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Privacy policy & terms of use

Last updated: 29 July 2026

Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern (“The Blooming Fern”, “we”, “us” or “our”), operates this website and provides the services described on it.

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This page contains Privacy Notice, Cookie Notice and Website Terms of Use. These sections explain how we handle personal data, how cookies and similar technologies are used, the rules that apply when you access or use this website, and the terms that apply when you enquire about or work with The Blooming Fern.

Choose a section:

Privacy Notice

1. Who we are and how to contact us

Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern (“The Blooming Fern”, “we”, “us” or “our”), is a sole trader established in England and operates The Blooming Fern from London, United Kingdom.

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Zofia Ciupa is the controller responsible for the personal data processed as described in this Privacy Notice.

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For questions about this Privacy Notice, to exercise your data protection rights, or to make a complaint about how we handle your personal data, please contact:

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Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern
Postal address: Flat 6, 45 Fortess Road, NW5 1AD, London, United Kingdom
Email: zofia@thebloomingfern.com

2. Who this Privacy Notice applies to

This Privacy Notice applies to personal data we handle about:

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  • Visitors to our website and people who contact us through our website, email, telephone, video calls or social media;

  • prospective, current and former clients;

  • Founders, employees and other representatives of organisations that enquire about or use our services;

  • Individuals whose personal data is provided to us by a client for use in a project, such as employees, customers, testimonial authors or people featured in client-supplied content;

  • Suppliers, contractors, collaborators and professional advisers;

  • People whose names, testimonials, reviews, photographs or other personal information we use in our website, portfolio or promotional materials;

  • People who contact us about employment, freelance or collaboration opportunities.

3. Personal data we collect

Depending on how you interact with The Blooming Fern, we may collect and process the following personal data:

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  • Identity, contact and business information, including your name, email address, telephone number, country, job title, company name, business website and social media or professional profile details.

  • Enquiry information, including the services you are interested in, information about your business or project, expected timing, launch dates, budget range and anything else you include in an enquiry.

  • Project and brand information, including questionnaire responses, business background, products and services, objectives, values, target audiences, competitors, brand positioning, messaging, visual preferences, reference links, uploaded files and other materials provided for a project.

  • Communications and meeting information, including emails, messages, correspondence through LinkedIn or other platforms, meeting notes and audio or video recordings where a meeting is recorded.

  • Information provided about other people, including names, job titles, company details, testimonials, photographs and other information supplied by clients for inclusion in brochures, websites, case studies or other project materials.

  • Portfolio and testimonial information, including names, job titles, company names, testimonial or review text, project images and information used in case studies or promotional materials.

  • Payment and business-administration information, including billing details, invoices, amounts paid, payment dates, transaction references and limited information made available through bank transfers. We do not collect or store payment-card details.

  • Employment and collaboration information, including CVs, portfolio links, employment history, professional experience and information provided by people who contact us about employment, freelance or collaboration opportunities.

  • Website and technical information, which may include your IP address, browser and device information, approximate location, referring website, pages visited, dates and times of visits, website interactions and analytics identifiers.

  • Cookie and preference information, including cookie choices and records of consent or objections. Further information is provided in our Cookie Notice.

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We do not collect every category of information from every person. The information collected depends on how you contact us and the services or website features you use.

4. How we obtain personal data

We collect most personal data directly from you when you complete a website form or questionnaire, contact us by email, telephone, video call, LinkedIn or another platform, provide information or files during a project, make a bank transfer, submit a testimonial or contact us about employment or collaboration.

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We also collect certain technical and usage information automatically through Wix, cookies and website tools such as Google Analytics. More information is provided in our Cookie Notice.

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In some cases, we receive personal data from other sources. This may include information supplied by clients or their representatives about employees, customers, testimonial authors or people featured in project materials; information available through company websites, LinkedIn or Google Business Profile; and information provided by our website, analytics and banking service providers.

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Where required by law, we will provide privacy information to individuals whose personal data we receive from another source.

5. How and why we use personal data

We use personal data only where we have a lawful basis for doing so. The lawful basis depends on the reason we are using the information and our relationship with the person concerned.

