Review: SquirrelUp storage boxes
Posted by Huw,
Collecting LEGO goes hand-in-hand with the need for a suitable storage system to keep it all organised. This requirement led Brickset member DavdintheUK to design his own custom solution of stackable cardboard boxes which he is now selling at his website SquirrelUp.uk.
In this article I take a look at the product and find out how and why he designed them.
The system consists of a sleeve and a drawer made from high quality cardboard. The internal dimensions of the drawers are 9 x 18.5cm, and 10cm high, which is about 1.6 litres, or in LEGO terms, 23x11 studs by 9 bricks high.
They are good size, then, capable of holding a fair few 2x4 bricks (around 250 stacked neatly), and large enough for all but the biggest LEGO pieces.
The sides and ends of the drawer fit snugly into the base so there's no chance of small pieces getting wedged in between them.
They are designed to be connected together, both horizontally and vertically, and the resultant assembly is very sturdy thanks to the ingenious way in which they are joined, using small pieces of card that fit snugly between them, and flaps on the top that fit into holes in the bottom of the one above.
They come flat packed, and it takes about 3 minutes to assemble each one.
They are extremely well-designed and manufactured to a high quality, cut and creased with precision and, while they are not cheap (good quality never is), they offer an affordable and infinitely expandable storage solution that's perfect for LEGO. They are also easy to label, and to facilitate that a sheet of brown oval Kraft labels is provided with each order. Furthermore, they can be recycled easily once they reach end of life.
They are available from SquirrelUp.uk in packs of various sizes, from six to 20. A set of 20 costs £36, so £1.80 each.
Having assembled them and being slightly surprised by how well-designed and made they were, I wanted to find out more about Dave and why he designed them in the first place.
He said:
"I don't have a design background other than as a hobbyist. My eldest son (9 years old now) has been a LEGO enthusiast since he was 4. As his collection grew, it became clear we needed to create an area devoted to building and storing bricks. We had quite a lot of cardboard following a recent house move, so I used some of it to build a temporary table for him. We began to sort his bricks using plastic takeaway food containers and as his collection grew, I cobbled together some cardboard shelves to hold the takeaway containers - tilted forward slightly so that the contents could be easily seen.
"This solution worked well for us and I thought it would be helpful for others. I talked to a cardboard design company about professionalising the design and producing cardboard tables and shelves for others. The cost of producing short runs of relatively large cardboard products turned out to be high, probably more than basic chipboard furniture and more than I would be willing to pay.
"As my son's LEGO collection continued to grow, a few rows of takeaway food containers were not enough to contain it. I thought there was potential in using cardboard. I put together a cardboard box of my own design that was a suitable size for the way we were sorting our bricks. It included a small handle at the front that I thought would make the design more interesting than just having a finger hole at the top.
"I also put together some shelves to hold the boxes, shared my design with the same cardboard design company and asked again about professionalising the design and producing shelves and boxes for others. I'd realised that getting the finer points of the design right would take me some time and was better handled by professionals. I briefed the company that I wanted the system to be strong enough to handle 1kg in each box so they could be used to store items heavier than LEGO if needed.
"The designers felt that simple cardboard shelves would not be strong enough and suggested a couple of designs that included vertical supports. One of these designs involved stacking modules and, following a few weeks of back and forth between us, we arrived at the current design that I'm very happy with and is serving us very well.
"The boxes are manufactured in Kent, UK, and I am hoping that in future I can produce more sizes, but this will of course be dependent on feedback received and the popularity of this one"
Thank you, Dave. As they say, 'necessity is the mother of invention'...
The boxes are available from SquirrelUp.uk in packs of various sizes. A set of six costs £12, nine £17.10, twelve £21.60, and 20 is £36. There is currently no charge for P&P and payment is by card or PayPal.
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60 comments on this article
@Huw can you buy them in groups of less than 20?
These look a lot like the boxes I use to store CDs, just with slightly different dimensions and without a lid. Depending on the territory where you live, that might be a cheaper solution, although the prices of these is definitely fair.
@HJB2810 said:
" @Huw can you buy them in groups of less than 20?"
Yes, 6, 9, 12, 20.
I like the look of these; just ordered a set of 20 :-)
For added reference the external dimensions of each are: 12cm high, 10cm wide, 20cm deep
Set of six is £12, set of nine is £17.10, set of twelve is £21.60 and, as above, the set of 20 is £36.
There is currently no charge for P&P and payment is by card or Paypal.
They currently only ship within UK
Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. It's a great idea, but even if he shipped to Germany, the final cost post-Brexit (shipping, taxes, import duties) would likely be prohibitive.
How I miss the good old days when buying something from the UK was a viable option and one I was happy to use frequently.
@Stoker_stu said:
"I like the look of these; just ordered a set of 20 :-)
For added reference the external dimensions of each are: 12cm high, 10cm wide, 20cm deep
Set of six is £12, set of nine is £17.10, set of twelve is £21.60 and, as above, the set of 20 is £36.
