Exotica Indica, Inc.
Terms & Conditions

Ordering:
We have no minimum order. Please contact Exotica Indica for any questions or to place an order. An Exotica Indica representative will be happy to guide you through the process. Exotica Indica, Inc. accepts company checks, cash, money order, bank transfers, PayPal and Visa/MasterCard/American Express/Discover. Credit card payments must be arranged prior to delivery.

Deposits:
A 50% deposit is required on all inlaid/overlay stone work at the time of placing an order. The balance of the payment is due upon receipt of your order.

Cancellations:
Cancellations of any orders must be submitted in writing via facsimile or e-mail. In order to obtain a deposit refund, please notify Exotica Indica within 24 hours of placing your order. Deposits cannot be refunded for later cancellations as the product would already be under production with materials sourced.

Delivery:
We ship via common carrier. Typical orders will be delivered to our customer’s address within 6-8 weeks of receipt of deposit. Any customization must be finalized before the 6-8 weeks needed for production. If delivery is delayed by a day or more, we will contact you by telephone or e-mail.
Drivers are unaccompanied and in the case of larger pieces, will require assistance unloading. As drivers are operating on a multi-drop schedule, it is not possible to state an exact delivery time.
Please note that although our wholesale costs include shipping to all destinations within the United States, other destinations may involve a shipping surcharge. Shipping Costs are dependant on four factors:
1) Country of destination
2) Distance from port or major airport
3) Size, weight, and number of products
4) Residential or Business (loading dock) delivery, for large orders

Custom Orders:
A USD 200 fee (or local currency equivalent) is required to process any custom order. This fee will suffice for minor changes such as selection of alternate stones. Any additional design work required by Exotica Indica will be charged at an hourly rate of USD 60. For example, a designer who submits a sketch of a design will be charged for conversion of that sketch into a computerized line drawing. The computer file will then be filled in with stone samples to approximate the colors requested by the designer. This computer generated image will be reviewed by our artisans for availability of specified stone types and by our customer to ensure that the computer rendering matches the designer’s requirements. Upon acceptance of the design, a sample will be made for approval before production begins.

Pricing:
All prices are subject to change without notice. Please contact your sales representative or Exotica Indica for current pricing. Pricing of custom orders will be determined according to the complexity and size of the design, the materials used and any uncommon specific shipping specifications.

Samples:
Full-size samples of all inlaid/overlay marble pieces are available for examination. Customers are required to pay for samples plus shipping. Sample price, minus shipping, will be refunded to the customer if returned within three months of delivery.

Product:
All of our products are made from natural stone. Stone contains natural variations in color and pattern. It is highly recommended that all products for a single project be ordered at one time to ensure that the color, grain and character of the stone are as uniform as nature allows and to ensure that each piece coordinates with the others. This recommendation is an attempt to minimize natural color variation. While every effort is made to ensure the same shade of stone is provided in your order as reflected in the sample piece, website, brochure, etc., Exotica Indica will not be responsible for variations in color that are out of Exotica Indica’s control—i.e., a fact of nature.

Damages:
All items are shipped with high quality packing intended to minimize damage during transport. At the time of delivery, all items should be inspected for damages. Any damages must be reported, in writing (e-mail or fax), within 72 hours of delivery. If you find damages, you have the following options:
1) Provide us with a written estimate of the cost to repair. If approved, we will issue a credit in the amount specified in the estimate.
2) If you wish, Exotica Indica will exchange any broken item at no charge to you. In order for us to refund return shipping, all items that are damaged must be returned with all parts and/or broken items in their original packing, prepared for shipping. We reserve the right to refuse items that are not returned complete.

Exotica Indica FAQs

What is Pietra Dura?
Pietra Dura or Pietre Dure in the plural form literally translates from Italian as “hard stone”. It is the art of inlay work in stone practiced primarily in Agra (India), parts of Central Asia and Florence (Italy). The term intarsia applies to inlay work done in a variety of materials, including wood and stone. Parchin Kari is the Hindi term for stone inlay work.

The Products
Exotica Indica uses the art of pietra dura in designs that are easy for architects and interior designers to specify for use in their products. They are delivered in formats that are easy for contractors to install using standard tile installation techniques. The predominant formats are 3/8” thickness to match tiles and ¾” thickness to match stone slab installations.

The Artisans
Our artisans are members of the same Pachekar caste as their forefathers who created the beautiful inlay work we see today on the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Two Types
(a) Tiles are produced using traditional inlay methods with designs drawn on slabs that are then chiseled to fit pieces of stone cut to the shape of the empty space.
(b) A different style of tile consists of pieces of cut stone assembled together in jigsaw puzzle fashion and affixed to a substrate to facilitate installation.

