FAQs

This site is run by me: David Bizer, a freelance product designer from Berlin, Germany. The bza.biz site used to be the home of my design portfolio website, but due to the demand for my jewelry it turned more and more into an online jewelry shop. Read the whole story here.
BZA is Wu-Tang slang for my surname, of course!

Yes, as long as the website is online you can place orders. Sometimes I might be away for a few days and not be able to produce orders immediately – in those cases, I always make sure to post a notification on the homepage.

Yes, I ship to any destination worldwide at the same low rate.

Producing the pieces takes up to 7 working days, though I am often faster than that. In rare cases when I run out of certain materials, it can take 1-2 days longer. Shipping within Europe takes about a week, worldwide shipping 1-3 weeks. Most orders to the US arrive within 3 weeks from the time of placing the order. You can speed up shipping with FedEx which reduces transit to 1-2 days

Yes, I provide “FedEx Express” as a shipping upgrade option. It’s €20 extra, but it speeds up delivery significantly: Europe 1 day, US 2 days transit time.

You can select the optional clasp which comes as a kit bundled with glue.
Here’s a guide -> https://vimeo.com/188648159
Or you just make a simple knot which works well.
Check youtube for the more advanced sliding knot tutorials -> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sliding+knot

You can pay in Euros (€) or US Dollars ($). Please note that orders from within the EU must place their orders in Euros. Payments are processed by Amazon or PayPal. If you are from Europe you can pay by bankwire. If you happen to be in Berlin you can pick it up, pay cash and get a coffee for free.

Pricing reflects the actual costs, depending on destination. International shipping costs more, while EU orders require that I pay more taxes on my end. This is why all European customers must pay in Euros, while international customers should pay in Dollars.

If you open the overlay menu in the upper right you’ll see a widget to change your currency. It’s also in the footer.

If you don’t receive your order, I will send a replacement. However, as international shipping can have the occasional issues, I generally wait 5 weeks from when you placed the order until I ship a replacement.

I want you to be happy with the product. If you aren’t I’ll return your money. If you are 50% happy with it I’ll refund 50% of the purchase price.

The pieces are vacuum sealed with a card and a little gift, as shown here:

Personally, for bracelets I prefer wood as it’s lighter and nicer to wear. If you have a longer message (over 6 seconds), it’s better to choose a thinner material that uses more than the usual 33 beads, to display more detail.

I can understand that, I don’t wear much jewelry myself either. I recommend the 3D printed steel keychain. It will last a lifetime and you can open beer with it (at your own risk, of course)..

I calculated my retail price with a very narrow margin. If it’s still too expensive for you, you can make one yourself. Here’s my step-by-step guide on how to do it: http://www.instructables.com/id/Waveform-Necklace-Bracelet/

Generally I don’t provide discounts. The prices reflect the value of the pieces – and the work that goes into them – while keeping things as inexpensive as possible. If you are planning a bulk order, please contact me to discuss a volume discount.

Yes, That’s totally fine.
Keep in mind I wont be able to upload your recording to my server,
So the recipient hasn’t the option to listen to it by scanning the additional card.

Generally a human voice looks the best. Everything from 2 syllables to 1 sentence usually looks fine. Songs can be problematic due to the instruments in the background. The visualization is basically shaped by the amplitude – with instruments playing alongside vocals, there tends not to be enough modulation in volume, resulting in a “blocky” and unattractive waveform. Acapellas can work well though, as well as simple music clips that have significant shifts in loudness.

Yes, that’s fine. Please keep in mind that in these cases, the recipient will not have the option to listen to your original sound by following the link/QR code on the accompanying card.

Make your recording using this website: www.webaudiodemos.appspot.com This site may not work in all browsers, but it’s the best option since shows an instant preview of the soundwave. Download the recording from there, and attach it to your order using the file upload tool.

Alternatively, use this website: www.vocaroo.com
You can either download the recording from there and attach it to your order, or just include the Vocaroo link that points to your recording in the order message field.

The easiest way is to record a video that includes your desired sound. You can then easily attach the video file to your order using the upload tool.
Alternatively, you can use the built-in Voice Memos app. On the plus side, the app will show you a preview of the waveform. But unfortunately, iOS won’t allow you to upload the resulting audio file through the website. If you choose this method, please attach the audio file to a separate email and send it to orders@bza.biz. Please ensure your name is included in the email so it can be matched to your order.

1. Download Audacity -> http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

2. Record your message (Press the red record button)

3. In case you are not satisfied with the look, there are some tools to tweak your audio. Go to effects:
amplify – if your wave is too flat
noise removal – if you hear a lot of background noise
hi pass filter – makes waves look better sometimes, play with the settings:

4. Either take a screenshot or go to file > export and save it as *.wav
(don’t send me an *.aup file – it doesn’t contain any information apart from your settings in audacity)

If you don’t have a microphone or are just too shy, you can submit a written message instead. I’ll have it read out for you by the robots at text2speech.org and create the waveform from there. Unfortunately those robots only speak English and Hindi, so if you want your message in another language, you will have to find a friend with a microphone!