Frequently Asked Questions

Can I return goods I have bought from your shops?
You can return goods within 30 days for an exchange or a credit note if you have a receipt and the original packaging, and the goods has not been used or damaged. This does not apply to special orders, i.e. goods bespoke made for you or goods bought in at your request that we do not stock. Refunds are only made on genuinely faulty goods. This does not affect your statutory rights and is in accordance with the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

For terms and conditions of internet orders, please see the ‘web shop’ section. Internet sales are regulated by The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (DSRs) and the E-commerce Regulations (ECRs).

Why do you charge for home deliveries when it is free at some other shops?
It is never ‘free’ anywhere; others just include the delivery in the total price and sell the goods for more. We do not think this is as honest as showing the delivery cost separately. It is not fair either for those customers who do not require a delivery.

Also, we provide a delivery service with two-hour time slots (not a.m. or p.m. slots), we carry the goods into your home and place it where you want, and we remove and dispose of the packaging. Those who offer ‘free’ deliveries usually leave the goods outside your door with the packaging still on.

Can I have a trade price; I’m an architect/interior designer?
Trade sales are never handled through our retail shops, only through our head office. See the ‘contract sales’ section. For trade prices, we require proof that you are VAT registered and that you are working on a genuine commercial project.

I have a shop in the UK/Ireland. Can I buy goods from you to sell?
Yes, we represent a number of leading Scandinavian manufacturers in the UK and Ireland, for a complete list please go to the ‘brand agencies’ section.

I have a shop outside the UK/Ireland. Can I buy goods from you to sell?
No, we do not represent any manufacturers outside the UK or Ireland.

Can I start a Skandium shop?
No, we do not franchise the Skandium retail concept, and we have the name registered worldwide so you cannot use it.

Is Skandium a Scandinavian company?
No, Skandium is British and not a subsidiary of a foreign company. Our company registration number is 3656472.

Do you only employ Scandinavians?
Certainly not, we employ anyone with suitable qualifications and a valid work permit.

Is Skandium an old company?
Not really, we were established in 1999.

Does ‘Skandium’ mean anything?
Our company is named after an element, the rare earth metal Skandium which was discovered on the island Resarö near Stockholm in 1879 by the Swedish scientist Lars Fredrick Nilsson. In Scandinavia and Germany this element is spelt ‘Skandium’ but in most other countries ‘Scandium’. Its abbreviation in the periodic table is Sc.

Do you design and manufacture the goods you sell?
No, we work with some 100 different suppliers who do their own manufacturing and who themselves commission designers. We decide independently what we buy in.

Do you sell reproductions?
This depends on how you define reproductions. Our definition is a product that has been discontinued by one manufacturer and later is put back into production by another. The Panton chair by Vitra is a good example of a reproduction. Items that have been in continuous production by the same manufacturer since they were launched – the 3107 chair by Fritz Hansen from 1955 for example – is by our definition not a reproduction.

Do you sell originals?
This depends on how you define originals. Our definition is a product that is made to the designers’ original specification. We never sell products that are manufactured without the permission of the designer or – as often is the case with our products – by the estate of a deceased designer. We do not sell vintage (second hand).

Do you only sell Scandinavian design?
No, some of our suppliers and designers are from other parts of the world. But our core offer is Scandinavian and most products relate to the modernist design heritage that has been and still is particularly strong in Scandinavia.

Why does Skandium sell Finnish design when Finland is not part of Scandinavia?
This is only correct in geographical terms; Norway and Sweden alone form the Scandinavian Peninsula so neither Finland nor Denmark is geographically part of Scandinavia. But Danes are considered Scandinavians due to the shared language family and history. Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809 and Swedish is one of Finland’s two official languages, but Finland is generally not considered a part of Scandinavia, not even by the Finns themselves. The distinction is not very logical.

Finnish design is usually grouped together with design from Denmark, Norway and Sweden and referred to as Scandinavian design. This has been the norm since the 1950s, in particular in the UK and the USA.

With Finland and Iceland added to the ‘Scandinavian’ countries, the area is referred to as the Nordic countries. The terms ‘Nordic design’ describes exactly the same as ‘Scandinavian design’ but the term is mainly used within the Nordic region.