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I apologize if this topic has been covered. I am curious to know if there are any people that tried the Jetmax cubes and did not like them. I am not looking to bash the product. I just want a constructive yet critical review of the quality and durability of the product.
The reason I want to know is that I am about to transform an office space into a craft room. Some of the requirements I need in a craft room include being able to house the office supplies that were once stored in a cabinet, various computer equipment and supplies, since we are getting rid of the existing office furniture. The new system must also be able to house my massive supplies of stamping, paper, and other cardmaking supplies. In addition, the system must also work for my husband's hobbies as well. For his hobbies, he needs storage that can handle a lot of weight. I also want mostly enclosed storage, such as drawers or cabinets due to having a toddler who will grab anything out in the open (our craft space is shared with toy room).
The biggest factor is the quality and durability of the product. Since my husband is in the military, we move often. I cannot tell you how many pieces of particle wood/mdf furniture that has been destroyed in each move. I have also had those plastic storage containers with drawers broken during moves.
Given this, I am nervous about going the Jetmax route. I have narrowed my choices to Jetmax cubes or Scrap N Cube, due to the ability to constantly reconfigure the modular storage based on different housing. However, I am having sticker shock from Scrap N Cube.
BUT, having been through a number of long-distance PCS moves myself, I will say that I do not think they will stand up well to that type of transfer. My movers were always less than gentle with my stuff and everything got damaged. Now if you can get the movers to unpack each cube and then box them up, maybe. But I'm not sure they'd be willing to do that.
And I'm not sure what you mean by "a lot of weight." I have the cubes with shelves loaded with paper which is not light in those quantities. And they are fine. But the bottoms of the drawers are much thinner than the shelves and I don't know how much weight they will handle without bowing. I do have a drawer full of glass Martha Stewart jars of glitter and it's just fine.
Deb-That is exactly what I mean regarding the pcs moves. The movers are never gentle. Plus they want to take apart everything that is screwed together which over time weakens with the particle wood stuff. We had purchases a brand new office set (desk, small cabinet, bookcase) about a year prior to our last move. Although it was made from mdf, it was still fairly expensive for the set. Well the only thing that made it completely intact was the bookcase. We are still using the desk and cabinet, but it will not survive another move. Hence my motivation for wanting stuff that has a chance of surviving.
As for the weight of my husband's hobby stuff, he does war gaming stuff, painting, modeling etc. The majority of the weight would actually be stored on top of the units because he uses large ammo cans to hold his metal figures. Filled, these cans weigh approximately 30+ pounds each. He really wants to store them either on top of the entire unit of shelves or inside open cubes lined up like books. I know it would make sense to just put them on the floor or something, but we are really trying to consolidate our craft stuff in one area and to elevate what we can to be out of reach of children.
I'd vote for the Scrap 'n Cube too. Just moving across town caused a number of our MDF shelves to fall apart. You do get what you pay for and solid wood will be a better investment in the long run. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Thank you to everyone that responded. Although I do like the looks of the Jetmax cubes, I have decided to go with the Scrap N Cube due to the fact it is made of a hard wood and may have a chance of surviving through our numerous moves. If we were in a long term living situation, I probably would have gone with the Jetmax. Not to mention, I got the green light from hubby to go with the more expensive option because he thinks the cubes will be better for him in the long run.
We just submitted our very large order (gulp!), so now I am anxiously waiting for my order to arrive next month. I have to say that Cindy from Scap N Cube has been extremely helpful answering all my questions and helping me with my order. I will post pictures when we get our room completed.
Although, I have to say that I am disappointed to hear about the quality of the Jetmax 12x12 hanging file. I got a hanging file from Scrap N Cube, but I am having doubts about all my paper actually fitting. Turns out, I had way more paper than I actually thought. Since I just went through and cleaned out our previous craft station and all the tubs and drawers and so forth, I put all my DP in one place and was shocked to see how much I had. I guess I am more of a paper collecter than user. I just hate cutting up the beautiful paper. Anyway, I was going to add on the Jetmax hanging file drawers if my paper didn't fit in the one I got.
