Visiting us
When is The Biscuit Factory open?
We are open throughout the year Monday - Sunday 10am - 5pm.
Please note however that The Factory Kitchen Cafe closes at 4pm Monday-Friday.
We are alwasy closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.
Other Bank Holiday opening hours can vary. Please see our home page for updates, or contact the gallery on 0191 261 1103, option 1 to check and specific dates.
Is there an entrance fee?
There is no entry fee to visit The Biscuit Factory.
Is there disabled access?
We have full disabled access throughout all four floors of the building. The gallery and our restaurant Artisan are accessible via a ramp at the front of the building, on Stoddart Street. The Factory Kitchen café is accessible via a customer lift on the ground floor.
There is one disabled parking space for disabled visitors to The Biscuit Factory located in our private car park. Additional car parking is available at our sister gallery space The Holy Biscuit located on Clarence Street, or on-street free 2 hour parking on Stoddart Street.
Where can I park?
Parking for gallery and The Factory Kitchen is available immediately in front of the gallery in our small courtyard car park.
We have overflow car parks on Bermondsey Street (NE2 1YS), and Lowery Place (NE2 1YH). If you are attending a meeting or all-day event please use these car parks.
On street parking on Stoddart Street and Shieldfield Lane is free of charge for two hours weekdays from 8am - 6pm, and unrestricted at weekends.
We have one disabled parking bay. Please do not use this bay if you do not hold a blue badge.
Can I bring my dog?
While we're animal lovers here, we can only permit guide dogs into the building. Due to the nature of our displays and for the comfort of other visitors, we're not an appropriate envirnoment for our canine friends. This includes The Factory Kitchen and our event spaces.
If you're bringing your assistance dog kindly please ensure they are harnessed appropriately.
Where are the Biscuits?
The Biscuit Factory was originally a biscuit factory in 1870, when our first records show the building being referred to as The Tyne Biscuit Factory. Since then our building has been a wallpaper and paint warehouse, a boxed game warehouse and a retail outlet for carpets and kitchen furniture, before becomming a contemporary art gallery in 2002. You may still find a biscuit or two in our cafe!
What else is there to do in Ouseburn?
The Ouseburn Valley has something for everyone. It's unique topography reveals riverside walks, cycle paths and green spaces, where a city farm can be discovered opposite an alternative music venue and where contemporary cultural spaces sit amongst architectural reminders of an industrial past. Located only ten minutes from the city centre with great public transport links it's easy to reach us and with a flourishing food and social scene its a great day out for couples, families and culture lovers.
Find out more here.
How often do you change your exhibitions?
The Biscuit Factory hosts a rolling exhibition schedule, representing the work of hundreds of artists throughout the year, so there is always something new to see every time you visit. We are aquiring new artists all the time and hold large collections of artwork in our store. Please do not hesitate to ask if you can't find what you're looking for.
Purchase / Online Order FAQs
How do I contact you about my order?
You can contact the gallery team on 0191 261 1103 option 1 daily from 10am - 5pm
Email us at art@thebiscuitfactory.com (please note enquiries will be dealt with during gallery opening hours 10am - 5pm).
Please have your order number available if you have purchased online
Can I buy online and collect a piece from the gallery?
Of course! If you collect from the gallery, there is no delivery charge. Simply select the 'collect from gallery' option at checkout.
Can I use a Gift Voucher online?
At the moment you cannot currently redeem gift vouchers online, although this is something we are working towards! If you have a gift voucher to use and are not local to the gallery we can help you to redeem it remotely. Please contact us on 0191 261 1103 option 1 or email art@thebiscuitfactory.com
When will I receive my order?
The Biscuit Factory is an independent, bricks and mortar, small business. Items sold online are individually picked from our collections and carefully prepared for shipping by a gallery team member, therefore delivery can take a little longer in comparison to larger e-commerce businesses. All online orders are processed during our gallery opening hours, which are 10 - 5 daily (except some Bank Holidays/Christmas).
We aim to dispatch most orders within 48hours of receiving an order for Royal Mail and most courier services. Delivery timescales are usually within 1 - 3 working days depending on the service selected.
Specialist art courier services may vary; we have one collection a week from the gallery and delivery is the following week. A team member will contact you on receipt of your order to discuss this with you.
On occasion, we may not hold the item you have selected in our gallery, and therefore may ask an artist to ship to you directly. If this is the case a team member will contact you on receipt of your order to notify you.
