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Questions

General Information

GRIP STONES are handmade from the most premium, durable polymer clay we could find. They are designed to survive strong grips, live on your desk, or hang out in your pocket or purse as an everyday carry for years to come. Our products are not painted or coated. They are non-toxic and hand washable.

GRIP STONES are meant to be non-distracting, modern takes on the worry stone—for thinking, calming, or focusing mental energy. They are great for all ages and are 100% made in the USA.


Feature Definitions

  • Ribbed: A texture with repeating rows of shallow valleys you can run your finger over.
  • Frog: It's a frog!
  • Metallic Flecks: Some might call them sparkles, but we hate sparkles.
  • Thumb Well: The large, usually centered, shallow area your thumb grips the Grip Stone.
  • Smooth: Features areas that are not textured.
  • Palm Press: We think this is a good model for squeezing into hand muscle.
  • Rolling: We think this is a good model for rolling around between your hands as a way to fidget with it.
  • Dragon Scales: A nice repeating bumpy texture that looks dragon-scale-ish.
  • Spikes: Never sharp features that allow for a poke sensation—not recommended for younger children.
  • Texture: Features areas with texture.
  • Thumb Track: A section with a valley with two somewhat even raised sides you can run your thumb along lengthwise.
  • Oversized: Hand sizes are subjective, but we think these are somewhat larger than average GRIP STONES—they may be good for bigger hands.

GRIP STONE Safety and Common Sense

GRIP STONES are made of a clay, which you can find more information about in the questions below! Essentially, it becomes PVC hard plastic after curing, though most people are surprised to know a GRIP STONE is actually plastic after feeling it. These warnings are therefore similar to warnings for a plastic action figure.

  • Do not apply high heat to your GRIP STONE, like in a microwave, a conventional oven, or fire, as it will melt and give off toxic fumes.
  • Do not use untested scenarios like a dishwasher, leaving in the sun in a confined space, or putting through the dryer, as it could lead to deforming, or in very high heat- toxic fumes.
  • Do not ingest or chew on your GRIP STONE product. GRIP STONE products are non-toxic, but the materials aren't intended for eating with or on and therefore cannot be recommended as food-grade.
  • Do not throw your GRIP STONE or throw it at another person, as it could deform, break, or cause bodily harm.
  • Do not sand and breathe in ground particles of your GRIP STONE product.
  • Do not apply sharp edges to a GRIP STONE product, it could scratch, cut, or break. If you dig your nails into GRIP STONES they can be dug into with some effort.
  • GRIP STONES with Spike features: While not sharp, these spikes are not recommended for children without supervision and are not recommended for children under the age of 8.

What material are GRIP STONES made of?

GRIP STONES are made of Polymer Clay! Polymer clay is a versatile, synthetic modeling material made primarily from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combined with plasticizers and pigments. It remains soft and workable until it is baked at a low temperature, at which point it hardens into a durable, lightweight plastic. The end product is essentially PVC, which is a hard plastic that you can find as the base material in things like action figures.

Once it has been properly cured according to the manufacturer's instructions, it is considered completely inert and safe to handle. The cured clay is stable, does not leach chemicals, and can be safely touched, worn as jewelry, or used in decorative objects. It is quite common to run across polymer clay jewelry at craft fairs.

We use Sculpey Primo as our sole material. Sculpey® is the brand name for a line of non-toxic polymer clays used by children and adults for arts and crafts. All the polymer clays are manufactured by Polyform Products Company in Elk Grove Village, IL (just outside of Chicago). Polyform manufactures numerous innovative polymer clay lines.

Have polymer clays been studied?

Sculpey's polymer clays are safe when used as directed. They have been evaluated by the renowned toxicologists at Duke University and are certified as AP non-toxic.

This certification is for art products that present no immediate or long-term health effects to children or adults when used properly. Toxicologists certifying these products base their evaluations on the use and misuse scenarios of the product by a small child.

What types of pigments are used to color the clays?

A variety of powder and liquid pigments are used. All pigments have been evaluated for safety by the toxicologists at Duke University.

Sculpey® products have the ACMI certification seal. Where can I learn more?

We encourage you to visit The Art & Creative Materials Institute (www.acminet.org) for detailed information about the safety of art materials.

My GRIP STONE has fingerprints

GRIP STONES products are handmade in the USA. Emphasis: hand. We don't shy away from the minimalist, handmade nature of our product, and that goes all the way down to the fingerprints left on the sculptures. We believe these fine textures add to the soft-touch feel of the item, as when we remove them, the feel of the product is less smooth and too grippy to glide over. In the future, we may explore techniques to minimize them. For now, we think this is one more way to know this object you have was made with care and not mass-produced.

I bought two GRIP STONES that looked/were named similarly, but they are different.

No two GRIP STONES are alike. Due to the handmade nature and artistry we believe in keeping as part of our process, we don't use molds. This means we reproduce an idea as well as our hands can sculpt it twice. Our philosophy is each piece grows as we make it, so think of similar models as siblings, not twins.

Pricing

GRIP STONES are priced factoring in design time, material cost, material quality, and features of design. Our polymer clay is meant for long-term durability when cared for correctly. These pieces are priced and made with the idea that they survive as an everyday carry for years.