First off, let me tell you that I have had MANY different storage solutions throughout the years. I currently have the jetmax and although I like them, I am not in LOVE with them. If you need something sturdy, you should consider the many different sized of the EXPEDIT book cases from IKEA. I will be updating to them this autumn(I have only had the jetmax for 1 year) I have 26 jetmax cubes. My husband built me a platform for them so they are off the floor and a bit raised. When I get my expedit bookcases, I will be selling most of my jetmax cubes. You can find many baskets, drawers and the such to go with the expedit to fit your needs. Do your homework, I sure wish I would have learned about expedit before I sunk TONS of $$$ into the jetmax cubes. If you do decide to get jetmax, get them when they go 40% off all storage at Michaels, if you wait til Thanksgiving, they may even go 55% off like they did last year. Good luck with your search for the perfect storage solution!!! TEAL
Teal-I have heard so much about the storage options from IKEA, but unfortunately I don't have one nearby. The closest one is about 4 hours away. We are going to be traveling up to Pennsylvania next weekend and I am trying to talk my husband into making a detour to an IKEA somewhere on the way. The problem is that my husband has a somewhat low opinion of that furniture. He feels it is just cheaply made. Not really sure where this opinion comes from since we have never owned any IKEA furniture. So hopefully I can talk him into going.
Wow, I just went to the IKEA website to look around. It has been a really, really long time since I even looked at that site. I seem to remember that they only had a limited selection of stuff that you could order online and have shipped. Seems to have expended since then. That was one of the reasons I didn't really consider IKEA stuff since we haven't lived near one in a long time. I showed my husband the Expedit bookcases, as a lot have recommended, but he just kind of growled at me when he found out they are made of particle wood, which goes back to my original problem. He seems set on the Scrap N Cube.
I wanted the 12x12 file folder cube just for my SU DSP and the whole 12x12 disapointing experiernce is too long for this thread; however, I do store all my other 12x12 paper in Display Dynamics paper trays and I love them. They are sturdy and no assembly! In most of the shelves I have solids and printed paper by color. I bought some 12x12 dividers that I use to label each section (ex. pink, pink printed). Another benefit of the dividers is that you can use then to slide paper out of the tray.
If you have space, I highly recommend the Display Dynamic trays.
Also, I can't cut up my paper just to make it easier for storage. I make too many projects where I need 12" paper and I'm not great at using up my small scraps so I try to make cuts where I have large scrap pieces.
Considering that you plan to move the boxes, I can see where your DH wants solid wood. My DH is the same - I'd rather have real wood but the cost is prohibitive for me and I don't plan on moving them.
I have bought some things from Ikea knowing that the quality is not going to be the same as high-end/cost products. For some things it's ok, but in the long run we're usually better off with quality. Another thing is that if there is any damage, wood is easier to repair.
Be sure to share pics of your finished room :cool:
I wanted the 12x12 file folder cube just for my SU DSP and the whole 12x12 disapointing experiernce is too long for this thread; however, I do store all my other 12x12 paper in Display Dynamics paper trays and I love them. They are sturdy and no assembly! In most of the shelves I have solids and printed paper by color. I bought some 12x12 dividers that I use to label each section (ex. pink, pink printed). Another benefit of the dividers is that you can use then to slide paper out of the tray.
If you have space, I highly recommend the Display Dynamic trays.
Also, I can't cut up my paper just to make it easier for storage. I make too many projects where I need 12" paper and I'm not great at using up my small scraps so I try to make cuts where I have large scrap pieces.
Considering that you plan to move the boxes, I can see where your DH wants solid wood. My DH is the same - I'd rather have real wood but the cost is prohibitive for me and I don't plan on moving them.
I have bought some things from Ikea knowing that the quality is not going to be the same as high-end/cost products. For some things it's ok, but in the long run we're usually better off with quality. Another thing is that if there is any damage, wood is easier to repair.
Be sure to share pics of your finished room :cool:
Thank you so much for the excellent suggestion and corresponding link and picture. I think this will help. Plus, since the trays are plastic, I won't be so upset if some get broken. Do you know if they sell them individually if I ever do need to replace a few?
I haven't found anyone selling individual trays. They are always in sets of 10. I've had mine for several years and no breakage so far. They are pretty sturdy as I have each tray fully loaded and they don't sag. The only ones that sagged are the 2 top trays because I have them overloaded with paper I need to sort and put away. Bottom line is that if you break any you'll probably have to buy a full set. I could use another set if I had room.
Quote:
Originally Posted by luckygal
Thank you so much for the excellent suggestion and corresponding link and picture. I think this will help. Plus, since the trays are plastic, I won't be so upset if some get broken. Do you know if they sell them individually if I ever do need to replace a few?
Elizabeth, I think, I'd be really happy if DH INSISTED on getting Scrap'n'cubes. They really are beautiful. I drool over the hanging file drawer and the hanging file tables.
And I think it is lovely that the two of you plan to share a craft room - together time like that is priceless.
__________________ There is no such thing as lack of sleep, only caffeine deficiency.
Elizabeth, I think, I'd be really happy if DH INSISTED on getting Scrap'n'cubes. They really are beautiful. I drool over the hanging file drawer and the hanging file tables.
And I think it is lovely that the two of you plan to share a craft room - together time like that is priceless.
We are lucky enough to have a house right now that has a bonus room with a small office off of it. Prior to having kids, the bonus room was our craft room and the office was an office from when I worked from home. Our prior set up was using the closet organization pieces, similar to closet maid, placed in a cube in the middle of the room. We placed two 60" plastic table on top, facing each other. I got one side, my husband got the other. That worked for a while until my stamp collection, paper supply, and tool supply grew. My husband kept complaining how my stuff kept creeping onto his side. It just got to the point that it was mostly unusable due to the disorganization and lack of adequate storage. Well now that we have a two year old and another baby on the way, we decided to get rid of the unused office furniture and turn that room into our craft room because it has french doors that we can close and lock to keep the kids out. The bonus room will now be the play room since the toys are taking over the main living space.
BTW-I am secretly happy that he was insisting on the Scrap N Cube items. I tend to be the one that worries about spending money more than him. He just said it is my early X-Mas gift.
I didn't read all the replies to this, but I bought some Jetmax cubes and promptly returned them. I am in the process of ordering Scrap'n cubes. They are a lot more expensive, but definitely worth it. Especially if your hubby needs to store heavy items and you will be moving a lot. I think the Jetmax would get destroyed.
Best Craft Organizers are awesome! Worth the time and money.
I actually do own a piece of the Best craft Organizer. I have a double mini unit with half paper storage and half stamp storage. I did consider getting the triple unit, but decided I liked the modular units better since I don't know what type of space we will have to use for our craft space when we move again. I do agree that it is a good organizational piece.
I didn't read all the replies to this, but I bought some Jetmax cubes and promptly returned them. I am in the process of ordering Scrap'n cubes. They are a lot more expensive, but definitely worth it. Especially if your hubby needs to store heavy items and you will be moving a lot. I think the Jetmax would get destroyed.
Yes, this is what most people seem to think as well. I have actually submitted my order for the Scrap N Cubes as well. I haven't seen them in person and really hope I am not dissappointed. I have only seen the few pictures I can find online and read the glowing reviews. Did you go with a studio type system (desk with storage on top) or individual cubes to stack on the floor?
My thought on the cube is that they are too pricey. I like the way they look but I can't afford them. Almost broke down and started but came up with a cheaper solution, a cubby similar to the expedit from Ikea. No Ikea close enough so had to settle for what I coul find at wm. The dh is going to modify it to hold 12x12 paper. Would have liked drawers but can do without that, too
Michelle, could hubby put a couple of drawer runners and a front and back into one of the cubby holes?
I was thinking about that for the cubby holes that will be an odd size now. I have enough storage space now between 2 of the short cubby systems and one tall one that I picked up for a "song" at Staples on clearance. Would love to have drawers for my ribbons so I could retire a rolling cart.
Anyone that doesn't like Jetmax Cube?
