Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Merry Day #14....

~ Welcome to my ~


Merry Day #14!

Here we are folks with my last stand review. Today we will look at:

K's Creation Stainless Steel Floor Stand


This is what it looks like and I took this photo directly from the K's Creation website. I am going to link you to their webpage about this stand. You can find it  HERE
Please go there and read what the features of the stand are and then come back here and I will discuss them. 

My K's Stand Experience:
I have owned this stand for 3 years. I purchased mine on Etsy from Bear Creek Limited which what I found out was K's Creation Company. Now they market this stand as "portable" and I am going to say right here, right now - I don't know what anyone was smoking when they called it "portable" but this is NOT portable. If they mean portable as in: pick it up and move it 15 feet across the room. OK. But if they mean like disassemble and pack it for travel - I'd like to see that. I'm currently 51 years old, I am in good shape, I can lift very heavy things, but let me just say: it is heavy and unwieldy and the parts are plentiful...yeah, completely NOT portable unless you have a personal assistant that lifts weights. 

The stand does completely come apart essentially every where you see a screw knob is where it will come apart. So you end up having a bunch of pieces of the stand: floor plate, 2 upright poles, and then the ball head and the ball head arm and then the accessories tray. Each piece isn't heavy but all of them together is. They claim it only weighs 8 lbs total. Hmmm.....seems much heavier than that to me. But I haven't weighed it so...
 I guess I need to amend my statement above and say: it IS portable if you take one piece at a time to wherever you are going and then reassemble the whole thing when you get there. (the whole portability statement really got to me, can you tell?! HA!)

I bought this stand because I wanted something that would take everything I owned, in any size, and hold it for two handed stitching. That is why I bought it - not to be ported anywhere, I just wanted a universal stand that would hold: Q-snaps, Scroll Rods, stretcher bars and a hoop if I so wanted it to do so. In that aspect this floor frame is fantastic, as it DOES just what I wanted it to do. 

I feel the K's stand is well constructed, it does what it purports to do. I believe the ball head is a revolutionary wonder. There is no other stand on the market that has that configuration. The ability to angle the head any way you want it angled to stitch is amazing. This stand is FULLY, and I do mean fully, able to be dialed in exactly to fit your stitching needs. The stand is able to be set exactly at the height you want it to be (because of the 2 floor poles), sitting in a tall armed, overstuffed couch? No problem! Sitting in a low chair? No problem! The head arm moves in and out to make the reach perfect for where you are sitting. The ball joint head perfect, and the head holder really does hold anything and holds it rather tightly. Just put whatever you are stitching your piece on - into the head holder - and screw it down. Simple.

I keep this stand out all the time - it does not go into storage.

PROS OF THE K'S CREATION STAND: 
1.) Ball head joint is fantastic, truly outstanding, no other stand - that I know of on the market has this type of system and it is well done
2.) universality of the ability to hold a variety of frames that hold your needlework (hoops, q-snaps, scrolls, stretchers)....all held by the head holder and held well
3.) The adjustability of height and reach is unparalleled in my opinion to any other stand
4.) the accessories tray is well done and I use the tray even if I am not using the stand as like I said I keep this stand out all the time, it never goes into storage
5.) able to be used when reclining, sitting, whatever,
6.) the floor plate is thin enough to slide under any chair 

CONS OF THE K'S CREATION STAND:
1.) Floor plate is not heavy enough - does not hold the stand upright - it tips. This to me is very irritating. I have to put a 10 lb bar bell on the plate so that it does not tip. Completely frustrating. 
2.) because it is metal and you are screwing down the holder on the arm to hold your needlework, there is - over time - metal filings dust that builds up. I have on occasion gotten this metal black dust on my linen. I have learned to clean it off every week and then that solves that problem - but it is worth mentioning.
3.) Customer service is lacking. I will leave that statement at that. 
4.) lastly - this hasn't been a problem for me BUT because the arm does not telescope - it is just a rod  that moves along a screw joint. Therefore if you are moving it in and out to get the reach that you want you couldn't be sitting right next to a wall - because it would not be able to move as it does not telescope. Sitting next to a table? If you have drinks sitting on it - beware if the arm is moved you could knock the drinks off the table. This does not bother me - but that is an issue to think about. 