There is currently no charge for P&P and payment is by card or Paypal.
They currently only ship within UK"
Thank you, I will add that to the article.
Can I get them in the USA?
too bad are located in UK, would have bought them if they were in EU though
What's UpStorage?
Storage: nothing much. You?
Ships from the UK so, even if they ship outside some day, I won't be buying as I don't wanna deal with Spaniard customs
But it looks great for the price
Brilliant design; like others, I wish they were sold in the EU too — thanks Brexit…
This is the kind of project I'd love to see on "Dragon's Den", by the way…
If I had the space this could be a possibility. For now everything is stored in giant boxes under a bed in the spare bedroom wich I am still not allowed to convert into a Lego room.
For once an innovative product like this available in the UK!
Not sure how durable this would be for daily use, but I can see a bunch of possibilities especially for the "overflow" and larger pieces. Just the sort of storage drawer size I've been struggling to find.
When they ship to the US, I will definitely buy some.
I obviously love the ingenuity. I hope he patents this!
Only thing that's a big upside is that it's flat when shipping.
Other then that, I wouldn't want something like Silverfish to hide amongst LEGO as they love dark places with cardboard.
>cardboard
No thanks
This is fantastic, congrats to the designer! So nice to see an affordable solution that's not based on plastic.
It would be nice if today’s cardboard was more resilient. I spent the early part of my career closing down domestic manufacturing, one of the only bright spots was witnessing the small parts storage solutions employed in the early years of the twentieth century. A lot were cardboard, and survived 50+ years in unsavoury conditions.
They look well-made. Time will tell how durable cardboard drawers are. Next steps would probably be shallower ones and dividers.
@Huw How easily do they slide when they're full?
@Duq said:
"They look well-made. Time will tell how durable cardboard drawers are. Next steps would probably be shallower ones and dividers.
@Huw How easily do they slide when they're full?"
Easily.
@Ridgeheart said:
"I'm not a fan of the price-per-piece ratio here though."
And stickers. Sheesh. Why not prints on a product that is clearly targeted at collectors? Pass.
I use plastic bin holders from hardware stores. While they’re easy to see into, are sturdy, and are stackable, they always feel too small for larger bricks/plates and greater volumes. These look perfectly sized to me. I would absolutely consider switching out my solution if/when they ship to the U.S.
@Huw Are these storage boxes going to be available in the U.S.?
I’m not the target audience, but I love the concept and I applaud the creator for sticking with it and developing a well thought out product.
This is how we must recycle our Lego boxes. Not throw them out. All my bricks are stored in such custom made boxes out of Lego cardboard. Additional benefit of having to throw out less cardboard trash.
Do they come with a bag of black squirrels? If so, I’ll consider buying some, and also understand why they chose that name.
This is great! I like this solution a lot more than the various plastic storage drawers I've looked into. Hopefully shipping to the U.S. will be added in the future :)
I love the look of these, I've ordered 6 to start with, to see how they fit in my space. I've tried a bunch of different solutions in the past... plastic drawers often have bulky frames, wasting a lot of space - I love how thin these are, making more efficient use of the overall volume. The expandability is great, and the fact they are recyclable (and easier to ship) is a nice bonus.
I'm glad to see these have been well received and some of you have placed orders already.
I believe David is looking into overseas shipping so drop him a line via the website if you're interested in that.
@PurpleDave said:
"Do they come with a bag of black squirrels? If so, I’ll consider buying some, and also understand why they chose that name."
I guess it refers to "squirrelling" things away, like a squirrel stores nuts.
I wonder how high these can be stacked before the bottom ones give in under the weight and/or the entire stack topples over. In other words, is this a solution for a large collection? Writing this makes me realise you'd need some sort of shelving or rack to go large. But still, I wonder how much this cardboard design can take. I'm liking it though!
These look ace. Kudos on seeing the idea through, this venture deserves loads of success!
Lego Labo
PRO:
Ecologic - either material and construction
Kudos to the designer!
CONS:
Worried about the dust they can collect
Looks cheap
This is the first time I've seen a marketable cardboard storage system for LEGO, and I'm curious to see where this goes!
well,
this already exists. I bought exactly the same thing, BUT with nice prints for half the price for my son...
@AustinPowers said:
"Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. "
ALDI stores sell exactly the same thing...
Hm. Considering that I don't have the space for a Lego room complete with a wall of storage bins anyway, this could be a decent solution for my moderately sized collection
@BelgianBricker said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. "
ALDI stores sell exactly the same thing...
"
They do? Never seen anything of that kind here yet. They do sometimes sell the official LEGO storage boxes though.
Now this is amazing, thanks for the tip.
@EtudeTheBadger said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"Do they come with a bag of black squirrels? If so, I’ll consider buying some, and also understand why they chose that name."