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We may use personal data for the following purposes:

Purpose

Designing campaign and marketing materials that support launches, promotions, and ongoing marketing efforts.

Lawful basis

Taking steps at your request before entering into a contract; or our legitimate interests in responding to business enquiries

Assessing project requirements, reviewing questionnaires and deciding whether we can provide the requested services

Taking steps before entering into a contract

Providing design, branding and consultancy services and managing the project relationship

Performance of a contract

Communicating with founders, employees and other representatives of a business client

Our legitimate interests in managing the client relationship and delivering the agreed services

Managing contracts, invoices and payments by bank transfer

Performance of a contract and compliance with legal obligations

Maintaining accounting, tax and business records

Compliance with legal obligations

Following up on a specific enquiry about our services

Our legitimate interests in responding to and managing prospective-client enquiries

Operating, maintaining and protecting our website, systems and business

Our legitimate interests in ensuring security, preventing misuse and operating the business effectively

Measuring website use and performance through non-essential analytics technologies

Consent, where required

Handling complaints, data-protection requests and regulatory enquiries

Compliance with legal obligations

Managing disputes, enforcing agreements, recovering unpaid fees and establishing or defending legal claims

Our legitimate interests in protecting our legal and commercial position

Reviewing and responding to employment, freelance or collaboration enquiries

Our legitimate interests in considering potential professional relationships

Publishing completed project work and business case studies in our portfolio

Our legitimate interests in demonstrating our work and promoting our services, subject to contractual, confidentiality and data-protection requirements

Publishing an identifiable person’s name, photograph or testimonial

Consent, where consent is the appropriate lawful basis

6. Information you need to provide

Some personal data is necessary for us to respond to an enquiry, assess a proposed project, prepare a quotation, enter into and perform a contract, communicate with you, issue invoices and comply with our legal and accounting obligations.

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Required fields on our forms and questionnaires are marked with an asterisk. Other information is optional.

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If you do not provide information that is necessary, we may be unable to respond fully to your enquiry, prepare a proposal, accept or deliver a project, process a payment or meet our contractual or legal obligations.

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You can browse our website without submitting an enquiry or becoming a client. However, certain technical information may still be processed where necessary to operate and secure the website, as explained in our Cookie Notice.

7. Who we share personal data with

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary to operate our business, provide our services, comply with legal obligations or protect our legal rights.

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These recipients may include:

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  • Website, form and hosting providers, including Wix, which hosts our website, stores form submissions and supports file uploads;

  • Email, communication and meeting providers, including Google Workspace, Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams;

  • Cloud-storage and file-transfer providers, including Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer and Wix storage;

  • Website analytics and performance providers, including Google Analytics and Google Search Console;

  • Professional and freelance platforms, including Upwork, where an enquiry, contract, communication or payment is managed through that platform;

  • Social-media and professional-networking platforms, including LinkedIn and Instagram, where you communicate with us through those services;

  • Our bank, accountant and other professional advisers, where access is necessary for payments, accounting, tax, legal compliance or professional advice;

  • Printers and production suppliers, where we work with them directly to prepare, check or produce client materials;

  • Developers, photographers and other project specialists, where they are engaged for a project and need limited access to relevant information or materials;

  • Government departments, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities, where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and

  • Other parties involved in establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, recovering unpaid fees or protecting our business.

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We only share personal data that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose. Where a service provider processes personal data on our behalf, we require appropriate data-protection and confidentiality arrangements. Where a third-party platform uses personal data for its own purposes, its own privacy notice will also apply.

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We may also return completed project files and materials to the client or, where agreed with the client, send them directly to a printer or another supplier involved in producing the final work.

8. International transfers

Some of the service providers we use may store, process or allow access to personal data outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States. We may also share limited project information with suppliers located outside the United Kingdom, such as a printer used to produce work for an international client.

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Where a transfer is subject to UK international data-transfer rules, we require it to be covered by an appropriate legal mechanism. Depending on the recipient and destination, this may include:

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  • UK adequacy regulations;

  • the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, where the US recipient is appropriately certified; or

  • approved contractual safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum, together with any assessment required by law.

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You may contact us at zofia@thebloomingfern.com for more information about the safeguards used for a particular transfer.

