With my departure from the “business” of scrapbooking (AKA the store I worked at closing) I was looking for a way to keep up on industry news. I originally found Paperclipping Newsbreak, which has now morphed into Paperclipping Roundtable. On this last episode they asked for viewers to give their opinions as if they were a panelist on the show, and I actually felt I had something to contribute. So here it is:
Noell, Nancy, Renee and Lain were discussing the I-Top brad making tool by Imaginisce. They pointed out that economically it didn’t make much sense since a pack of brads pre-made to match paper is often cheaper and provides you with more brads. My immediate thought was that if I buy a some paper and the matching brads, lets say the brads came in a set of 8… I will probably make one or maybe two layouts with that line of product. What are the odds I will use all 8 brads?? So realistically about 4-6 of those brads will be wasted, either given away or thrown away. Which means the $5.99 I spent originally for 8 brads was now $5.99 for 2-4 brads. With the I-Top, you can just make the brads you are going to use, therefore eliminating the waste and in the end making it more cost effective.
I like your math on the i-top.
plus the roundtable is forgetting that the i-top makes a lot more than just brads. Now it has magnet backs, Badge backs, and button backs. –and you can top them with paper from any line, any cloth or even candy wrappers!
I definitely did not look at the tool this way, since I normally do use all of the brads I purchase. Don added something I didn’t know about the tool, as well. Glad to know…
Thank you for adding your insights with this post!