Sunday, February 10, 2013

Packing Work

Here in the studio, we are making large numbers of items that will eventually all be shipped out. One way that we stay organized is packing units ahead of time. This keeps the studio uncluttered and makes shipping time a breeze.


We start by gathering our materials for packing. We use a half inch masking tape, packing tape, bubble wrap, cardboard separators, and labels in this process.


Each piece gets wrapped in bubble wrap that is secured with masking tape. We used to use packing tape for this, but we found it frustrating to open. The masking tape is so much easier on our customers!


The shot glasses are sold in sets of four, so they are bundled together with a cardboard separator keeping them in place. The bundle is held together by either packing tape of plastic wrap. Since I (Lisa) cannot seem to make that stretch wrap work at all, I use packing tape. On the outside of each bundle, we put a label.


Our labels clearly state who we are, what items are inside, and we include a QR code that leads to our website. I make sure to buy permanent labels - the removable ones fall off if exposed to variable temperatures. The square ones are great! I got them from Avery and they are backed with silver so they are opaque. I just run them through my printer when I need them.


We use totes and bins to store the pieces until they are shipped. Each of these bins holds 25 sets of shot glasses. When we pack these to ship out, there is at least 2 inches of peanuts between the items and the side of the box. When there are multiple units in a box, we use sheets of cardboard to separate them from each other. 
We use new, 200 pound test boxes and we stock about 30 different sizes. When we order boxes, we make sure we have a box on hand that will work for any item we ship.

5 comments:

Stephanie Amos said...

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing your steps. =)

Unknown said...

That's the best way of ensuring that every glass piece will be kept secured. You have to make sure that everything is well-covered and placed properly in the box. We have moved into our new apartment just recently, and I also used bubble wrap for my glassware sets. I can't tell you enough how much of a convenience they are

Pedro Padro

Unknown said...

Pack ahead of time to avoid rushing. This will give you an ample time to pack your stuff properly. Using bubble wrap is one of the safest way to secure your stuff, especially glass and other fragile items.

-Renea Luong @ Legacy TSI

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Anonymous said...

Beautilful work.Looks very impressive.Thanks for sharing .You can also check http://www.potterymarket.co.uk/ to find varieties of pottery,decorative and gifting items.