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These Terms of Service govern the use of the website at inspiredcanvasses.com and the services that INSPIRED CANVASSES offers through it. By reading this website, submitting an enquiry or commissioning work from the atelier, a visitor agrees to these terms. A reader who does not agree should stop using the website.
The terms do not replace a signed engagement contract. Where a client has signed a contract for a specific project, the contract governs that project, and these terms apply only to the extent that the contract does not address a point.
These terms are written to be read by a business person as well as by a lawyer. Each section states a rule in ordinary English, then explains why the rule exists and what it means in practice. A reader who understands the purpose behind a clause is far less likely to breach it by accident, and far better placed to ask for a variation when a project genuinely needs one.
The terms take effect when a visitor first uses the website and continue to apply while the website is used. Where a client signs an engagement contract, the contract and these terms are read together as a single arrangement for that commission, and a conflict between them is resolved in favour of the contract because the contract was written with the specific project in mind.
INSPIRED CANVASSES is a computer integrated systems design atelier operating from 5608 N Pawnee Rd, Virginia Beach - 23462-4011, United States (US). The atelier designs, integrates and maintains software, networks and device systems for professional clients. The services described on this website are offered subject to capacity, and the atelier may decline a commission that falls outside its field or that conflicts with an existing duty.
The atelier keeps its working floor at the Virginia Beach address and draws its frame plans there. A client is welcome to visit during business hours and to see the benches at work, because the atelier believes that a system is easier to trust when the hands that will build it are known. A visit is arranged through the fitting desk so that the right engineer is on the floor when the client arrives.
The field of the atelier is computer integrated systems design within the professional, scientific and technical services sector. Work that falls outside that field, such as the supply of a general consumer product or the provision of legal advice, is outside the scope of these terms and is not offered through the website.
The website is provided for information and for enquiries. A visitor may read, print and share a page for personal or internal professional use, provided that no notice of authorship is removed. A visitor must not use the website to distribute unlawful material, to attempt unauthorised access to any system, to interfere with the service or to send automated requests that place an unreasonable load on the server.
The atelier may suspend or withdraw access to the website or to the contact form without notice where it reasonably believes that a visitor has broken these terms or that a security risk has arisen.
A visitor may quote a sentence from a page in a report or a proposal, provided that the quotation is short, accurate and attributed to the atelier. A visitor may not reproduce a whole page, mirror the site on another domain or present the atelier material as the visitor own work. A permission request may be sent to the email address on the contact page and is generally answered within a few days.
Automated access is limited to a normal reading pattern. A crawler that respects a standard exclusion file and identifies itself is welcome. A script that ignores the exclusion file, attempts to enumerate hidden paths or floods the form is not welcome, and the atelier may block the source address without notice. The atelier logs such events so that a pattern can be recognised and a wider block applied where one is needed.
The atelier offers six benches of work: the Stretcher Fitting Desk, Primed Canvas Rounds, Palette Counsel Weeks, Varnish Days, Studio Crit Sessions and Delivery Wrap Evenings. The scope of a commission is set out in a written frame produced at the fitting desk and confirmed in the engagement contract. A service that is not named in the frame is not included, even where it is described on this website in general terms.
The atelier will perform a commissioned service with reasonable skill and care. Where a client asks for a change to the frame after sign off, the atelier will assess the effect on cost, schedule and risk and will issue a written variation for the client to accept before work proceeds.
The written frame is the central document of every commission. It names each joint between systems, gives the span that each joint must carry and lists the hand-off points along with the party responsible on each side. A change to the frame is made in writing, and the atelier keeps the earlier versions so that the history of the work remains visible to a later maintainer.
Where a client orders a service that depends on a third party platform, the atelier will state the dependency in the frame and will explain what happens if the third party changes its terms or withdraws a feature. The atelier cannot promise that a third party will remain available, but it can design the integration so that a replacement can be made without rebuilding the whole system.
The atelier performs each bench with reasonable skill and care and keeps the records that show what was done. Those records are available to the client at handover and remain available for the period set in the contract, so that a claim about the work can be checked against the notes rather than against memory.
