Everything AE/Ali Edwards

I am in the same boat. I wish Ali Edwards well but April Foster and Inked Brands are nothing but dishonest and unethical IMO. Hopefully Ali and Katie aren't oblivious to how despised Inked Brands is becoming in the craft industry.

What is the old customer service fact that for every 1 person who voices their concerns there are 20+ more that feel the same way but don't say anything to the company but tell 10-15 people they know. Ali would be wise to heed this research and stop buying into April's ah shucks I'm just a nice lil' southern girl "momtrepreneur" act.  

Ok I'll bite. What was the one thing that drew you to ali? For me it was story telling. I'm a writer. I think that's why the story kits annoy me, first, I hate that the product is her choosing, it wasn't always my style. And second, she recycles themes an awful lot. I get that the product is how she earns her living but for me, I like telling stories my own way.

Like you, it was the storytelling. Until I (rather quickly) realised her storytelling offerings limited my storytelling. It felt very anecdotical, as though I was getting insignificant prompts to work with. I also don't have much love for her "This [generic word] could be used for this, but also for that." It always seemed very obvious to me and didn't make the product all that versatile in the end since I'd rather not repeat the same exact word for different thematics but use more context-appropriate synonyms. In the end, I came to the conclusion I'm far too much of a reader and writer to enjoy her products. Rather than helping me, they tend to limit and frustrate me. I've always said I'm more of a documenter than a scrapbooker on paper (ha! ). I think Ali's storytelling kits work (perhaps for a limited time) better for those who struggle with writing and journaling.
Then there are all the speech problems. Don't get me started on how excruciatingly painful they are to my ears. Nails. On. Chalkboard. Getting through her class videos is very difficult for me. I guess I'm not exposed to the vocal fry enough to be able to endure it for lengthier periods of time.

Oh, she has worded some replies in most definitely a bitchy manner, coming of as holier-than-thou. That has rubbed me the wrong way a few times. And she has stepped up to defend certain typos/errors that had been pointed when, clearly, it was a mistake. "Santa Clause" comes to mind. She clearly herself didn't realise it wasn't a mistake at first, offering to reach out to Jasmine Jones (queen of misspelling at SC), then came back and pretended we didn't get it was the movie reference. Oh really? One movie reference in the whole mini kit then? And not even one of the more obvious Christmas classics? Somebody should have double-checked. Jasmine probably got carried away watching her favourite Christmas flicks while designing the kit and it slipped through everyone's (no one's?) eyes, as usual. Le sigh.

I like her clean style.

The "somebody else's handwriting" part of her products has kept me from ever buying a kit, too. I think the only Ali purchase I have ever made is the DITL time stamp from maybe last year.

I originally found Ali as an inspiration I think because of December Daily--which is a project I really love. Then I slowly bought into her other projects, week in the life first (which I've been doing for 4 years now) and then One Little Word (which I've been doing for 3 years).

I like her handwriting and the style of her products, but they are becoming repetitive. I've subbed to the story kit since the beginning and I enjoy the class and receiving the products, but I haven't been consistent in using them to tell stories under the theme. I do think they've helped me create more traditional layouts rather than just project life--but I don't sit down with a kit and work just from that, I work with all my supplies and maybe use the theme as a starting point to think of a story I want to scrapbook. I like her focus on journaling and have found some of her journaling prompts helpful--although I'm not someone who ever had trouble with journaling, I like mixing it up and thinking of different ways to journal. All that being said... I don't think I've seen a "new" idea from her in a long time--it's a lot of recycling of the same core ideas that she always uses--the same techniques, etc.

Maybe that works because she has enough new customers that haven't heard it yet. Or maybe she really just can't think of anything else. But I think she doesn't spend enough time on creating new products that aren't based on old ones and new layout/story ideas that aren't following formulas she's used in the past. I wish she did... because I think the first time I heard/saw all her stuff I was really inspired.

This. Her classes are of no added value because I cannot handle her speech. I think she has a lot of offer re: storytelling - but I can't get to the lesson because I can't get past the vocal fry.
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I do as well. SaveSave

oh Lordy...I would poke my eyes out. I seriously cannot handle it. SaveSave

And I love the classes (her voice doesn't bother me at all), I find the them super useful. I guess I have a lot in common with Ali being the same age and having two young children, so I can relate to a lot of the stories she is telling and they help me to tell my own stories.

As an international I'm worried about having to pay customs duties soon. I heard that Inked have changed how they fill in the forms on the envelopes. I am waiting to see what happens with my most recent orders. So far I have never had any problems but if anything is marked over 20$ I'm in trouble and may have to cancel my subscription.

That's the weird thing

I couldn't find a value anywhere on the box or the letter from customs, I had 2 boxes with tutus and one with mystery kits and all 3 were charged a different price but how that total was calculated I've no idea,

One was a sale order and. I pretty much only paid shipping so customs shouldn't have been as high as it was

I don't know if they guessed, or if they contacted sc or what

Previously when I got it with hipkit they sent me a letter looking for the cost of the order so that makes me think sc must have given them the values

I looked at the one giant box I still have today as I'm storing stuff in it and it has a barcode type thing maybe they can scan then and get the info I've no idea

And yet she still sells two monthly subscriptions for physical product, one for digital. Add on top of that the money-eater that is DD these days as  well as WITL and two DITL a year and just with her go-to stuff, AE is anything but a minimalist in terms of the volume of stuff she's offering.

She has a minimalist aesthetic, not necessarily a minimalist approach to documenting (as December Daily proves it). People often confuse both and believe the aesthetic is the ultimate measure to go by. I've seen minimalist-looking homes with big wardrobes that were full of clothes once you opened the minimalist aesthetic doors. Same once you went through the beauty and hygiene products or kitchenware. Clean lines and space to put everything away/out of sight  is just a look, not a life philosophy.