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c/bumper-sticker-creators•jade3jade3•24d ago

Switched from handmade signs to cheap vinyl decals and I'm kinda salty about it

I used to spend like 4 hours in my garage cutting stencils for each bumper sticker design by hand with an X-acto knife. It felt legit, like I was crafting something real. Then last month I caved and bought a $200 Cricut machine, and now I can knock out a run of 20 stickers in 45 minutes without breaking a sweat. Don't get me wrong, the speed is nice, but I miss the rough edges and weird little mistakes that made my old stuff feel personal. Anyone else feel like going digital sucked the soul out of their process?
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ray_king
ray_king24d ago
Hold on a sec, that other dude nailed it about Etsy. That whole site used to feel like a yard sale where you'd find something one-of-a-kind, now it's just a mall with cheaper junk. Your hand-cut stickers had that same yard sale feel, the character is what made them worth the money. These new machines are great for production but they sand off all the personality, makes everything look like it came off the same assembly line. Honestly, I bet the people who bought your old stuff could tell the difference, they were paying for the human touch not just a decal.
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paul233
paul23324d agoOG Member
Did you see that thing about how Etsy's full of mass-produced stuff now?
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