Fees for a commission are stated in the engagement contract. Unless the contract says otherwise, the atelier invoices in stages that match the benches of the process, and payment is due within the period stated on the invoice. The atelier may suspend work where an invoice remains unpaid after the due date and after a written reminder has been sent.
Travel, hardware and third party licence costs are charged as agreed in the contract. A client who requires a purchase to be made on its behalf will supply the atelier with the information it needs to complete the order, and any licence remains between the client and the licensor unless the contract states otherwise.
A fee is quoted in writing before a bench opens, and it states what is included and what is charged separately. The atelier does not add a charge that was not explained in the quotation, and it does not raise a fee for a change that the client did not request. Where a change begins with the atelier, the atelier bears the cost of correcting it.
An invoice states the bench to which it relates, the period of work and the accepted variation, if any. Payment is due within the period on the invoice. A client who anticipates a delay should tell the atelier before the due date so that a payment plan can be agreed rather than a suspension imposed.
Late payment is handled by a written reminder before any suspension. The atelier prefers a conversation to a dispute, and it will offer a short extension where a client can show a genuine difficulty. A persistent failure to pay, after a reminder and an opportunity to agree a plan, may lead to a suspension of work and to the release of the delivered material only against the outstanding invoice.
A client is responsible for giving the atelier accurate information about the systems it runs, the rooms that hold devices and the access that the atelier will need at the site. A client must hold the authority to grant that access and must ensure that its own staff are available for the fitting desk, the crit session and the wrap evening.
A commission moves at the speed of the information that the client supplies. A named contact who can answer a question within a day keeps the benches moving, and an unresolved question at the fitting desk delays every bench that follows. The atelier will state the decisions it needs and the date by which it needs them, so that a client can plan the answer rather than discover the need late.
Access is a practical matter as well as a legal one. The atelier needs a way into the rooms that hold devices, a way to reach the systems named in the frame and an authority that covers the whole period of the work. Where access is granted to a contractor on a short token, the atelier will ask the client to extend the token when the work runs long rather than work around the limit in a way that weakens the record.
The atelier retains ownership of its methods, its priming recipe, its palette guide template, its documentation structure and any tool that it has developed before or independently of a commission. Those items are made available to a client for use with the delivered system, but ownership does not pass to the client unless the contract says so in express words.
The text, images and layout of this website belong to the atelier and are protected by copyright. A visitor may not reproduce a substantial part of the website for a commercial purpose without written permission from the atelier.
The methods of the atelier were developed over years of practice and are part of the working capital of the business. A client receives a licence to use a method with the delivered system, and the licence is sufficient for the client to operate, maintain and extend that system. The licence does not permit the client to resell the method as a product or to use it to train a competing practice.
Documentation produced for a client belongs to the client in the form delivered, and the client may copy it for its own staff and successors. The underlying template and structure of the documentation remain with the atelier, because the same structure is used across commissions and is one of the reasons the atelier can hand over a legible system without starting from a blank page each time.
A client retains ownership of its own data, its existing software, its brand and any material that it supplies to the atelier for a commission. The client grants the atelier a limited licence to use that material only for the purpose of the commission and for no other purpose. The atelier will return or delete the material at the close of the engagement when the contract calls for it.
The material that a client supplies remains the client property, and the atelier treats it as confidential from the moment it arrives. A limited licence allows the atelier to read, adapt and incorporate the material for the purpose of the commission. The licence ends when the commission ends, and any retained copy is held only for the records that the atelier must keep.
Where a client supplies material that belongs to a third party, the client confirms that it holds the authority to grant the licence to the atelier and to allow the material to be used in the delivered system. The atelier will ask for that confirmation in writing where the material is central to the work, because a claim from a third party would otherwise fall on both parties at once.
At the delivery wrap evening the atelier hands over the documentation book, the administrative access, the training sheets and the record of open items. Acceptance of the work is recorded on the last page of the handover book. A client who receives the handover and does not raise a written objection within the period set in the contract is deemed to have accepted the work as delivered.
