I had purchased three sets of their ready-to-stitch acrylic coasters,  and then set upon stitching, confident that the coasters would provide an inexpensive finishing touch for what I hoped would be special Christmas gifts.

Unfortunately, I only glanced at the coasters prior to finishing the project .  The acrylic, which one would expect to by crystal-clear, was not. Most of the coasters shared the same flaw, along one edge of the hexagon. This edge was rough and opaque, with a wave-like, almost finger-print like pattern near this defect. As if the acrylic had dripped?

Then there were scuffs on the top surface of a few. And when something is supposed to be crystal clear, any blemish becomes very noticeable.

Looking at the shrink wrap, it could be that the coasters could possibly have been damaged during the shrink-wrap process (at the factory, or at Herrschner’s?). The shrink wrap was sealed with heat (or so it appeared), and it could be that whatever the source of the heat was, that it melted an edge of the coasters.

Whatever the cause, as I was under the wire for gifts, I managed to put together a set by salvaging what I could from all three.

I would return them, of course, but I suppose that I could use the remaining coasters to mix paints. Not their intended purpose, but I have no idea what happend to the receipt or the shipping box.

I still like the idea of coasters, they had such potential. But in the future, I will spend the extra money and go for a Sudberry House product. Or, with a few pieces of glass, some copper foil, and cork, just encase the stitchery myself.

I should also mention that the coasters were not secured in the box–they were accompanied by a wadded up piece of brown packing paper. But the cardboard box was thick, and although the packing seemed rather careless, I believe the coasters were defective from the beginning, and not damaged in transit.