Any chainmailler can tell you that finding a great storage solution for all your jump rings is a necessity, but keeping all those sizes, colors, and metals organized is no easy feat (not to mention avoiding that dreaded sound of rings hitting the floor or the discovery of the backpack or purse jump ring explosion!)
We decided to ask our community on Facebook what solutions they have come up with for storing their jump rings and they did not disappoint! Here is a roundup of some of their creative (and somewhat unexpected) suggestions as well as links for where to find them.
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Craft Mates Bead Caddies
We here at Blue Buddha use these almost exclusively for storing small amounts of jump rings set aside and organized for our interns, teachers, and Rebeca herself. Because they are made for crafters, they do an excellent job of staying closed and keeping things separate – two incredibly important features for chainmaillers. We especially like their locking feature and the fact that you can open each compartment one at a time (allowing you to dump out just one size at at time.) There is no need to keep things in baggies in these containers. We write directly on ours with Sharpie but a label-maker would do the trick to help you remember what is in each compartment (or take a suggestion for one of our fans on Facebook and try re-purposing the labels that come on our baggies by peeling and resticking.)
For a listing of where to find Craft Mates Bead Caddies, visit their website.
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Hardware Organizers: Drawers
There are a variety of small drawer organizers that are normally used for organizing hardware (such as nuts, bolts, and screws.) These are not so portable, but offer a lot of storage for home. If you use something like these drawers (something similar to what we use in the studio for storing ring packs ready to be put into orders) you will probably want to keep your rings in baggies to avoid spillage.
These can be found at a number of places for under $20, here is one we found available on the Sears website.
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Hardware Organizers: Containers
Similar to the Craft Mates caddies, these can be used to store your jump rings for toting around. Unlike Craft Mates, many of these do not allow you to open up one section at a time, so again you may want to keep your rings in baggies to avoid mixing/spilling when you open the lid.
Also available at any number of stores for $10-$20, here is an one we found on the Sears website as well.
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Tackle Boxes
Several folks in our community on Facebook recommended looking in the fishing department of your local sports store. Tackle boxes come in lots of different sizes, with varying compartment sizes and many let you move the compartment separators around to customize your storage.
Here is one made by Plano (another recommendation from folks on Facebook) available from Bass Pro Shops.
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Dot Box Storage System
These come strongly recommended by one of our community members on Facebook. Lot’s of small containers that close tightly and can be removed and opened individually. The system offers a variety of container sizes allowing for lots of customization within one case.
Dot Boxes are available from several different sources. Visit this site see a video to that shows all the smaller containers contained in the larger carrying case.
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Pill Organizer
This was another suggestion we received when we posed this question to our community on Facebook. Try using a pill organizer for a current project. It’s probably too small to store ALL your jump rings, but can keep just enough to tote around with you for working on a certain project on-the-go.
Pill organizers like this one available on the Walgreens website can be found at any local drugstore.
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Even more ideas…
– Empty pill bottles
– Condiment cups with snap on lids
– Spice jars with magnets that stick to a strip on the wall (turn the lid and shake some out – minimizes spillage)
– Plastic containers used for embroidery floss
Have a solution not mentioned here? Share it with us in the comments below! Thanks to everyone on Facebook that responded to our question. You all are a never-ending source for ideas and inspiration and we love it!
One of my favourite storage solutions are mint and candy tins. They usually have a good catch to keep them snuggly closed.They often stack nicely, come in a range of sizes and shapes. Some can be organised by colour and some have windows. Very rarely have I had one that has popped open even when dropped. I always have a few in my purse either carrying a small project or supplies for those moments free waiting for a child to finish their activity.
“Plano” is great for the bigger projects.