Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible for your data

Sawdust Notes is a personal woodworking blog run by Floris Brouwer, based at Hoeksewaard 42, 1181 CE Amstelveen, Netherlands. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR / AVG), Floris Brouwer acts as the data controller for all personal data collected through this website. In plain terms: one person decides why your data is processed, and that same person is accountable for protecting it.

A well-run workshop keeps its bench clean and its tools where they belong; a well-run website should be just as orderly about personal data. This policy explains what is collected when you visit or send a request, why it is needed, how long it is kept, and which rights you can exercise at any time.

2. What data is collected

This website is intentionally minimal: no accounts, no newsletter, no comment system and no advertising or analytics scripts. Data reaches me in only three ways:

2.1 Details you enter in the contact form

• Name — so I can address you properly in my reply;
• Email address — the channel for my answer;
• Phone number — optional, used only when a call is more practical than an email;
• Topic and message — your question, or a description of the project you'd like help with.

2.2 Technical server logs

The hosting server automatically records standard access information: IP address, browser and device type, referring page, and the date and time of your visit. These logs exist solely for security monitoring and technical troubleshooting and are never combined with form submissions or used to profile visitors.

2.3 Embedded map

The contact section of the home page embeds a Google Maps frame showing the location in Amstelveen. When that section loads, Google may process your IP address under its own privacy policy. No other third-party tracking content is embedded on this website.

3. Why the data is used

Form data is processed for exactly one purpose: answering your request — a question about the blog, a workshop setup consultation, a seat on the beginner joinery course or a custom build plan. The legal bases are Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (steps taken at your request before a possible agreement) and Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (my legitimate interest in running a responsive blog and small woodworking practice).

Your details are never sold, rented or shared with third parties for their own marketing. This website performs no profiling and no automated decision-making of any kind.

4. Cookies

The pages of this website set no cookies of their own. They are plain HTML and CSS, without analytics tags, advertising pixels or social-media trackers.

The only cookies you may encounter are set by Google within the embedded map frame on the home page; they are governed entirely by Google's own policies. Blocking third-party cookies in your browser will not affect the rest of the site — the address is also written in plain text in the footer of every page.

5. How long data is kept

Contact form messages are kept as long as our conversation is active. If a booking follows — a consultation, course or build plan — the related correspondence and invoicing records are retained for the period required by Dutch tax law for financial administration, currently seven years. Enquiries that don't lead to a booking are deleted within twelve months of our last exchange.

Server access logs are rotated automatically and retained for no longer than six months.

6. How your data is protected

The website is served exclusively over encrypted HTTPS. Form submissions and correspondence are stored on systems protected by strong, unique passwords and current software, accessible only to me. No personal data is stored on shared or public devices. No system can be guaranteed perfectly secure, but the measures here are proportionate to the modest amount of data a personal woodworking blog holds.

7. Your rights under the GDPR

As a visitor or client you hold the following rights, exercisable free of charge at any time:

• Right of access — ask which personal data I hold about you and receive a copy;
• Right to rectification — have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected;
• Right to erasure — request deletion of your data, unless a legal retention obligation applies;
• Right to restriction — ask me to limit processing while a question is resolved;
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interest;
• Right to data portability — receive the data you provided in a structured, commonly used format;
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any moment with effect for the future.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@florisbrouwer.nl or use the contact form. You will receive an answer within thirty days at the latest. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Dutch supervisory authority, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl).

8. Children's privacy

This blog is written for an adult audience of hobby builders and is not directed at children under the age of sixteen. I do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has submitted data through this website, contact me and it will be deleted promptly.

9. Changes to this policy

This privacy policy may be updated when the website changes or when legislation requires it. The current version is always published on this page with its revision date at the top. No update will quietly reduce the protection described here.

10. Questions about your data

For any question about this policy or about how your personal data is handled, reach me directly:

Privacy questions are answered within five working days. Thank you for trusting this blog with your details — they're stored more carefully than my best chisels.