Where a defect appears after acceptance and falls within the warranty period stated in the contract, the atelier will repair the defect at no additional charge. A defect that results from a change made by the client or by a third party is not covered by the warranty and is offered as a separate commission.
A deliverable list is agreed at the fitting desk and is repeated at the wrap evening. The list names the frame, the primed configuration, the palette guide, the documentation book, the training sheets and the record of open items. A client may add an item before acceptance, and the atelier will quote for the addition rather than folding an unplanned item into the delivered price.
Acceptance is recorded on the last page of the handover book. A client who accepts the work confirms that the items on the list have been received and that the open items are understood. A defect that is found later, within the warranty period, is repaired under the warranty. A defect that arises from a change made by a client or a third party after handover is offered as a separate commission, quoted in the ordinary way.
The atelier keeps a copy of the handover book so that a later maintainer can reconstruct the state of the system at delivery. The client keeps the original, and the two copies are identical. When a dispute arises about what was delivered, the copies settle the question without relying on anyone memory.
Each party will keep the confidential information of the other party in confidence and will use it only for the purpose of the commission. The duty does not apply to information that is already public, that a party receives from a lawful third source or that a party is required to disclose by law, provided that the disclosing party is given notice where notice is lawful.
The duty survives the end of the commission for the period stated in the contract, and where no period is stated it survives for five years after the close of the engagement.
Confidentiality runs in both directions. The atelier keeps the client material private, and the client keeps the atelier methods private. Each party tells its staff and contractors what the duty requires, and each party limits access to the people who need the information for the commission. A breach of the duty is treated as a material breach, which allows the innocent party to end the commission and to seek a remedy.
Some commissions involve a public announcement or a case study. The atelier will not describe a client system in public without written permission from the client, and the client will not describe the atelier method in public without written permission from the atelier. A permission may be limited to a named audience or a named date, and the atelier respects the limit even where a wider use would be convenient.
The atelier aims to answer an enquiry within one working day and to keep its website available at all reasonable times. The website may be unavailable during maintenance, during a varnish day or during an event outside the reasonable control of the atelier. The atelier does not promise uninterrupted access to the website and is not liable for an interruption that it could not reasonably avoid.
Support for a delivered system is provided under the terms agreed at the wrap evening. Where a client has no support agreement, the atelier will still respond to a safety critical report and will quote for the repair separately.
The website and the bench line are maintained so that a client can reach the atelier when a question arises. A varnish day closes the benches to new work, and the website may show a short notice during that week. The atelier schedules a varnish day in advance so that a client who needs to reach the atelier during the week can plan around the closure or use the emergency contact given at the wrap evening.
Support for a delivered system is agreed at the wrap evening and is recorded in the handover book. The agreement names the hours of cover, the route for a report and the time within which the atelier will respond. Where a client has no support agreement, the atelier will still respond to a report that involves a safety risk and will quote for the repair under the ordinary terms.
An interruption outside the reasonable control of the atelier, such as a failure of a public network or a severe weather event at the coast, is treated as an event beyond control. The atelier will inform the client as soon as it knows of the interruption and will resume work when the interruption ends. The atelier does not treat such an event as a breach of a schedule where the delay could not reasonably have been avoided.
A commission may require the use of a third party product, platform or service. The atelier will choose such a product with reasonable care and will tell the client where a choice involves a material limitation. The atelier does not control a third party and does not warrant a third party product beyond the warranty that the third party itself provides.
The terms of a third party apply between that third party and the client unless the contract says otherwise. The atelier will help the client understand those terms where it reasonably can, but it cannot alter them.
A third party platform can change its terms with little notice and can alter the behaviour of a feature on which an integration depends. The atelier designs an integration so that the dependency is visible in the frame and so that a replacement can be made through a named joint rather than through a rewrite of the whole system. The client is told at the fitting desk where such a dependency exists and what it would cost to move to an alternative.