Materials
Our tiles are made exclusively of natural stone and shell material. Base stones are usually of marble (granite is too hard for the traditional hand inlay techniques). Inlay stones are from a virtually unlimited palette of colors and patterns. The use of semi-precious stones as in the monuments of the Mogul emperors add vivid colors and brilliance. Inlay materials include lapis lazuli, malachite, carnelian, tiger eye, mother-of-pearl and abalone. Epoxy resin adhesives are colored with marble powder taken from the base stone to fill the fine gaps between the inlay and the base.

Natural Stone
Natural stone varies greatly in color and pattern. All of our products are made to order to ensure that each tile matches the others within the set. While we do our best to faithfully reproduce the samples provided to showrooms, we cannot guarantee an identical match where natural stone is concerned.

Substates
The substrates used for the overlay tiles are of lightweight aluminum panels, or cement board or ceramic tiles or where additional thickness is desired, natural stone.

Sales
Sales are made exclusively through Exotica Indica partner showrooms and dealers.

Design
Exotica Indica takes the traditional artistry of pietra dura in new directions with original designs. Taking inspiration primarily from nature we have created over forty new designs. Our talented design staff uses computer software to create detailed dimensioned line drawings of each design and renders them with scans of actual stones used to produce realistic representations of what the finished products will look like.

Pricing
Wholesale pricing is based on the cost of producing and shipping a piece. The price will vary depending on size of the tile art, complexity and materials used. Shipping to destinations within the United States is included in our wholesale price.

Deposit
A 50% deposit is required before the order goes into production.

Payment Accepted
We accept payment via check, credit card, bank transfer or PayPal in US$ and other convertible currencies such as CHF, Euro, etc.

Begin Work
Once payment of the deposit is received, we immediately instruct our artisans to begin work on the order. On special customer request the payment of the deposit can be made to an escrow account.

Delivery Time
Delivery is usually within six to eight weeks of receipt of the 50% deposit and includes transit time

Shipping
Shipping is via economical air freight carrier. All pieces are professionally packed to prevent damage in transit.

Quality Control
All pieces are personally inspected and approved for delivery by Exotica Indica trained staff before delivery to the customer. The overall dimensions of the finished products are checked for accuracy. Each piece is reviewed for overall artistic integrity. The craftsmanship and the fit of the stones are inspected to ensure use of filler is kept to a minimum.

Guarantees
We guarantee our work to be damage free and will quickly produce and send replacement pieces in case of damage. We also guarantee the quality of work to be equivalent to that of our showroom samples. While we strive to produce a product of uniform consistency, we cannot guarantee that stones used from one project to the next will be identical in color and pattern, however.

Custom Work
We are happy to accept requests for proposals of custom work. As all of our products are made by hand, one at a time, the production cost of your piece will be comparable to our standard products. We charge a flat $200 design customization fee and $60 per hour for design development to turn your vision into colored computer renderings that our artisans use to produce the work. For a typical design between 4 and 8 hours of design work may be needed.

Showroom Samples
Tile dealers may order any number of tiles for display or installation in their showrooms. Orders of four or more pieces for showroom display will be sold at a 20% discount. We believe the best way to sell our tiles is to show them in person and encourage purchase and display of a variety of our sample tiles.

Supporting Materials
In addition to showroom displays, we have a number of supporting sales materials:
• DVD: This DVD shows workers in Agra producing pietra dura work.
• CD-ROM: This CD of high resolution scans of our products provides a detailed impression of our designs.
• Brochures: We have a variety of brochures to attractively and informatively showcase our product lines.
• Website: Our informative website has full color scans of all of our inlay marble products and relevant information, including a list of dealers where you can purchase them.
• Taj book: We recommend an excellent picture book of images from the Taj Mahal showing the detailed pietra dura work. Taj Mahal, available in English (ISBN-10: 1558596178), French (ISBN-10: 2743302666) and German (ISBN-10: 3777460303) from Amazon.
• Pietra Dura book: A beautiful picture book of pietra dura work produced by the Officio di Pietra Dura in Florence. Pietra Dure: The Art of Semiprecious Stonework (ISBN-10: 0892368497).

Samples for Architects and Designers
Architects and Interior Designers may order samples by placing a deposit equal to the value of the product. This deposit less shipping costs will be refunded to the designer if the sample is returned within 90 days. If an order is placed within 90 days, then the shipping cost will be refunded as well.

Distribution Channel
Exotica Indica is represented by tile showrooms throughout the U.S.A. and Europe. Tiles are made to order and shipped directly from India to the dealer warehouse or customer job site.

The Company
Exotica Indica, Inc. began operations in 2005. Our headquarters are in Novato, California, U.S.A.

The Principal Players
Eric and Deepty Lane reside in India and oversee the production, quality control and business affairs of the company.
James and Lamona Wood reside in California and manage sales and design.

Suppliers
Exotica Indica works with three different Agra-based workshops that produce high quality in a timely fashion. These reputable suppliers maintain safe and clean working conditions for their artisans. Child labor is forbidden in their workshops. Exotica Indica is also in the midst of setting up a scheme to support the education of our artists and their community.