FAQ

How are orders packaged?

All orders are wrapped carefully in tissue paper and shipped out in a sturdy cardboard box, with your favorite Nozomi items each enclosed in a beautiful suede gift bag with hand-signed Nozomi description cards (see photo below). Orders from our Dara ethically-sourced collection are sent without plastic packaging. Because the pottery is fragile, most pieces are also wrapped to prevent breakage. 

For any orders indicated as gifts, we will remove the price tag and include a gift receipt. If you'd like a note enclosed with the gift, please write your note in the comments section prior to checkout. 

Upon checkout there is an area for you to fill in your desired shipping address. We can only send any given order to one address.

Yes, APO addresses are shipped through DHL to the US. For APO addresses in Japan, use your address in the Japanese format when placing an order to qualify for domestic shipping rates. We are sorry that we cannot change your address for you after your order has been placed. Use our cheat sheet here for help in writing out your Japanese address. 

For orders to be shipped directly to the gift recipient, please use the "Gift?" checkbox in your cart prior to checkout. For any order so indicated, we will automatically remove the price tag and include a gift receipt.

All of our items are sent out in an elegant blue suede bag. If you would like a note included, please write the note in the comments section and we will include the note with your items. 

We have on occasion heard of import taxes on products in particular sent to the United Kingdom (see a helpful website here), Hawaii (USA), France, and Canada. To our understanding, it is often at the discretion of individual customs officers and does not seem to be consistent. We apologize that we cannot be responsible for import taxes to the various countries where we send our products. In our experience, many customers will find it helpful to limit each order to $750. 

For customers living in the EU, due to new EU tax regulations, please note that you will be required to pay the VAT and/or duties upon delivery of your order.

There are several options. We have a Japanese website, www.nozomiproject.jp. If you have a credit card or Paypal account, these will work fine and your credit card company will do the yen conversion for you if necessary.

Those living in Japan can also pay by postal money order, or 銀行振り込み. If you choose this option during checkout, please pay at a post office or convenience store within two business days. We will ship the product after confirming your payment. The total amount to be paid will be the product price + shipping + bank transfer fee. If payment cannot be confirmed within 7 days of the order date, the order will be cancelled and your selected items returned to our online store. Please enter your order number for customer confirmation after payment. The name of the person making the transfer must be the same as the name of the person who placed the order. If you need to use a different name for some reason, please be sure to let us know.

77 Bank, Ltd.　
Branch name: Watanoha Branch (Watanoha)
Branch code: 407
Account number: Savings account 5294479
Account name:  BE ONE (General Incorporated Association)

七十七銀行(シチジュウシチ）　
支店名　渡波支店（ワタノハ）
店コード:407
口座番号：普通預金　5294479
口座名：一般社団法人BE ONE

Nozomi Project Physical Address:

Nozomi Project 〒９８６−２１３５ 宮城県石巻市 渡波 字下榎壇１４２－６
(English: Watanoha Aza Shimo Enokidan 142-6 Ishinomaki-shi, Miyagi ken 986-2135)

All pottery is fragile, and needs to be handled with care to avoid chipping or breaking. Please keep your Nozomi product dry and away from heat, cold, and chemicals. If the shard should come loose from its mounting, you can reapply it with epoxy. 

In light of our plans to close the Nozomi Project in December 2023, we are no longer accepting return/repair requests to our workshop. If your jewelry arrives broken, please email us a photo of your jewelry within a week of receiving your order. 

Refund policy
We can only issue refunds if a product arrives to you already damaged. If a product arrives damaged to you, within a week of receipt please email us with a photo of the product at nozomitohoku@gmail.com

In light of our plans to close the Nozomi Project in December 2023, we are no longer accepting return/repair requests to our workshop. If your jewelry arrives broken, please email us a photo of your jewelry within a week of receiving your order. 

We stand by our products and want you to be happy with your Nozomi purchases. Please let us know how we are doing!

Why might the sides of some pottery turn brown?

Some types of pottery will turn brown on the sides after grinding and cleaning. This aging is a natural result of certain kinds of broken pottery exposed to the air and the oils on your skin. Please be assured that each piece has been properly cleaned in our workshop! We love even these little-seen reminders that there is beauty in brokenness.

• Please keep your one-of-a-kind necklace in the enclosed ziploc bag when it's not being worn. Please handle your necklace carefully to avoid chipping or breaking. For wire-wrapped pieces: all wire, while firm, can be bent. Please avoid scenarios that can crush or catch the delicate wire-wrapped jewelry (beware of woven sweaters, scarves, etc. that may “catch” your necklace).
• Avoid direct sunlight, excessive heat/cold, or areas with extreme temperature changes (i.e. near windows, vents, or ducts).
• Your special piece is handmade; please do not pull or tug on jewelry parts.
• Avoid perfumes, makeup, hairspray, harsh chemicals or household cleaners.
• Remove when applying hairspray, perfume, chlorine, lotion or any skincare/makeup products. 
• Please keep away from moisture. Do not swim or shower while wearing jewelry.

For our one-of-a-kind wire-wrapped necklaces, we like this webpage for more specific information on caring for and cleaning wire-wrapped pieces.

We love visitors! Because we sometimes have special circumstances where we are not open, please contact us in advance to schedule your visit. We ask tours to avoid the first and last half hour of our working hours so that we can be fully present with you. Please contact us to schedule a tour at (email) nozomitohoku@gmail.com or (phone) 0225-90-4024.