Privacy Policy

Brandywine Forge is a small American blacksmith shop, and we run our website the way we run the shop: plainly and honestly. We respect your right to privacy. We do not use cookies or tracking tools to follow your behavior on the Internet, and we do not trade, share or sell our email lists or your personal information to anyone.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through www.bvforge.com (the “Site”), how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to the Site and to the inquiries, quotes and orders that begin on it. Effective date: October 5, 2026.

1. Who we are

The Site is operated by Brandywine Forge (“Brandywine Forge,” “we,” “us” or “our”), 201 North 4th Ave. #5, Royersford, PA 19468, USA. We are the business responsible for the personal information described in this policy (in European terms, the “controller”). You can reach us by phone at 610-948-5116, by fax at 610-948-9629, or by email at [email protected]. How to make a privacy request is explained in Section 12.

2. The short version

The Site is static. It sets no cookies and loads no third-party scripts, fonts, analytics, advertising, maps or social media widgets. We collect personal information only when you choose to give it to us, we use it to answer you, quote and fill your order, and we never sell it or share it for advertising. Your quote list stays in your own browser until you choose to send it.

3. Information you give us

Contact and quote request form

When you use the contact or quote request form, we collect:

• Your name and email address;
• Your phone number (optional);
• Your ZIP or postal code (optional), which helps us estimate shipping;
• The type of project (for example, shutter, barn, gate or heavy-door hardware);
• The subject and message you write, including any measurements, drawings or project details you describe;
• The list of quote items you have assembled on the Site (product names, options and quantities); and
• Your consent checkbox confirming that we may use your information to respond to you.

Please do not include sensitive information, such as payment card numbers, in the form or in ordinary email. We never ask for payment details through the Site.

Newsletter sign-up

If you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address, only to send the shop news you asked for. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Phone, fax, email and orders

Orders at Brandywine Forge are placed by phone or email after a consultation; there is no online checkout on the Site. When you call, fax, email or place an order, we collect the information needed to discuss and complete the job: your name, contact details, billing and shipping addresses, project measurements and specifications, the hardware and finishes ordered, and records of our correspondence. Payment is arranged directly with the shop, never through the Site.

4. Information collected automatically

Server logs

Like nearly every website, the Site is served by a web hosting provider whose servers may automatically record standard log information when your browser requests a page: your IP address, browser type and version, the pages and files requested, the referring page, and the date and time of the request. These logs are kept by the hosting provider for security, abuse prevention and troubleshooting. We do not use them to profile or track visitors.

Browser storage on your device

The Site uses your browser’s own storage features to make it work, not to track you:

• localStorage “bf-quote” holds your hardware quote list (product names, options and quantities) so it is still there as you move from page to page or come back later.
• localStorage “bf-cookie” remembers the choice you made on the storage notice banner so we do not ask you again on every page.
• sessionStorage “bf-thanks-name” and “bf-thanks-type” hold your first name and the type of form you sent, used only to personalize the thank-you page. They are cleared automatically when you close the browser tab.

None of this stored data is sent to our server by the Site’s scripts. Your quote list reaches us only if you submit it with the contact or quote request form. Full details, including how to clear this storage, are in our Cookie & Local Storage Policy.

What we do not collect

We do not use cookies, tracking pixels, fingerprinting, analytics, advertising networks or social media plug-ins, and we do not buy personal information from data brokers.

5. How we use your information

We use personal information only for the purposes for which you gave it to us and for closely related business purposes:

• To answer your questions and give advice about hardware selection and installation;
• To prepare quotes, confirm current prices, availability and lead times, and follow up on a quote you requested;
• To make, finish, pack, ship and invoice your order, and to handle warranty questions, damage claims or returns;
• To keep records of past jobs so we can help you match or add to hardware later;
• To send occasional shop news, but only if you opted in;
• To keep the Site and our systems secure and working properly; and
• To comply with tax, accounting and other legal obligations and to protect our legal rights.

Your questions also help us improve the information on the Site. We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling.

6. Legal bases for processing (EU and UK visitors)

If the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation applies to you, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of a contract or steps you ask us to take before entering into one (answering a quote request and fulfilling an order); consent (newsletter emails and the consent you give on the contact form, which you may withdraw at any time); legitimate interests (keeping business records, securing the Site, and improving our information and service, balanced against your rights); and legal obligation (tax and accounting records).

