01Privacy at Mint Space
This page explains what personal data Mint Space handles when you read this website, write to the studio, or come to Mizuhonocho in Ashikaga for a fitting. Mint Space makes bodysuits, waist shapers, briefs, slips and postpartum and bridal garments to individual measurements, so the data involved is small in volume but personal in nature: names, contact details, body measurements and, now and then, a date for a wedding or a due date.
We handle that information in line with Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI). The short version is that we ask for what we need to cut and fit a garment, we use it for that and nothing else, and we do not sell it or pass it to marketers.
02What we collect
Through the contact form we receive the name you type in, your email address, an optional phone number and your message. Through a fitting appointment we additionally record your body measurements (between 18 and 22 of them), notes on posture and fit preferences, the garment you want, and any practical details you volunteer, such as the neckline of a wedding dress or the date of an event.
Postpartum commissions are a special case. To schedule the second fitting we may note a delivery date, which can reveal something about your health. We only record it if you give it to us, we keep it with your measurement sheet and nowhere else, and you may decline to share it, in which case we simply schedule the appointments by calendar date instead.
This website itself does not ask for payment details, identity documents or photographs, and it does not use accounts or log-ins. Please do not send those through the form.
03How the contact form works
The forms on this site do not post to a database. When you press the send button, your own email program opens with a message already written from the fields you filled in, addressed to info@mint-space.com. Nothing leaves your device until you press send in that email program.
That means the message travels as ordinary email, with the usual limits on privacy that come with it. If you would rather not put something in an email, leave it out and raise it at the fitting instead. We will never ask you to send measurements, photographs of your body or health information by email before we have met.
04Why we use your information
We use personal information only for the following purposes: answering your enquiry and proposing a fitting time; preparing patterns, toiles and final garments to your measurements; arranging deposits, balances and handover; contacting you about a garment you have ordered, including later alterations; and meeting legal or accounting obligations.
We do not use your details for newsletters, advertising lists or profiling. If we ever wish to write to you about anything beyond your own commission, we will ask first and you can say no.
05Cookies and local storage
This site sets no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies and loads no third-party scripts. The one cookie it sets is called sy, holds the value ok, and exists only to remember that you closed the small notice at the bottom of the page. It contains nothing about you personally and expires after roughly ten months.
You can remove it at any time in your browser settings; the notice will simply appear again on your next visit. Blocking it has no effect on how the site works.
06Who else sees it
Your messages are handled by our email service, which stores and delivers them on our behalf. When a finished garment is sent by courier rather than handed over at the studio, the carrier receives your name, delivery address and phone number so that the parcel can arrive. Payment by bank transfer means that your bank and ours see the transfer details, as with any transfer.
Beyond those service providers, we disclose personal data only where Japanese law requires it, for example in response to a lawful request from a public authority, or where you have given us your consent. If a service provider stores data outside Japan, we will tell you where on request and make sure comparable protections apply.
07How long we keep it
Email correspondence is kept for up to three years after the last message and then deleted. Measurement sheets, patterns and fitting notes are kept for the same period after your last appointment so that a garment can be altered, repaired or remade without starting from zero. If you ask us to delete them sooner, we will, and the paper sheet is shredded.
Accounting records, such as a record that a deposit was received, are kept for the period Japanese tax rules require, and contain only your name and the amount.
08How we protect it
Email and files are kept in password-protected accounts, and only people working at the studio can open them. Paper fitting sheets are filed in the studio and not taken elsewhere. Patterns drawn for you carry a reference number rather than your name. We review who has access whenever someone joins or leaves, and we delete files from devices we stop using.
No system is perfect. If we ever learn that your information has been exposed, we will tell you promptly and report it to the Personal Information Protection Commission where the law requires.
09Your rights
Under the APPI you may ask us to tell you what personal data we hold about you, to correct anything that is wrong, to stop using it, or to delete it. Write to info@mint-space.com from the address you used before, or ask at your next fitting. We may ask you to confirm who you are before we release or change anything, and we will reply without undue delay.
If you are not satisfied with how a request has been handled, you can also contact the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan.
10Young visitors
The studio fits adults. If you are under 18 and wish to commission a piece, we will need a parent or guardian to be present and to agree to the handling of your information described here.
11Changes to this notice
If our practice changes, for example if we add an online booking tool, we will update this page and change the date at the top before the new practice begins. Earlier versions are available from us on request.
12Contact
Questions about this notice, or requests concerning your data, go to the studio at the address below. The name of the individual responsible for personal data at Mint Space is disclosed without delay on request by email.
Mint Space
1-9-9 Mizuhonocho, Ashikaga, Tochigi 326-0323, Japan
Tel +81 284-21-4622
Email info@mint-space.com