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This Privacy Notice has been prepared primarily in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Depending on the circumstances, additional data-protection laws may apply to particular individuals or processing activities. Where they apply, we will respect the additional rights and obligations required by those laws.

9. How long we keep personal data

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including providing our services, maintaining evidence of contractual and intellectual-property rights, complying with legal and tax obligations, and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

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Unsuccessful enquiries
Enquiry forms, correspondence, questionnaires and proposals relating to projects that do not proceed are normally retained for up to two years after our last meaningful contact, unless there is a specific reason to retain them for longer.

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Contracts and essential project records
We may retain signed contracts, agreed terms, scopes of work, variations, key instructions, approvals, intellectual-property records, portfolio permissions and records showing the completion or termination of a project for as long as they remain reasonably necessary to evidence the agreement, continuing rights, licences, permissions or our legal position.

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Because some contractual, intellectual-property and portfolio rights may continue after a project has ended, these core records may be retained on a long-term basis. We periodically review them and limit the information retained to what remains relevant.

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Routine project information
Questionnaires, routine correspondence, meeting notes, drafts and other working records containing personal data are normally retained for up to six years after the project or client relationship ends. We may retain selected records for longer where there is a continuing client relationship, an ongoing right or licence, a dispute, or another specific lawful reason.

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Creative and portfolio files
We may retain completed creative work and project files that do not contain personal data as part of our professional archive. Where files contain personal data, we will retain, remove or anonymise that information according to whether it remains necessary for the project, portfolio, contractual or legal purpose.

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Invoices, payments and accounting records
Invoices, bank-transfer information and accounting records are retained for the period required under applicable tax and accounting law and for longer where required in connection with an enquiry or dispute.

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Testimonials and case studies
Personal data used in testimonials, portfolio entries and case studies is retained while the material remains published and we continue to have a lawful basis to use it. If the information must be removed, we may retain a limited record of the original permission and subsequent request so that we can demonstrate how the matter was handled.

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Website information
Website analytics, technical information and cookie records are retained according to the periods explained in our Cookie Notice and the settings of the relevant providers.

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Complaints, legal claims and data-protection requests
Relevant records may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to investigate and respond to the matter, demonstrate compliance, and establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

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We review retained information periodically and delete or anonymise personal data that is no longer required. Different periods may apply where the law requires retention or where a dispute, investigation or continuing legal right makes longer retention necessary.

10. How we protect personal data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful access, use, disclosure, alteration, loss, destruction or damage.

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We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal data is accessed only where necessary and that service providers handling personal data maintain appropriate safeguards.

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Although we take appropriate measures to protect personal data, no method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which we use your personal data, you may have the right to:

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  • request access to the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy of it;

  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;

  • request deletion of your personal data where there is no continuing lawful reason for us to retain it;

  • request restriction of how we use your personal data in certain circumstances;

  • object to processing based on our legitimate interests;

  • request data portability for certain personal data you provided to us, where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means; and

  • withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent. Withdrawal does not affect processing carried out lawfully before consent was withdrawn

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These rights are not absolute. In some circumstances, we may be permitted or required to continue retaining or using information—for example, to comply with a legal obligation, maintain evidence of contractual or intellectual-property rights, or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

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To exercise your rights, contact us at zofia@thebloomingfern.com. Please explain what you are requesting and provide enough information for us to identify the relevant records. We may ask for reasonable evidence of identity where this is necessary to protect personal data from unauthorised disclosure.

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Requests are normally handled free of charge. We will respond without undue delay and normally within one month after receiving a valid request and any information reasonably required to verify your identity. Where a request is complex or you make several requests, the response period may be extended by up to a further two months. We will tell you if an extension is required.

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You have the right to object at any time to our use of your personal data for direct marketing. If you object, we will stop using your personal data for that purpose.

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You may also object where we rely on legitimate interests. In that situation, we will stop the relevant processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is needed for legal claims.

12. Data-protection complaints

If you are concerned about how we have collected, used, shared, stored or protected your personal data, you may make a data-protection complaint by contacting:

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Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern
Email: zofia@thebloomingfern.com
Postal address: Flat 6, 45 Fortess Road, NW5 1AD, London, United Kingdom

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Please explain the nature of your concern and include any relevant dates, communications or other information that may help us investigate it.