If you have a very urgent need or deadline to receive your order please contact us before making your order, or send a note with your purchase to alert us.
Can you arrange international delivery?
We are happy to delivery pieces of art internationally. In order to arrange overseas delivery, please contact us. International delivery rates vary depending on the size and value of each piece, therefore all international deliveries are priced on a case by case basis. Please note, if there are import duties payable, these must be paid by you the recipient. If you're unsure whether your country charges a levy for the import of art, you should check with your national tax and duties institution.
Can I return my purchase?
We offer a 7 day cooling off period as standard for in-gallery purchases, and 14 days for online purchases. Find out more about our return, refund and exchange policy here
What if I change my mind about a piece of artwork?
We offer a 7 day cooling off period, so if for whatever reason a piece of work is not for you, then please return it to the gallery in its original state within 7 days of purchase and a full refund will be given. Please note that this is not available for commissioned works or pierced jewellery.
Alternatively, for returns made after 7 days (and within 30 days of purchase) we will offer an exchange or a gift voucher to the value. Please note that this is not available for commissioned works or pierced jewellery.
After 30 days we cannot offer a refund or exchange.
I've booked a place on a workshop, what's next?
That's great! You will receive an order confirmation to the email address you provided. You don't need to do anything else right now. You'll receive a courtesy email from us a few days ahead of your workshop that will provide you with a reminder and will also include any specific instructions you may need, including arrival time etc. Please note that each workshop (or workshop provider) have their own cancellation terms. These will be included on the listing and we encourage you to read them ahead of making a booking.
In the unfortunate and unlikely instance that The Biscuit Factory or workshop provider needs to cancel a workshop or ticketed event, we will refund any payments received in advance. Please note, that we will not refund any other costs you may incur as a result of this cancellation.
I've booked a ticket for an event in the gallery, what's next?
That's great! You will receive an order confirmation to the email address you provided. You don't need to do anything else right now. You'll receive a courtesy email from us a few days ahead of the event that will provide you with a reminder and will also include any specific instructions you may need, including arrival time etc.
Please note that each event may carry its own or specific cancellation terms. These will be included on the listing and we encourage you to read them ahead of making a booking.
In the unfortunate and unlikely instance that The Biscuit Factory or events organiser needs to cancel a ticketed event, we will refund any payments received in advance. Please note, that we will not refund any other costs you may incur as a result of this cancellation.
Please note if you are attending an event that is being hosted at The Biscuit Factory (or artisan or The Biscuit Room), but has been organised by a private company or individual (i.e not by The Biscuit Factory) that any questions relating to the event should be directed to them.
VAT for non-UK buyers
We are happy to arrange delivery outside of the UK.
Please note that we sell artwork which falls into 2 different VAT categories:
Where standard rate VAT is applied against goods in the UK, we can offer non UK clients zero rate VAT deduction on purchases, where goods are bought from and sent outside of the UK.
However, please note that on the majority of handmade and original pieces, no input tax deduction is claimed by The Biscuit Factory and so no deductions can be applied to purchases made outside of the UK.
Non UK clients should also be aware that they - not The Biscuit Factory - are responsible for the payment of any applicable import VAT or customs duties.
DISCLAIMER
The Biscuit Factory staff work hard to ensure that product information and pricing is accurate and current within the gallery and online, however, despite our best efforts, there may be instances where inaccurate or incomplete data is displayed. If any price errors are discovered, they are promptly corrected in our systems, and the corrected prices will apply. In the event that data displayed in the gallery or online is incorrect, such as incorrect price, availability or product specifications The Biscuit Factory reserves the right to modify, correct, refuse or cancel any orders placed for that item under these conditions. In these instances we would always endeavour to suggest an alternative.
Other FAQs
How can I sell my artwork at The Biscuit Factory?
You can find our full artist submissions process here.
Does The Biscuit Factory buy artwork ?
All of our artwork is sourced by our curatorial team for exhibition and we are not currently in a position to puchase individual pieces of work, or offer a resale consignment service.
Do you offer a framing service?
We offer an in gallery framing service in partnerhsip with North East specialist framers The Framehouse. We are happy to assist you in sourcing framing for your artwork. In order to do so you will need to bring your artwork into the gallery for precise measurements and to be sent to our framers.
Framing is collected and delivered to us once a week; please allow up to two weeks for your item to be framed and returned. This may be longer depending on framing requirements.
If you have multiple pieces of artwork to frame please contact us before coming into the gallery. We are a small team and we may not be able to assist at busy times.