So what do I think of the K's Creation Stand? 
I love it and I truly mean that. I don't think I could do without it, honestly. It is my opinion, that this company has some things that need to be fixed in this model - I don't know about any of the other models - but this model needs some issues addressed. I don't believe the "portability" statement is correct - that claim (in my opinion) is hogwash and needs to be removed from the title of the stand. If I have to put a 10 lb. bar bell on the floor plate to hold it - there is an issue. The tippy-ness of the stand needs to be addressed period. There is no way with what you are paying for this stand, that it should tip - AT ALL. If the floor plate is made to be "portable" thus not heavy enough to hold the stand upright with a scroll rod or what have you held in the head - then make it heavier and remove the portable claim  - it isn't portable anyway! The whole portable statement just rubs me the wrong way. Customer service needs to be addressed - if that means hiring someone to answer the phones, then it needs to happen. Or if that means hiring someone to answer emails - TIMELY - then it needs to happen. That area of the company is lacking. I am not the only one to say this, I have heard this across the board in other owners talking about responsiveness of this company. There is no doubt in my mind K's is losing business because of the lack of customer support. I tried contacting them once. Never heard back and eventually my husband fixed my issue himself. On a positive note, I did receive my stand in a timely manner - I have heard others have not, but as far as I was concerned mine was here timely

So that does it for today's review! Tomorrow I will rank my stands according to when, how, where I use them. 

Merry Day #14!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 
Vonna xxxx

5 comments:

  1. I too love my K's Creations stand and have used it for over 8 years. I purchased an extra large base which eliminates the tipping issue, so you may want to look into this.

    I agree that metal dust comes out of the screw handle, but I've solved this problem by placing some tapeor a piece of leather over the "hole" that contacts stretcher bars and the like. Just replace the tape every now and then because it does get dirty.

    For portability, I purchased a table clamp for travel to retreats and seminars and it's been a game changer. See my blog about this at: https://brendasneedlepointstudio.blogspot.com/2018/07/table-clamp-712-18.html

    I've only had one experience with their customer service to replace the tightening screw which had gotten stripped. They were wonderful in assisting me. I've solved the problem of overtightening the screw by placing a piece of leather on the clamp which gives my stretcher bar tacks something to sink into without overtightening the screw. Here's more information: https://brendasneedlepointstudio.blogspot.com/search?q=floor+stand+clamp

    Hope this comment is helpful. I love your blog and instructional videos. Keep them coming. Merry Christmas.

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    1. Brenda, I fully appreciate your insightful response and comments. Thank you! I hope my readers find your commentary and insight helpful. Again thank you! I do have to point out however - I was reviewing the stand as it comes out of the package to the customer - I was not reviewing or giving commentary on the work arounds. I knew there was a larger floor plate that could be purchased, but you purchase the stand and it comes to you and it tips. Period. I must not be the only person out there saying this if the company offers for sale a larger floor plate. Wouldn't you agree? If the larger floor plate prevents it from tipping - why does it not come standard with the stand when purchased? Yes, that table clamp, seems to be just great for portability - but that is a separate purchase not related to the stand as one buys it. They advertise on their website that the stand is portable, in fact it is in the product name. I don't agree with that statement. I haven't owned my stand as long as you. Merely only 3 years compared to your 8 years. However the one time I tried to contact customer service via phone AND email. There was never any response to me. That is my experience and valid to report. I also am not the only person to say this exact same thing, I have seen it time again on needlework boards and groups. I own many stands. I have had two encounters with Needlework System 4 and parts needing replacing. On the very first call both encounters, NWS 4 answered and the parts were shipped within 1 hour of contact. That's service. My experience is different from yours and I am glad that your have said you had a much different experience. Perhaps K's has listened to the voice of others saying what I have said and has resolved the customer service issues. Thanks for your report. Merry Christmas.

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  2. I am glad you are sharing your thoughts/opinions (the good, the bad, and the indifferent) on the stands, Vonna. The stitchers I know who have thought about purchasing either do or don't (don't because of the lack of customer service).

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  3. Thank you Vonna for your thoughts on the stands. I am thinking I may need to invest in a stand to continue stitching in the near future. I am dealing with Rheumatoid Arthritis and holding a hoop is hard at times. I am down to a 5 inch hoop at the current time to be able to stitch. Looking forward to your final review tomorrow. Thank you again.

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  4. Coming from cheap chain store stands, this stand was a game changer for me. Other than the customer support bit (I haven't needed to contact them - yet) I agree with all you say.

    Thanks for the warning about the dust, and to Brenda M that over-tightening *might* be a problem, especially since I tend to crank things down tight after those cheap frames that wouldn't stay adjusted.

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