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We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days. We will take appropriate steps to investigate it without undue delay, keep you informed where appropriate and explain the outcome of our investigation and any action taken.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection. We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first, but you are not prevented from contacting the ICO at any time.

Cookie Notice

1. About cookies

This website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small data files stored on or accessed from your device when you visit a website. They can help the website function, remember your choices and provide information about how visitors use the website.

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Some technologies are necessary for the website to operate. Others are optional and will only be used where you have made the relevant choice through our cookie banner, unless their use is permitted without consent under applicable law.

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This Cookie Notice explains the types of technologies we use, why we use them and how you can manage or withdraw your choices.

2. What we use cookies for

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

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  • operate the website and provide its essential features;

  • maintain website security and prevent misuse;

  • remember your cookie preferences;

  • support website forms and other functions provided through Wix; and

  • understand how visitors use the website through analytics, including Google Analytics, so that we can measure performance and improve its content and usability.

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Some of these technologies are necessary for the website to work. Others are optional and are controlled through our cookie banner and Cookie Settings.

3. Cookie inventory and third-party services

This website is built and hosted using Wix, which uses cookies and similar technologies to operate, secure and maintain the website and its features.

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We also use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the website and to help us improve its performance, content and usability. Google Analytics technologies are used only where you have provided the relevant consent through our cookie banner.

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Details of the cookies commonly used by Wix are available in Wix’s official cookie documentation. Information about cookies used by Google Analytics is available in Google’s official cookie documentation.

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The exact technologies used may change depending on the website features, applications and services that are enabled. Wix and Google may process information collected through their technologies in accordance with their own privacy notices and service terms.

4. How visitors manage their choices

When you first visit this website, our cookie banner allows you to accept or reject optional cookies. Essential cookies cannot be disabled because they are necessary for the website to operate securely and provide its core functions.

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You may change or withdraw your consent to optional cookies at any time using the Manage Cookie Preferences control on this website. You can also control or delete cookies through your browser settings, although blocking essential cookies may affect how the website functions.

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Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

5. Updates and contact details

We may update this Cookie Notice when the website, the technologies we use or applicable legal requirements change. The latest version will be published on this page with the date it was last updated.

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For questions about our use of cookies and similar technologies, contact us at zofia@thebloomingfern.com

Website Terms of Use

1. About Website Terms of Use

These Website Terms of Use (“Terms”) apply to your access to and use of thebloomingfern.com and its pages and content (“the website”)

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The website is operated by Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern (“The Blooming Fern”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a sole trader established in England.

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By accessing or using the website, you agree to comply with these Terms. If you do not agree with them, you should not use the website.

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These Terms govern use of the website only. They do not govern the provision of branding, design, consultancy or other client services. Any services are provided under a separate proposal, quotation or written client agreement accepted for the relevant project.

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Submitting an enquiry does not create a client relationship, require us to accept a project or create a contract for services.

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These Terms should be read together with our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.

2. Using this website

You may access and use this website for lawful purposes, including viewing information about The Blooming Fern and making an enquiry about our services.

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You must not:

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  • use the website for any unlawful, fraudulent or harmful purpose;

  • attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website, its server, connected systems or data;

  • interfere with, damage, disable or disrupt the website or its security;

  • introduce viruses, malicious code or other harmful material;

  • use automated tools to scrape, extract or systematically collect website content or data without our prior written permission; or

  • falsely suggest that you are connected with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of The Blooming Fern.

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We may restrict or block access where we reasonably believe that a person has breached these Terms, threatened the security or operation of the website, or acted unlawfully.

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Nothing in these Terms prevents ordinary browsing, sharing a link to the website, or using information in a way permitted by law.

3. Intellectual property

Unless stated otherwise, this website and its content — including its text, branding, graphics, illustrations, vectors, photographs, layouts, case studies and portfolio presentation — are owned by or licensed to Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern, and are protected by copyright and other intellectual-property laws.

