Giving time back to crafting 😊 I’d really like your thoughts

[Robotime]

I want to be open with you all for a moment.
Recently, I’ve been pushing forward a small idea, and it really comes down to one simple thing:

Giving time back to crafting itself.

When I think back to my first more complex build, I realised something a bit uncomfortable. A surprising amount of time wasn’t spent crafting, but on
finding the right board,
keeping boards in order,
checking where I’d put things,
and searching for small parts scattered around the table.

Like many of you, I’ve tried a few workarounds. Plate racks, small parts boxes, bits of DIY.
They definitely help to some extent, but honestly, the core frustrations never fully go away.

Martin shared a DIY board holder and parts tray they made for themselves. The moment I saw it, it clicked.

It wasn’t about storage looking neat.
It was about less searching, less interruption, and staying in the flow

That made me think this might be something worth taking seriously.
Before asking our product team to design or produce anything, I’d really like to hear from the people who actually craft with our kits.

What we’re looking for right now isn’t a finished design. It’s real experience.

If you’re happy to share, any of the following would help a lot

Do you find a noticeable amount of your crafting time goes into finding boards or parts
What do you currently use to organise things, such as plate racks, organisers, or DIY solutions, and what still annoys you about it
If you’ve ever hacked, modified, or made your own solution, even a rough sketch or quick photo, we’d love to see it
In your view, what really matters most for an organiser made specifically for crafting kits. Clear order, easy access, portability, visual comfort, or something else

Complaints, habits, and even “I’ve just learned to live with it” answers are all equally useful

Just to be transparent about where this could lead.
If this direction proves genuinely valuable, the first batch would be experimental, not a commercial launch.
The idea would be to let forum members redeem them with points.

This isn’t a product announcement or a marketing post.
It’s simply an honest request for input from people who actually use these kits

If you’re willing to share, let’s talk it through together here.

[Liset]

Wow, Martin made a fantastic holder. I don’t use anything for the sheets. I always put them in order in a pile and always put the sheet back where it belongs. Because I paint all the pieces, it takes me a bit longer and I don’t have to constantly search through the sheets. I don’t have a craft corner in the house and have to tidy everything up all the time. Maybe if I have an organizer where I can put everything, it would be handy, maybe something like this

(Photo Made with AI)

[Jill_Francisco]

It is true that I spend more time looking through the boards and then finding the piece to use next. I am planning to buy a dish rack to organize the boards hopefully that will make crafting easier. But for now, I am just doing my best with what I have

I would love to try out anything experimental that would help. I hope I have enough points for it. Thank you @Robotime for the thoughtful idea

[Suzanne_Jones]

Since I don’t have a specified craft area, I keep all my boards in the box and I have a smaller plastic container with my fiddly bits.
I often find myself dropping things when I’m attempting to get smaller parts out of bags.
I think an organiser is a great idea that I could move around where I’m working.

[Kit_Mun_Ngow]

I don’t have any holder for it, normally I will try to used what I have to organizer the things… like the photo I’ve been post in my previous topic Can’t waiting for unpacking his Marble Run🤪, I will tidy up the boards & package from A to Z and make it stand in the box which I place on top, and the bottom one temporary as a trash

That’s a good idea for those who really need it, if you can add some drawer or parts at the bottom and it will be more useable

[ThaoNguyen]

That’s a great idea. Currently, my friends use kitchen utensils (like the one pictured) to divide the wooden pieces.

If possible, I think @Robotime should create a modular product like a storage shelf (similar to Liset’s design or one I had AI design). It wouldn’t just be a simple model, but also highly practical. A product for Robotime model enthusiasts.

[Sofie_Vanderbeken]

I got myself this one from the most famous Swedish store, guess you can all figure out witch one that is, it was really cheap and since I use it I find building more easy now I can have my boards easier to find quickly. I got myself 2 of them for when I have lots of wooden boards

[Tricia12]

Looking through for the right board does take about of time. And I truly appreciate the organiser that Martin has shared. I would love to have something like that. At the moment I am using a magazine rack but would love to have something more proper. I hope that it will go through production at some stage. Yes, not many people will get it, but as long as it is reasonable price, I think it is ok.