Where a third party product carries its own licence, the client is the licensee unless the contract says otherwise. The atelier will help the client read the licence at the point of purchase and will state plainly where a term limits the use of the product. The atelier cannot grant a right that the third party has not granted, and it will not pretend otherwise to make a proposal easier to accept.
To the extent that the law allows, the total liability of the atelier for a claim arising from a commission is limited to the fees paid for the service to which the claim relates. The atelier is not liable for indirect loss, for loss of profit, for loss of goodwill or for a loss that a client could reasonably have avoided by taking ordinary care.
Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, for death or for personal injury caused by negligence, or for any liability that the law does not permit to be excluded. Where a client is a consumer in a jurisdiction with a stronger statutory protection, that protection applies in full.
The limit on liability is set by the fees for the service to which a claim relates. The limit reflects the size of the atelier and the reasonable expectation of a professional client. It does not limit liability for fraud, for death or for personal injury caused by negligence, and it does not limit a liability that the law does not permit to be excluded.
A client shares in the management of risk by keeping its own backups, by following the handover notes and by reporting a fault promptly. Where a loss results from a failure to follow the handover notes or from a delay in reporting a fault, the atelier may fairly argue that part of the loss was avoidable, and the parties will discuss the apportionment before a formal claim is made.
Where the client is a consumer in a jurisdiction with a stronger statutory protection, the statutory protection applies in full and overrides a clause in these terms that would reduce it. The atelier would rather that a consumer rely on the protection of the law than accept a term that is not good for them.
A client will indemnify the atelier against a claim, a loss or a cost that arises from material supplied by the client, from a breach by the client of these terms, or from a use that the client makes of a delivered system outside the scope agreed in the frame. The atelier will give prompt notice of a claim and will not settle it without the reasonable agreement of the client.
The indemnity protects the atelier where a claim arises from material that the client supplied or from a use that the client made outside the agreed frame. It is not a general indemnity for the client own business, and it does not cover a claim that arises from the atelier own negligence. The atelier will notify the client promptly, will allow the client to take part in the defence and will not settle the claim without the reasonable agreement of the client.
Where both parties share responsibility for a claim, the indemnity applies in proportion to the responsibility. The atelier keeps the records that allow the shares to be established, and it will provide those records to the client on request so that the apportionment rests on evidence rather than on assertion.
Either party may end a commission on written notice where the other party commits a material breach and does not remedy it within a reasonable period after being asked. The atelier may end a commission immediately where the client refuses site access in a way that makes the work unsafe or unlawful.
On termination the client pays for the work completed to the date of termination and for any commitment that the atelier has reasonably made on the client behalf. The atelier returns the client material that is in its possession, except where the law requires it to keep a record.
A material breach is something more than a delay or a single missed meeting. It is a failure that goes to the heart of the arrangement, such as a refusal to pay an invoice after a reminder or a refusal to grant the access that the work requires. Where a breach can be remedied, the party in breach is given a reasonable period to remedy it before the commission is ended.
On termination the client pays for the work done and for a commitment that the atelier reasonably made on the client behalf, such as a hardware order that has already been placed. The atelier returns the client material and a final record of the work, and it keeps only the records that the law requires. The atelier does not hold material hostage to a dispute, because a hostage does not resolve a disagreement.
The clauses that deal with confidentiality, intellectual property, liability and governing law survive the end of a commission. A party remains bound by them after the benches have cleared, and the atelier relies on that survival when it hands over a system that the client will operate for years.
Except for the express commitments stated in these terms or in the engagement contract, the website and the general information on it are provided as they are. The atelier does not warrant that a general remark on the website will suit a particular system, because integrated systems differ in their rooms, their spans and their load. A reader should obtain a written frame before acting on a general suggestion.
A general statement on this website is written for a reader who wants to understand the approach of the atelier, not for a client who wants a specification for a particular system. A specification is produced at the fitting desk after the site has been measured and the frame has been drawn. A reader who acts on a general statement without a frame does so at the reader own risk, and the atelier will say so plainly at the desk.
