Copyright © 2011 by Tenth Muse LLC  •   All Rights reserved  
The End of an Era ... for Now
I regret to announce that the upcoming Fall issue of The Polymer Arts will be the last issue, in its present form. Thanks to all its wonderful contributors, The Polymer Arts had become a highly influential magazine as well as an amazing and humbling journey for me.

The closure decision was made based largely on my need to work less due to physical issues and, as seen with other magazines that have recently folded, the crushing increase of costs in this already expensive industry had turned this into a labor of love the past year or so but, unfortunately, I could not sustain this. One still needs to pay the bills.

This magazine's readers are a niche within a niche, the best of the best, but there simply are not enough to support this type of publication at this time.

However, conversations about this inevitable closure provided an unexpected change in plans. As many of you know from past posts and newsletters, I had wanted to create a project-based magazine to encourage folks new to polymer to further explore the medium and to build a bridge between the up and coming polymer crafts people and the world of the serious artist.  But the funding and the staff support I needed, and could afford, was simply not there.

But now, encouraged by a handful of persistent people over these last few months,  I have found the funds, the support, and the staff to create a new magazine for this community that I feel so indebted to.

As the saying goes, when one door closes another door opens.

For The Polymer Arts Subscribers and Fans
Subscribers with ongoing subscriptions to The Polymer Arts will be receiving The Polymer Studios as of January 2019 as well as our little special gift in November to thank you for your patience during this transformation. This also means there will be no winter issue but, as most of you know there will be two books that you can look forward to that will be coming out before the end of the year. Wrapping those up is why production of this first issue will take until January.
If you have any questions about your subscription or the changeover, please write us at connect[-at-]ThePolymerArts.com

For those of you who enjoyed The Polymer Arts and all the conceptual articles and discussions, I’m not setting those aside completely. There is another related project on the drawing board that I will be investigating further after the periodical changeover is taken care of. So stay tuned!
If you're curious about some of the reasons I had to close The Polymer Arts and, instead, started this new magazine, you can read about it on the About page on www.ThePolymerArts.com.


The Birth of a New Magazine
So, I’m thrilled to be able to announce the newest magazine for the polymer community, The Polymer Studio, with its first issue scheduled for a January 19th release.
This new magazine will continue to encourage readers to improve their skills and think creatively through quality content such as:
--Inspiring project tutorials from all over the globe, for all levels
--Expert instruction for improving skills and learning new techniques
--Tours inside the studios of unique and well-known polymer artists
--Invaluable studio tips and tricks
--Revealing artist interviews
--New product reviews
--A myriad of inspiring ideas and eye candy
--Regular articles by some of your favorite contributors including Christi Friesen, Ginger Davis Allman, and Anke Humpert, as well as myself.

We hope this new magazine will provide the new to intermediate polymer clay crafter with that regular, affordable creative shot in the arm that has been missing recently in periodicals, helping to fulfill your passion for learning and enjoying this fantastic medium.
Be an Early Subscriber for Discounts and a Special Gift
Subscriptions and pre-orders will be available in a couple of weeks.  Go here to sign up to be notified when it goes live. Early subscribers will receive:
--An additional 10% off their subscription
--A very special little gift in November to hold you over until January.
--And the immense appreciation of the staff for your enthusiasm and encouragement.
Sign up for the Purchase & News Notifications here.

Get Published in The Polymer Studio
Would you like to be published in The Polymer Studio? We still have room in the inaugural issue for a few more project tutorials. If you would like to submit, send your tutorial ideas and a photo or two (or link to photos) to submissions[-at-]thepolymerstudio.com. You can also go to the Contributor Guidelines page for more information.



PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy describes how and when I collect, use, and share information when you purchase an item from me, contact me, or otherwise use my services.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of third parties that I do not own or control. You can reference third party policies (a list of third parties associated with your transactions with us will be provided upon request) to learn more about their privacy practices.

Information I Collect

To fulfill your order, you must provide me with certain information, such as your name, email address, postal address, payment information, and the details of the product that you’re ordering. You may also choose to provide me with additional personal information as needed by contacting me directly.
I rely on a number of legal bases to collect, use, and share your information, including:
As needed to provide my services, such as when I use your information to fulfill your order, to settle disputes, or to provide customer support;
When you have provided your affirmative consent, which you may revoke at any time, such as by signing up for my mailing list;
If necessary to comply with a legal obligation or court order or in connection with a legal claim, such as retaining information about your purchases if required by tax law; and
As necessary for the purpose of my legitimate interests, if those legitimate interests are not overridden by your rights or interests, such as 1) providing and improving my services. I use your information to provide the services you requested and in my legitimate interest to improve my services; and 2) Compliance with third party legal and legitimate Policies and Terms of Use.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

Information about my customers is important to my business. I share your personal information for very limited reasons and in limited circumstances, as follows:
Third party services, primarily our various shipping services and newsletter service for customer notifications, but only to the extent necessary to perform these services.
Business transfers. If I sell or merge my business, I may disclose your information as part of that transaction, only to the extent permitted by law.
Compliance with laws. I may collect, use, retain, and share your information if I have a good faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to legal process or to government requests; (b) enforce my agreements, terms and policies; (c) prevent, investigate, and address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property, and safety of my customers, or others.

Data Retention

I retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with my services and as described in my Privacy Policy and comply with my legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce my agreements. I generally keep your data for 7 years.

Transfers of Personal Information

I store and process your information through third-party hosting services in the US and other jurisdictions. As a result, I may transfer your personal information to a jurisdiction with different data protection and government surveillance laws than your jurisdiction. If I am deemed to transfer information about you outside your country, I rely on Privacy Shield as the legal basis for the transfer, using Dropbox or Google Cloud both of whom are Privacy Shield certified.

Your Rights

If you reside in certain territories, including the EU, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. While some of these rights apply generally, certain rights apply only in certain limited cases. I describe these rights below:
Access. You may have the right to access and receive a copy of the personal information I hold about you by contacting me using the contact information below.
Change, restrict, delete. You may also have rights to change, restrict my use of, or delete your personal information. Absent exceptional circumstances (like where I am required to store data for legal reasons) I will generally delete your personal information upon request.
Object. You can object to (i) my processing of some of your information based on my legitimate interests and (ii) receiving marketing messages from me after providing your express consent to receive them. In such cases, I will delete your personal information unless I have compelling and legitimate grounds to continue using that information or if it is needed for legal reasons.
Complain. If you reside in the EU and wish to raise a concern about my use of your information (and without prejudice to any other rights you may have), you have the right to do so with your local data protection authority.

How to Contact Me
For purposes of EU data protection law, I Stephanie Bray Varon, am the data controller of your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me here.