For the Mold Enthusiast - Floree Japan

Although clay molds are perhaps seen as a naughty short-cut in the crafting community, I do like my molds if there's a need to do mass-crafting. Molds are like time-savers to air-dry clay users, like canes are to polymer clay users I guess! :D

Since I am not a fan of mixing sillcones to do my own molds, I would try to get the air dry clay / deco craft molds made by Floree Japan, which sadly has become the objects of boot-legging by many Etsy sellers (Some of whom I have mistakenly bought from.)

If you search Etsy's with the term 'clay mold', you'll get an array of blue-silicon copycat molds, fake Floree molds priced anywhere from $5 to $10 USD and the real Floree molds. So far, I have found only two sellers on Etsy selling the real thing which they priced at $15-$19+ USD, the former shipping these molds directly from Japan itself. You can also go through a commission seller to purchase your molds off Floree's Yahoo-auction website and have them shipped to you. Floree molds cost 980 yen per mold (around 10USD), and sometimes there is special discounts. I got my first two Florees from Tokyu Hands in Shibuya, Japan last year.

The fake ones are labelled "f-style" on the side and do not have Floree's distinctive watermark behind, which bears the mold's name and the website. The boot-leg ones are not sanded properly on the side, resulting in a lop-sided mold that cannot lie flat. Also, the inside of the molds are not shiny and smooth so clay takes a while to be removed from it. These probably go for like half the price of a real Floree mold.

Real Floree molds are made either from hard white silicon or black silicon. There's no difference between the two except you see stains on the white mold instead. The black will stain too, just that you can't see it. The front of each mold is stamped with the word 'floree'. Each mold has a distinctive watermark behind, like a company logo-thing - bearing the mold's name and Floree's website. The inside of the molds are smooth and shiny, clay comes out easily with these molds.

You can visit Floree's website to look at their products :

http://www.floree.jp/ - Main website, home
http://www.floree.jp/web1/ - Product Overview, first tab on the side-bar
http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/floree/index.html - Floree's Yahoo Shopping Store, this is where you go if you want to buy molds and crafting materials, second tab
http://www.floree.jp/Les/ - Video Lessons on how to use Floree Molds to make deco and miniatures, third tab
http://www.floree.jp/gallery/index.html - Photograph Gallery of Products, fourth tab
http://ameblo.jp/floree/ - Floree Store Blog, fifth tab
http://www.floree.jp/kyoushi/index.html - Contact Lists, Japan only, sixth tab

Floree's website is very exciting to visit, do take a look when you are free. :)

Note : I am not putting up pictures of the molds that I have purchased but I would be glad to tell you who are the sellers for non-bootleg or bootleg Floree's  if you are interested in buying.