Here's the thing most people don't figure out until their third order: the inserts are the system. The trays are just where they live.
Once that clicks, planning a setup gets a lot easier.
The conversion
Three sizes, and they trade against each other:
- 1 large = 3 smalls
- 2 smalls = 1 medium
That's the whole system. Every tray in the interchangeable family is sized in units, and you fill those units however you want.
What each tray holds
| Tray | Units | All small | All large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Betty Blinger V2 | 5 | 5 small | 1 large + 1 medium |
| Rose | 6 | 6 small | 2 large |
| Betty Blinger V2 Double | 10 | 10 small | 2 large + 2 medium |
| Truby | 12 | 12 small | 4 large |
| Blanche XL | 12 | 12 small | 4 large |
| The Rue | 25 | 25 small | 5 large + 5 medium |
The Rue is five drawers of five, which is why it lands at 25.
Why this matters more than the tray you pick
Because inserts move.
Inserts from a Betty fit a Truby. Inserts from a Rose fit a Blanche XL. If you start with a Betty and add a Rue next year, everything you already own still works — you're adding capacity, not replacing a system.
That's a genuinely different situation from buying a sealed organizer where the compartments are the compartments forever.
How to plan a setup
Working small — SS12 and under? Go all smalls. More separation, more colors visible at once. Detailed work rewards more lines.
Working bigger — SS16 to SS30? Go larger. Fewer lines Big stones need the space to move when you flip.
Doing both? Mix. Nothing says a tray has to be uniform. Two larges and six smalls in a Truby is a perfectly good answer, and it's the sort of thing you land on after a few projects.
The mistake worth avoiding
Buying all smalls because more wells sounds better.
If you mostly work in SS20 and up, a lot of small wells means constantly refilling and stones jamming when you flip. Match the wells to the stones you actually use, not the collection you imagine having.
You can always add. That's the point of the system.