The atelier does not exclude a warranty that the law implies in a way that the law forbids. Where an implied warranty applies, the atelier honours it. The disclaimer here simply prevents a general description on a public page from being read as a promise about a system that the atelier has never measured.
The atelier may revise these terms to reflect a change in its services or in the law. A revised version is published on this page with a new effective date. A revision does not affect a commission whose contract was signed before the revision date, because that commission remains governed by the terms in force at signature.
A revised version is published on this page with a new effective date and a note that the terms have changed. The atelier does not bury a revision inside a page whose date remains the same, because a reader is entitled to see that a change has happened. Where a revision is material to a live commission, the atelier will write to the client and offer a chance to discuss the effect.
A client who signed a contract before a revision remains governed by the terms in force at signature, except where the revision reflects a change in the law that applies to all agreements. In that case the revised term applies because the law, not the atelier, requires it.
These terms are governed by the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia and of the United States, without regard to conflict of law rules. A dispute that cannot be resolved by discussion will be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction in Virginia, unless a mandatory rule of the client own jurisdiction requires a different forum.
The choice of Virginia law reflects the place where the atelier works and where its records are kept. A dispute that reaches a court will be heard in Virginia, where the frame, the handover book and the other records can be examined on the spot. A client from another state or country is welcome to discuss an alternative forum where a mandatory rule of the client own jurisdiction requires one.
The parties will try to resolve a dispute by discussion before a formal step is taken. A discussion at the bench, with the frame and the handover book open, often settles a question that looks harder in correspondence. The atelier will make a senior person available for such a discussion and will keep a written note of what was agreed.
If a provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force. The invalid provision will be read down to the minimum extent needed to make it lawful, or replaced by a provision that achieves the same purpose in a lawful way.
A single unenforceable clause does not bring down the rest of the terms. The parties will read the clause down to the minimum extent needed to make it lawful, or replace it with a clause that achieves the same purpose in a lawful way. The rest of the document continues as though the difficulty had never arisen.
Where a clause is found to be unfair to a consumer under a mandatory rule, the rule prevails and the clause is set aside for that consumer only. The atelier will not attempt to enforce a clause against a consumer in a way that the law forbids, even where the clause appears convenient for the atelier.
These terms, together with the engagement contract and the written frame, form the entire agreement between the atelier and the client for the work in question. A statement made in a conversation that is not recorded in the contract or the frame does not alter the agreement, unless both parties confirm the statement in writing.
The engagement contract, the written frame and these terms contain the whole agreement for a commission. A conversation at a visit or a remark in an email does not alter the agreement unless both parties confirm the change in writing. The rule exists to protect both parties from a dispute about what was said in a meeting that nobody recorded.
A change is recorded in a written variation and is signed by both parties. The variation states the effect on cost, schedule and risk so that a client can see the true price of the change before accepting it. The atelier keeps the variations with the frame so that a later maintainer can see what changed and why.
For any question about these terms, write to hello@inspiredcanvasses.com, call +17314832557, or send a letter to INSPIRED CANVASSES at 5608 N Pawnee Rd, Virginia Beach - 23462-4011, United States (US). The atelier will answer a question about the meaning of a term within a reasonable period and will point to the clause that applies.
The atelier answers a question about these terms in ordinary language and points to the clause that applies. A client who wants a variation for a particular project is invited to ask rather than assume that the general terms cannot move. The atelier has a working practice precisely because it adapts the frame to the room, and a reasonable variation is part of the same habit.
A written message is preferred for a question about a term because it creates a record for both parties. A telephone call is welcome for a quick confirmation, and the atelier will follow it with a short written note so that the understanding can be shared with the wider project team. Whichever route is used, the atelier will confirm that the message has arrived and will name the person who will answer it.
These terms describe a working relationship rather than a fortress. The atelier wants a client to understand the arrangement, to know where to ask a question and to feel confident that a difficulty will be met with a plan rather than a penalty. A reader who has reached the final clause is invited to write with any question that remains, and the atelier will answer it as it answers every other question at the bench.