I guess it refers to "squirrelling" things away, like a squirrel stores nuts."
That's...not as fun as getting a bag full of black squirrels.
@BelgianBricker care to link to the product? I'm sure all the Europeans here would love to know given what Brexit means for purchases from a UK company for them (and vice versa for us poor buggers here grumble grumble).
@BelgianBricker said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. "
ALDI stores sell exactly the same thing...
"
It's like people have never seen or heard of cheap, cardboard boxes with drawers. Hello 1970s.
Quick patent it! Also, patent sunshine while you're at it.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. "
ALDI stores sell exactly the same thing...
"
It's like people have never seen or heard of cheap, cardboard boxes with drawers. Hello 1970s.
Quick patent it! Also, patent sunshine while you're at it."
Don't know. I have actually never seen cardboard storage boxes like these before. And I have even experienced at least the latter part of the 70s myself :-)
@audaver said:
" @BelgianBricker care to link to the product? I'm sure all the Europeans here would love to know given what Brexit means for purchases from a UK company for them (and vice versa for us poor buggers here grumble grumble)."
Well, hey, we live in the UK, so we can order these easily. We should make more of our own stuff, anyway.
Brilliant system! I hope he gets some sort of product patent or something on this. Best of luck, I’ve used all sorts of cardboard boxes as storage with no issues. If I didn’t already have a parts storage system, I’d definitely consider these! I think the price is good.
Nice idea, but not for me. I prefer clear drawers (at least the fronts), so I can see into them.
@CCC said:
"Nice idea, but not for me. I prefer clear drawers (at least the fronts), so I can see into them."
There’s a great joke here but I have yet to find it.
SOLD OUT
WOW, I see this article only the day after it was published and Squirrel Up is completely sold out of all it's products !!!
Well done to Dave for coming up with a product that Lego fans obviously like!
Great idea, great product.
For those doubting cardboard: I've been using empty board game boxes or shipping boxes for Lego pieces for years, and quality cardboard does a great job.
I'd refrain from bringing water cups or other liquid elements nearby, but otherwise, great "cheap" solution for kids (that may have temporary phases), movers (that can easily recycle these and buy new ones) and fans (that know the priority is to put money in the bricks, not the storage!).
@Ridgeheart said:
"Have you considered changing your name to "LeaverTheBeaver"?"
Yes.
@Minifig_Jez said:
"WOW, I see this article only the day after it was published and Squirrel Up is completely sold out of all it's products !!!
Well done to Dave for coming up with a product that Lego fans obviously like!"
The 'Brickset effect' is clearly is still a thing, then :)
@AustinPowers said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. "
ALDI stores sell exactly the same thing...
"
They do? Never seen anything of that kind here yet. They do sometimes sell the official LEGO storage boxes though. "
yeah, you know how they have "special offers, that differ from week to week. These cardbord storage boxes are one of those sepcial offer items
I love the idea, but my biggest concern is pests. I've had real trouble in the past with cardboard storage boxes attracting moths and carpet beetles.
@BelgianBricker said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Someone in Germany should take note and come up with something similar. "
ALDI stores sell exactly the same thing...
"
They do? Never seen anything of that kind here yet. They do sometimes sell the official LEGO storage boxes though. "
yeah, you know how they have "special offers, that differ from week to week. These cardbord storage boxes are one of those sepcial offer items"
Yes I know of the special offer items, since I shop regularly at Aldi (at least once a week). It's just that I have never come across such boxes yet. Then again, Aldi offers vary widely from country to county, as does the regular selection.
@AustinPowers said:
"(...)
How I miss the good old days when buying something from the UK was a viable option and one I was happy to use frequently. "
This. (sigh)
The feeling it mutual from this side; I too miss ordering products from smaller sellers (especially bicycle parts from Germany).
Life was so much easier before Brexit. Maybe in a generation we'll realise our folly (that was foreseen before the fact...) and you can order these lovely boxes!
@bananaworld said:
"This. (sigh)
The feeling it mutual from this side; I too miss ordering products from smaller sellers (especially bicycle parts from Germany).
Life was so much easier before Brexit. Maybe in a generation we'll realise our folly (that was foreseen before the fact...) and you can order these lovely boxes!"
Nah. If Alien is any indication, we'll eventually join up with Japan and India to form the Three World Empire.
Germany, meanwhile, joins Spain and Russia to form the Union of Progressive Peoples, causing what's left of the EU (after a number of its states joined the 3WE!) to dissolve.
@audaver said:
" @BelgianBricker care to link to the product? I'm sure all the Europeans here would love to know given what Brexit means for purchases from a UK company for them (and vice versa for us poor buggers here grumble grumble)."
I dont have a link, but here is an image of the onces I have at home for my kids (don't mind the floral print :) )
[img] https://i.postimg.cc/DzV06v4m/20240308-154220.jpg [/img][/url]