7. How we share your information

We do not sell, rent, trade or share your personal information or our email lists with third parties for their own marketing. We disclose information only in these limited cases:

• Service providers who help us run the business, such as our accountant, web hosting provider, email provider, shipping carriers (who need your name, address and phone number to deliver), and finishing vendors when an order requires outside work. They may use the information only to perform services for us.
• Legal requirements, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, subpoena or court order, or is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Brandywine Forge, our customers or others.
• Business transfer, if the shop is sold or reorganized, in which case the information would remain subject to the promises in this policy.
• With your permission, for example if you ask us to coordinate directly with your architect, contractor or installer.

8. Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as it is reasonably needed:

• Inquiries and quote requests that do not lead to an order are generally kept for up to three years, so we can answer follow-up questions about the same project, and then deleted.
• Order records, invoices and related correspondence are kept for as long as required for tax, accounting and warranty purposes, and may be kept longer to help you match or reorder hardware for the same building.
• Newsletter addresses are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them.
• Server logs are retained by our hosting provider according to its own routine schedule.
• Browser storage stays on your device until you clear it; sessionStorage clears when you close the tab.

9. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to a small business, including serving the Site over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, limiting access to customer information to people who need it to do their jobs, and keeping our computers and accounts protected. Still, no website, email system or method of storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Ordinary email is not encrypted end to end, so please avoid sending sensitive information that way.

10. Your privacy rights in the United States

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA) and similar laws in Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon and other states. We extend the following choices to all of our customers, whether or not a particular law applies to a business our size:

• Right to know and access the categories and specific pieces of personal information we hold about you, the sources, the purposes and the categories of recipients;
• Right to correct inaccurate information;
• Right to delete personal information, subject to legal exceptions such as tax records, and to receive a portable copy;
• Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising and profiling. We do not sell or share personal information and do not engage in targeted advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of, but you may still contact us;
• Right to non-discrimination. We will not deny service, charge different prices or provide a different level of service because you exercised your rights.

In the past twelve months we have collected identifiers (name, email, phone, postal address, IP address in server logs), commercial information (quotes and orders) and the contents of your messages, directly from you and your use of the Site, for the purposes in Section 5, and disclosed them only to the service providers described in Section 7.

If we deny your request, residents of states that provide an appeal process may appeal by replying to our decision with the word “Appeal”; we will respond within the time required by law.

11. Your rights in the EU, UK and elsewhere

The Site is operated from the United States and is intended mainly for customers in the United States. If you contact us from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to our processing of your personal information, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier processing. You may also complain to your local data protection authority. Your information will be processed and stored in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those of your country; we transfer it only as necessary to respond to you and to perform our agreement with you.

12. How to exercise your rights

To make a request, email [email protected] with “Privacy Request” in the subject line, call 610-948-5116, or write to us at the address in Section 1. Tell us what you are asking for and how to reach you. We will verify your request, usually by confirming your email address or order details. You may use an authorized agent, with proof of the agent’s authority. We will respond within 45 days (or within one month where GDPR applies), and will tell you if we need more time as the law allows.

13. Children’s privacy

The Site is a business site for homeowners, builders, architects and other adults. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 where local law sets a higher age). If you believe a child has sent us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

14. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Because the Site does not track visitors across websites and does not sell or share personal information, there is nothing for a browser “Do Not Track” signal to turn off. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; since we do neither, the Site behaves the same whether or not the signal is present.

15. Links to other websites

Links to other websites, such as those of project architects, take you off our Site, where the other site’s privacy practices apply. We are not responsible for them.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example if we change how the Site works or if the law changes. When we do, we will post the new version on this page and change the “Last updated” date. If we make a material change in how we use personal information you have already given us, we will ask for your consent where the law requires it.

17. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information are welcome. Brandywine Forge, 201 North 4th Ave. #5, Royersford, PA 19468, USA. Phone 610-948-5116; fax 610-948-9629. Email [email protected] for general and privacy questions, or [email protected] for questions about how the website works. You can also reach us through our contact page. See also our Terms of Use.