A compact device at a compact price that does everything you’d want it to – that’s the pitch for the all-new Cricut Joy which might not sound like much to you, but trust me – someone in your family wants this.

It might be the missus, it could be her mum or yours, or perhaps you yourself are into crafting – no matter who, take note – the Cricut Joy is coming in March.

I watched every episode of American Chopper – loved that show, and one of my favourite things was when they used either the piles of cash from the show or the reach of the show – to get new gear in the shop.

One such bit of kit was an epic CNC machine – basically a high powered water jet cutter that could cut out any design they fed into it, in almost any material.

Fast forward to 2020 and I can witness that in your home, just with crafting in mind – not building choppers.

Cricut is a desktop machine about the size of an old dot-matrix printer that has the ability to trace any design fed into it from the computer or iPad software.

The tracing can be using a pen, or a knife meaning it can write and draw amazing things, or cut out rolls of vinyl for all sorts of uses from labels to iron-on shirt prints or sticky designs for your kid’s walls.

Trust me, I’ve seen it all – my Mother-in-Law has been smashing out designs since she first got her hands on one under 12 months ago.

In 2020, things get compact. The Circut Joy is designed for people who want the output Cricut offers, but don’t have the time or space invested in it that many dedicated crafters do.

It takes up less room, and is pretty much up and go from the first moment out of the box.

Tom Crisp, Head of Design at Cricut says “Cricut Joy was designed as a simple and accessible solution for people to explore their creative talents,”

“At only 5-by-8 inches (15cm), the machine can be used almost anywhere in your home giving you the flexibility to make projects wherever you are — plus it looks just as good on the kitchen counter as it does on a bookshelf.”

Cricut CEO Ashish Arora says the brand is all about the passion to create “Our brand is built on the philosophy that the need to create is a universal one—one that ties us all together with the same passion,”

“I am ecstatic that Cricut Joy will help us reach a whole new community of creative individuals who have yet to experience our tight-knit community, but this is only the beginning.” 

At the same time as it’s available globally, Cricut Joy will hit Australia through Spotlight, Craft Online and TVSN starting in March and will retail for $329.