What do you think about the new giant Cricut? Today on HSN

Yikes! That’s huge!

If I had a business I could see writing it off, but I can buy a LOT of scrapbook supplies for that much money.

It think it is them expanding their market. Scrapbooking is in a slump so I applaud any company who pivots to stay relevant, and this is not a big reach for them. While they originally were geared towards paper crafters they really be came popular with the explosion of vinyl crafting, especially for hobby businesses. This just makes sense from a business pov.

It's not meant for a scrapbooker, and that's ok.

Whoa! It's huge. No place for that in my craft room, or my bank account.

It is very big. I don't think it is for the average user. However, I can see the benefits if you are using it for a business. I just wonder about having the space to store the huge mats, vinyl, etc...but I guess if you have space for the machine and a big Cricut heat press, you probably have the space for the supplies as well. It is a very fast machine. I know I have seen many post on FB groups that they wish they could cut bigger than 12 x 12 and I guess now they can.

As you said, it seems they get further and further away from scrapbooking, which was why it was originally designed but it does seem more people use it now for making t-shirts, totes, etc, than for scrap booking so I guess they are just gearing new products towards how the market is going.

It's expensive...but I guess if you run a business, it may be worth it.

It isn't a machine for me, but I can see the benefits of it.

A friend owns a sign shop that can do signs, banners, tee shirts, cups, mugs, hats, etc and the one she bought was about $5,000. Another friend runs a business in her home using variuous things like tees, wood, etc and her machine was about $2000. Her is basic.

I can see this for persons who have workshops in their garages or extra room in their house and run businesses that sell locally, on-line (like Etsy, Ebay) and also do local pop up shops.

They are already using large, expensive vinyl cutters.

Ah okay. I thought you meant the ones in the shops. Those are pricey for sure

It is kinda cool but I barely use the "normal" size one I have. I'd much rather buy a Glowforge if I was in the market for more of a professional machine (and money, space, & time didn't matter). I've stumbled around in the Cricut crafting world a tiny bit and there's so many cool things people are making with vinyl, tumblers, and all that jazz. Cricut seems to be the most popular brand for that type of crafting, especially for Etsy sellers who buy multiple machines. I hope it does well for them in that space. I could also see getting this for an office/work if you did a bunch of crafty type stuff. I would have loved this when I had a parks and rec job way back in undergrad. It would have been fun to use for summer camp projects and stuff.

I think three different creators I follow on Instagram posted about the Glowforge Aura today. I have been wanting something like that for awhile, but with multiple teenagers at home, all of the extra money goes to food, food and more food, and sadly not any new fun toys, ha!

I just saw some of the stuff on the Glowforge Aura and darn it if I don't want one. It's so cool that they came out with a craft version that's more accessible, coming in at less than $1200. But having to spend another $400 for the air filter, means I'd have to have an awful lot of projects in mind to justify spending that much money. It looks neat though. I'd love to be able to cut my acrylics like Heba does here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGrG5KIlwaU

They may, or may not, be moving away from scrapbooking, but if that was their sole focus, their business would probably be in jeopardy. There are too many machines that do something similar, and not all scrapbookers own a machine, so I can’t see how they could stay afloat if that was their only focus.

I agree that the Cricut Venture is more for signage, wall art/decor, and anything else that would be easier with a larger cutter.

My son has a glow forge. He has made some really lovely things with it. He had hoped to turn it into a small side business, but that has not gone as hoped. My DMIL had a laser engraver. She made and sold some lovely things, but it never really made more money than it cost her. I considered getting a laser engraver, but you need to have the right situation for set up and operation. I’m sure it’s a power hog. Even my 15”x15” clamshell heat press is a power hog. I don’t keep it plugged in, and I turn off all the lights on the entire upstair floor of my home when I am using it. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to affect DH’s office when it’s hogging power. He works from home.

Both the Cricut Venture and the glow forge might be appealing to crafters who want to make and sell home decor projects on Etsy and at craft fairs, or even just for their own homes and giving as gifts. Crafters might think they will use one or the other to make money, and therefore write the cost off on taxes. For just hobby use, though, most of us would hesitate to spend that much. For the cost of just the Venture, you could buy both the top end Cricut or Silhouette, and a Brother electronic cutter for cutting out your stamped images, and you still might have some money left over for materials to cut.

While I could see people who make crafts for $ could use this, I have to question whether Cricut will support the machine in a few years if they find they don't make the money they hope to make from it.