[JDisaduck]

I’m lucky enough to have a massive desk all to myself. But I recently got a file organiser/dish rack/magazine rack and it’s a game changer.

I also use multiple boxes and containers to store my loose parts but I think it would be pretty cool if you guys can make a storage box with multiple compartments. To me, being able to put a lid on it is key to keeping the parts safe.

[Tracie]

Wow! That is beautifully organised.

I honestly don’t mind searching for pieces, even if my progress is slow as a result. I have a stressful job, and for me the joy of completing these kits is the process and taking things at a very relaxed pace. I keep everything in the original box and just search though as required.

[Jerry_Boswijk]

What a cool idea. I now just try to keep the sheets in order but during building pieces fall out of the board and stuff. So it gets a mess more and more as i move on. I keep leftover bits in a plastic bag and a big plastic box where i also keep my tools. I would love a box with a lotnof small containers to store left over parts like plants and store my tools to spend less time on searching for them. Please develop this idea further.

[Atropex]

I think making some sort of organizer would be awesome! I would definitely buy one! Right now I just use the box that my kit comes in to hold all the pieces, it can definitely get a little tedious digging through the box constantly. When I used to build gunpla, I had little clips that could hold all my runners in, like this:

I definitely probably could use these to hold all my wood runners when building, but putting each runner in one of these separately is kind of annoying! I much prefer the examples that you shared in your post, as well as the other ones people have been coming up with in the comments!

[jeanneL]

I do not think I spend a ton of time looking for boards or parts. I put my boards in alphabetical order and locate them that way. If there are not a bunch, I may lay them to the side. Otherwise I may stack sideways in the box.
I keep my bags in numerical order so easy to find as well.
I can angle my box to the left back and usually it works for me.
My only issue becomes when some of the parts separate from the board then I wonder where is a safe place to put them? I usually stick a post it note on them with piece number and set to side.
I would be open to trial something but the one pictured looks big and may take away from my build space. I would be interested in knowing measurements.
Again I am happy to trial. I like the idea of using points to redeem. Would this be community points or purchase points? I have alot of those!
Thank you for asking!!

[Emma_Samchek]

I personally keep everything alphabetical organized so I know where everything is in my piles

[SunnyCee]

I worry that storing boards vertical like that could cause further warping. Sometimes it takes weeks to finish a build.

It could be pretty helpful for book nooks and the big ROKR builds but It’s less important for DIY miniature kits because they are mostly small pieces inside of bags.

Usually, I will gather together all the pieces I need BEFORE I start assembling each section. It doesn’t feel like a chore to do it that way to me. It feels like an enjoyable part of the process.

Probably means I can’t participate in the test group.

[Nita_Davis]

OH MY GOODNESS! My prayers have been answered. Since I am constantly pulling out pieces to paint in advance according the section I am working on, I often need parts for the steps to follow from only C, D and F. I keep them propped up on a chair next to me… After that the pieces are laid out in a somewhat marked section on my table…and later make their way into a Tupperware container…until further notice. Something like this would be AMAZING! I really like the looks of the one that @Liset has shown because I wouldn’t actually want a lot of wasted space in between the slots like when you use a dish drainer or something like that.

[Jo_Zanella]

What a great idea @Robotime. I agree with @SunnyCee that a horizontal system would be better for less warping. Also maybe some firm plastic sleeves that each section can go into so that if there are any loose pieces they are all together. It would be great to have the corresponding letter on the sleeve too. Love this idea guys

[Zoe_Lau]

For me, this actually hasn’t been a major issue so far. I usually just keep the boards in alphabetical order, and that’s been enough for the builds I’ve done.

I could see it becoming more of a problem on a much larger or more complex kit, but with my current builds it hasn’t really slowed me down. If anything, the part that felt more tiresome — especially on the Starry Night Orrery — was spending time sanding small nubs and carefully getting parts out of the boards without breaking them.

That took up a lot more of my time and attention than searching for pieces did. The tighter fits and more delicate parts made that step feel less forgiving, which is where most of the friction was for me.

So organization hasn’t been a big pain point yet, but build comfort and part removal definitely stood out as areas that affected my experience more.

[Jo1]

Wow Martin made a fab organiser ! I have a craft room myself but this is a great idea ! As im always searching for things !