Saturday 19 November 2011

caught up in the hype…

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Tim Holtz is fabulously creative and brings us humble folks in the crafting world, with the likes of Tonic, Ranger, Advantus & Stamper Anonymous, products that truly, I for one, would be lost with out.  I covert my scissors and oooh all those gorgeous distress products and idea-ology trinkets.  More recently I am in love with the District Market range…possibly because I’m a sucker for all things notebook and I was not disappointed when they turned up for the shop along with the burlap panels.

Now we’ve all see video footage of Tim at the shows with his trinket box full of idea-ology goodies and gone oooh with jealousy.  When I saw the new range of storage, and because I have access to these products because of the shop I ordered one, yep just one, of these Trinket cases.  It arrived this morning.

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It’s my birthday next week,  but this was not a birthday present to myself. I genuinely wanted to know what they were like so I could decide if it was something I wanted to stock.

The trinket box was sent in the original box it was shipped in so when I realised I will admit to being a little excited and eager to open it, to take a peek at this prized possession.  What happened next surprised me.  You know when you get given a birthday present, and you know that your fabulous other half had provided someone with a list of idea’s at their request so they could get you something you really want, and you know each and every one of those idea’s was something you really wanted, then you open the present with them standing in front of you to find that they completely ignored the idea’s given to them but you still have to smile while you battle that sinking feeling.  That is how I felt this morning.

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Now I knew it wasn’t going to be big, but I’m going to need a couple of these babies at least to house all my idea-ology bits and bobs. I ‘m also not enamoured with the quality of it either,  In the photo’s it looks quite good, nice solid handle, metal corners and latches, but the rest of it lets it down.  The faux leather trim, in my humble opinion it ain’t  all that when seen in real life.  the design frustrates me as the box opens out the opposite way to the way the trays open taking up, for me, much needed space on my desk to use it.  We don’t all have palatial studio’s to work in with huge expanses of worktop space.

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The bottom tray is glued in place, as you would expect but, and yes I am being ultra picky now, the glue is all over the shop and not contained under the tray.  This isn’t ooze from using too much, this is brush strokes of glue. The tray are made from sturdy stuff, as is the box, but I am disappointed with the finish and with a retail price around the £30-£35 mark I’d expect something a little better, doubly so as it carries Tim’s name. This is of course just my opinion, and I dare say lots of you will be dismissive of it, and I’m probably missing a trick by making the decision not to stock them.  But there, you’ve now had my two-penn’orth, do with it as you will. I for one will continue to keep my trinkets in a RUB box with tray inserts.

12 comments:

Julia Dunnit said...

I'm not dismissive of your opinion at all. That surge of disappointment is well understood...and that teeny creepy feeling that you've been ripped off....for being a fan. I have to say there are several products that I wouldn't want my name on (if I had a name - you know what I mean)- and good sales will depend entirely on the name if the product is not genuinely worth the money or of shoddy quality. I wish people would think twice and not buy them, just to show the producers that we are sophisticated consumers. But you can't claim that when people buy new machines because the newer versions are a new colour!

Allycat x said...

Thanks for the review - I wasn't interested in it to begin with, mostly due to the way it opened - I totally agree, it would take up very valuable space! I hadn't realized how tiny it was either - Yikes! I wonder how many other people will be feeling the same after they receive it. I think you've made a good choice not to stock it. The Q remains... can you send it back???
I hope you have a fabulous birthday though!!!
Ally
x

Paula Whittaker said...

Thanks for sharing your honest opinion on this product - I have to admit I want sure if I 'needed' or 'wanted' this item, the price put me off for a start but now reading this makes me feel glad I didnt let the hype get to me on this!

Angie said...

I am so understanding your disappointment ...I have noticed that if a product is smaller or bigger than ideal ..there are no signs of measurements ...was that the case here ...bet it wasn't cheap ...so you also want quality ... maybe post on TH blog lol cos I agree with JD ...I wonder if he knows that this and atleast one other product is not up to scratch.
I have to say looking at it in the ohoto I would imagine it was slightlt smaller than those fold out sewing boxes that were everywhere in the 70's.

Alison said...

Interesting to read your review. I have to say the price had already put me off this item, I prefer to spend my money on craft rather than storage for it. Thanks for sharing!
Alison x

nerllybird said...

I love St Tim's stuff, I have loads of inks and gunks and a few stamps and some ideology trinkets. But I knew this box would be overpriced just looking at the dimensions. I don't mind paying good money for good quality, but there is something very unpleasant about providing substandard or even shoddy products for high prices - even more so when the people who want to buy them are, as someone else said, fans. As regards posting a comment on St Tim's blog, or emailing him, I wouldn't expect much joy from that quarter. I know someone wrote to him about the problems people are experiencing with the Vagabond, and his reply was dismissive and rather patronising. Shame. :(

Claire said...

I hadn't even seen these, but I've seen a few reviews & twitter comments saying the same thing, I must admit I felt the same when I got the Compendium of Curiousities, I thought it would have a bit more in it considering the price.
C xx

sixofone aka Leah said...

Thanks for that. I wasn't going to buy it anyway even though I'm a huge fan of Timmy. Too pricey for a storage box. Happy birthday

Sue Jones said...

Another already put off by the p[rice and not really interested in it ..there will always be someone who wants/needs it though :)

Anonymous said...

I think your title for this post says it all.. we can all too easily be caught up in the hype. It also annoys me that just because it has TH's name on it that it can be priced so expensively.
Thanks you for a good down to earth honest opinion.
Lynn (rusticus)

Leanie said...

Well said, I was all for buying one until I saw the description as 'covered paperboard'... so going to make my own instead!
I hope that people who aren;t satisfied do complain and that Ranger do something, but like people say, so many will just be thrilled it's Tim's.

Carol Plume said...

I have just stumbled upon your blog and would like to add a couple of things - 1 - its really nice to see an honest opinion and 2 I really wished I'd read it before I spent a fortune on a box which is a total rip off. Being a BIG fan of Tim Holtz I find this box so very very disappointing not only in size and manufacture but also in quality - so very poor - hope that its not the way all endorsed products is going to go.
Am I the only one patronised by his video telling us how to store things in there??