayed in the dashboard apply. You may instead cancel at any time before approval for a full refund.

Approval confirms that the selected artwork version is final and authorises immediate production. After approval we cannot accept change-of-mind cancellation, replacement artwork selections or creative changes because the personalised item enters production. Your rights concerning goods that are faulty, damaged, lost or not as described remain unaffected.

If you do not respond to reasonable approval reminders, no portrait will be printed. The order will be automatically cancelled and refunded in full.

7. Cropping, colour and handmade character

The configurator’s safe area helps you position the subject. Small crop, layout or margin adjustments may be needed to prepare the approved artwork for production and the selected frame. Important subject matter will be kept within the safe area, but minute framing differences can occur.

Displays vary in brightness, colour and contrast. Paper, ink, acrylic glazing and room lighting also affect appearance. Reasonable screen-to-print colour variation, paper texture and the painterly character of the artwork are not faults, provided the product remains materially consistent with the approved preview and description.

8. Pricing, payment and availability

Prices, taxes and included delivery charges are shown at checkout. We may correct an obvious pricing or description error before accepting the order, in which case you may accept the corrected order or receive a full refund. Payment is taken through Shopify and its payment providers.

9. Gift messages

Gift messages must not contain threats, promotion of violence, discriminatory or demographic abuse, targeted harassment, political slogans or other material we reasonably consider unlawful or seriously offensive. We may ask for revised wording or omit and refund the gift-message extra if suitable wording is not provided. The recipient does not receive a price or invoice inside the parcel unless required operationally or by law.

10. Printing, delivery and risk

Printing and framing generally take up to 4 working days after approval, and carrier delivery generally takes up to 3 working days after dispatch. These are estimates rather than guarantees because quality assurance, carrier networks, weather, customs and other events can affect them. Delivery is included in the product price unless checkout clearly states otherwise. Risk passes to you when the goods are delivered to you or a person you nominate.

11. Damage, loss and faults

Inspect the parcel promptly. If it arrives damaged, faulty or materially different from the approved order, contact support@marelleportraits.com with the order number and clear photographs of the item and packaging. We will assess the issue and provide the repair, replacement, refund or other remedy required by applicable law. If tracking indicates a parcel is lost, contact us so we can investigate with the carrier.

12. Returns

Do not send anything back without contacting us first. Because portraits are personalised, change-of-mind return rights may not apply after approval. If a return is authorised, we will provide the appropriate return address privately for that case. See our Returns, Refunds & Cancellation Policy.

13. Our responsibility

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or your statutory consumer rights. Subject to that, we are not responsible for losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when the contract was formed or for business losses arising from a consumer purchase.

14. Events outside our control

We are not responsible for delay caused by events outside our reasonable control, including carrier disruption, severe weather, infrastructure failure, industrial action, public emergencies or supplier interruption. We will take reasonable steps to reduce the effect and keep you informed. Your right to cancel where a delay becomes legally significant is unaffected.

15. Changes, law and contact

The terms in force when you order apply to that order. We may update these terms for future orders. If a court finds one part unenforceable, the remaining terms continue. These terms are governed by the laws applicable in the part of the United Kingdom where Marelle is established, while mandatory consumer protections and jurisdiction rights remain unaffected.

Questions: support@marelleportraits.com. Please include your order number where relevant.