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You may view the website, share links to its pages, and save or print a reasonable copy for your own private, non-commercial reference.

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You must not, without our prior written permission:

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  • copy, reproduce, modify, adapt or republish website content;

  • use our content in another website, portfolio, presentation, publication or social-media account;

  • sell, license, distribute or commercially exploit our content;

  • remove copyright, attribution or ownership notices;

  • present our work as your own or falsely imply that you created, commissioned or are connected with it; or

  • systematically extract website content or use it to create datasets or train automated or artificial-intelligence systems, except where permitted by law.

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Client names, trade marks, logos, project materials and other third-party content shown in our portfolio remain the property of their respective owners. Their inclusion on this website does not give you permission to use them.

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No intellectual-property rights are transferred to you merely because you access the website or submit an enquiry. Any rights relating to commissioned client work are governed exclusively by the written agreement for the relevant project.

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To request permission to use any website content, contact zofia@thebloomingfern.com

4. Website information and enquiries

The content on this website is provided for general information about The Blooming Fern, our work and the services we may offer. We take reasonable care when preparing website content, but we do not guarantee that it will always be complete, current or suitable for a particular business, project or purpose.

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Portfolio projects, case studies, testimonials and journal content illustrate previous work and general ideas. They do not guarantee that another client or project will achieve the same or similar results.

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Information on this website is not a binding offer to provide services. The availability, scope, deliverables, fees and schedule for each project will be confirmed separately in a written proposal, quotation or client agreement.

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A contract for services is created only when the relevant written agreement has been accepted by both parties. If information on this website differs from an accepted project agreement, the project agreement will take priority.

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You should not rely on general website content as a substitute for advice tailored to your particular circumstances.

5. Third-party links

This website may contain links to third-party websites and platforms, including Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

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These links are provided for convenience and information only. Unless we expressly state otherwise, linking to a third-party website does not mean that we control, approve or endorse its content, products, services or practices.

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Third-party websites operate under their own terms, privacy notices and cookie policies. We are not responsible for their content, availability, security or handling of personal data. You should review the relevant policies before using those websites or providing information to them.

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Nothing in this section excludes or limits any responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

6. Website availability and security

We take reasonable steps to keep the website available, accurate and secure. However, we do not guarantee that the website, or any part of it, will always be available, uninterrupted, error-free or free from harmful code.

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We may update, change, suspend or withdraw any part of the website where reasonably necessary, including for maintenance, security, technical or business reasons.

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You are responsible for using appropriate security measures when accessing the website, including keeping your device, software and internet connection secure.

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We are not responsible for interruptions, delays or technical problems caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control or by third-party services on which the website depends.

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Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

7. Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, and any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

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Subject to the paragraph above, we are not responsible for:

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  • loss or damage caused by relying on general information published on the website;

  • loss arising from the website being unavailable, interrupted, inaccurate or affected by technical problems outside our reasonable control;

  • loss caused by third-party websites, platforms, services or content linked from this website; or

  • loss resulting from viruses or other harmful material introduced by a third party, provided that we have taken reasonable steps to operate and protect the website.

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If you use the website for business purposes, we will not be liable for loss of profits, revenue, business opportunities, anticipated savings, goodwill or reputation, or for indirect or consequential loss arising from your use of the website.

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Our responsibility for branding, design, consultancy or other client services is governed by the separate written agreement accepted for the relevant project and not by these Website Terms.

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Nothing in these Terms affects any legal rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

8. Changes, governing law and contact details

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes to the website, our business or applicable law. The revised Terms will apply to your use of the website from the date they are published. The date of the latest update will be shown at the top of this page.

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Changes to these Website Terms do not amend any separate client agreement that has already been accepted.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply.

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These Terms, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or your use of the website, including non-contractual disputes or claims, are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

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If you use the website for business purposes, the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction over any such dispute or claim.

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If you use the website as a consumer, nothing in these Terms removes any mandatory legal protections or rights you may have under applicable law.

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For questions about these Terms, contact:

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Zofia Ciupa, trading as The Blooming Fern
Email: zofia@thebloomingfern.com
Postal address: Flat 6, 45 Fortess Road, NW5 1AD, London, United Kingdom

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