Frequently Asked Questions & Contact Info

I have a question about the Curio Collection or English Garden

Please note the English Garden product referenced in this FAQ is our old browser-based product and is nothing to do with the Summer Garden expansion pack for the Country Cottage, which is still avaiable for sale.

Can I still purchase the Curio Collection or English Garden?

We regret that the Curio Collection and English Garden are no longer available for sale. In accordance with our terms of sale, they will remain available for use by those who have already purchased them for one year following withdrawal from sale, namely until the end of February 2023.

On what devices can I use the Curio Collection or English Garden?

The Curio Collection and English Garden work in your web browser, and should work well on most modern iPads, Windows and Mac computers. They may also work on iPhones, and on Android tablets and phones, and indeed on any other device that has a web browser.

Can I download the Curio Collection or English Garden to my computer?

Sorry, no. The Curio Collection and English Garden use HTML5 technology and run only in your browser.

How do I open my Curio Collection or English Garden?

These instructions assume that you have purchased the Curio Collection or English Garden, or that someone else has purchased it for you as a gift. Either way you should have received an email which includes a link to the appropriate product page, and an activation code. If you did not receive the email, or if you've lost your activation code, then please follow our FAQ for lost activation codes. If you have the original notification email, please click the link in that email to go to the correct product page, or just go straight to the appropriate page below:

Then click the button to activate your Curio Collection or English Garden, and off you go! The first time you do this, you'll be asked for your activation code.

How do I make my Curio Collection or English Garden fill the whole screen?

The Curio Collection and English Garden run in your normal web browser window, which means that you have the option to have them running all the time, even while you're doing other things – such as checking email or looking at other web pages. But you may prefer to have them occupy the whole screen. You can do this switching your web browser to its full screen mode, as follows:

Windows Computers

In the Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge or Firefox browsers, press the F11 key. To go back to normal mode, press F11 again.

Apple Mac Computers

In the Safari, Chrome or Firefox browsers simply press Control + Command + F. To go back to normal mode, press Control + Command + F again. You may find that your bookmarks bar or other toolbars are still visible. You can switch these off from the View menu of your browser.

I have a problem with my Curio Collection or English Garden

If you find a problem with these products please try the following:

Make sure you are not blocking or deleting our cookies, or clearing browser history – please see below.
Check if the problem is listed in the "known anomalies" list below.
Make sure you are not using Private Browsing, Incognito, or other similar browser setting.
Clear your browser cache. See instructions on how to clear your cache here.

Cookies

The Curio Collection and English Garden run using your web browser, and require the use of cookies to store your activation code and personalisations. Even if you have set your web browser to allow cookies, manually clearing cookies from your browsing history will result in the loss of your personalisations and will require you to re-enter your activation code.

Most web browsers also have a setting that clears your browsing history every time you close your browser. Usually this also clears your cookies, so you must ensure this setting is turned off.

The instructions for allowing and managing cookies in your browser are different according to the browser you are using. Please see how to manage and enable cookies here for each of the most common browsers.

Please note also that if you are running security software that clears cookies on a schedule, you will need to consult that program's Help/FAQ section, or contact your security software provider for more information on allowing cookies for our products. You will need to ensure that the following web address is added to the list of addresses for which cookies are allowed:

Curio Collection: https://curio.jacquielawson.com
English Garden: https://garden.jacquielawson.com

You can also read more information about cookies in general and how we use them on jacquielawson.com.

A Note on Local Storage

For the sake of simplicity, we use the term "cookies" in our FAQs and other documentation to refer to both cookies and local storage. Local storage is similar to cookies in that it provides a means for your browser to store data on your computer. We use cookies to store your activation code, as detailed above, but the personalisation data such as flower arrangements are actually held in local storage. Some browsers allow you to manage local storage separately from cookies; others do not differentiate. If you find your activation code is being cleared but your personalisations are not, that is because you have deleted our cookies but not our local storage – and vice versa. Please consult your browser documentation for further details.

Common misunderstandings and known anomalies

An internet connection is required for operation of the Curio Collection and English Garden, so please make sure your internet connection is up and running.
You cannot use Private Browsing, or incognito or other "private" modes to view these products. This is because these settings disable permanent cookies (see above). On an iPad, please follow these instructions to turn off Private Browsing.
On an iPad, if you add a bookmarks bar to the address bar, everything gets pushed down when you add a new browser tab. You can work around this issue by closing tabs or closing the bookmarks bar.
On iOS version 9, a number of odd things happen if you add the Curio Collection or English Garden to your iPad's home screen, so please create a bookmark instead. But in iOS 10 and later, adding the product to your home screen works well. However, if an iOS update is released while you're using the product, you will probably need to re-enter your activation code after the update.

It keeps asking me to activate again!

Your activation details are stored in a permanent cookie – see above. If your browser is set up to allow only session cookies, or to delete cookies when the browser is closed, then your activation details will not be preserved. You can find more details about cookies here, and instructions on how to enable and manage cookies here.

But I regularly clear all my cookies!

Most browsers have the option to clear cookies selectively for different websites, so you may prefer to delete only those which you do not want rather than clearing all cookies.

But if you really need to clear all your cookies while you're using the Curio Collection or English Garden, we suggest downloading another browser – such as Firefox – and using that browser (without clearing its cookies) exclusively for these products.

I've tried all this and I still need help!

If you need further assistance, please take the third option to the question below in order to contact our helpline. Please give full details of your setup including: