Ribbons, Ribbons, everywhere, . . . so how about a decent storage solution?

The best ribbon storage solution I’ve found in years!

As a crafter of many years I think I’ve tried just about every ribbons storage idea and this one (pictured above) is the best one I’ve found which works [for me] perfectly!

I started out with ribbons in a big storage jar.  That didn’t work because the ribbons got creased.

I tried keeping them in a box, but then they got all muddled up and I couldn’t ever find the one I wanted without turning the whole kit and caboodle out onto the floor.

I bought a strong, rectangular, lidded box and drilled big holes in the sides so that the ribbons could feed through the holes.  It worked … but I couldn’t see how much ribbon was left on a roll, so I might set out with a project and find that I didn’t have enough ribbon left in a certain colour, to complete the darn thing!  [grrrrrr.]

I tried this and that and nothing ever worked … until I found the ribbon storage ‘unit’ you see in the picture.  THIS little darling is the perfect solution I’ve found for the different sorts of ribbons and twiddly bits that I use.  (I have however not done away with the dowel pole which bends under the weight of the rolls of wide trims and grosgrain ribbons – but I know I’ll have to … eventually).

A couple of days ago I got ‘chatting’ to a fellow crafting blogger who mentioned that she had a ribbon storage problem too, and so I suggested that I could take photo’s of my own solution and (as she lives outside Europe) perhaps her husband might be able to make her something similar – if it suited her needs.  So here I am with the photos….

… in place, against the wall, on a desk where I do all my die cutting, but close enough to where I work that I can scoot sideways and snip off lengths of ribbons as and when I need them.

 

pulled out onto the work desk, to see it from another angle.

 

a side view – showing where the holes are drilled, which hold the dowels snug, which in turn hold the reels of ribbons.

 

a view of the back of the ribbon storage.
The storage ‘unit’ can be either stood on a counter/table/desk top, or on the floor if space is limited – or it can be hung on the wall by way of the panel inserted into the back, show in the photograph above.If

 

I actually bought my ribbon storage from a gentleman on Ebay, some years ago, who made them himself, and I think I’ve found him, and if it’s the same person then he is still making and selling them.  However, he now makes them in 3 sizes, the largest being twice the width of mine (the one you see in the photographs.)

Although I know that folks could maybe make something similar – I have to admit that I feel that the price I paid for the unit was well worth it.  I personally wouldn’t want to go to the effort of trying to make one of these, when I could buy one, so affordably!  So if you’re in the UK,  I would buy rather than try to do all the working out, buying of wood, measuring, worrying,  and  then making it – while hoping you’ve got it right.  But that’s just me.

Mine holds (roughly) 55 reels of ribbon – but of course it depends upon the width of your ribbons.  I’ve counted the reels which you see in the photos and the total is 55 reels.  But there are some quite wide reels there, and if you had all of the slimmer reels then this unit would obviously hold more ribbons.

Please not:  I have no connection with the seller – we’re not related in any way and are not friends or anything like that.  I simply bought one of these storage units years ago.  But if you are in the United Kingdom or EU (he only sells in Europe) then you can find his auctions on the UK Ebay site, on this link:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RIBBON-STORAGE-UNIT-STAND-HOLDER-RACKS-FOR-CRAFTS-now-available-in-3-sizes-/261474089526?pt=UK_Crafts_Cardmaking_Scrapbooking_Ribbons_Fibres_EH&var=&hash=item3ce111fa36

The best ribbon storage solution I’ve found in years!

However – if  you’re outside Europe, you won’t be able to buy from him, so therefore if you wish to make something like this yourself, to your own requirements,   then I’m happy to measure the unit and give you the measurements you’d need to help you make one like it but customise it for your own design (let’s not steal someone else’s design).  Just leave a message in a comment, and I’ll do all the measuring and post the measurements to help you make your own version.

edit to add:  I’ve just noticed that he has measurements on his ebay auctions so you might not need mine.

Happy Ribboning, dear crafters! ~

 

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