Jess Weatherbed is a news writer and part of our international team. Jess describes herself as “mostly a generalist who covers a wide range of stories before my US and Canadian colleagues jump online.” Their main beat, however, is with the creative industries, where they cover what tech and software they are using, how creators are being displaced, and more. We saw her wonderful Twinkly Strings setup when she showed us her home workspace last year and thought they looked great.
How did you first find out about Twinkly Strings?
A family friend had some of Twinkly’s outdoor range set up in their garden, and I was looking for customizable Christmas tree lights at the time. I hate the idea of keeping them in a box for most of the year, so my goal was to have something that I could use as general decor year-round, rather than buying something that could only live on the wall. I enjoyed the Twinkly Strings so much that I ended up buying two sets of the Flex light strips soon after to work into some wall murals.
How difficult were they to install?
Installation is easy for both. It takes a couple of minutes to go through pairing them with your home Wi-Fi network, but once that’s done, they should be pretty stable. I’ve purchased cheap RGB addressable lightbulbs that unpair from my wireless network if I so much as sneeze near them, but from what I can recall, I’ve only ever set the Twinkly lights up once.
The Strings are no harder to wrap around a tree than any traditional lights I’ve used, and they sit around a room nicely with some adhesive hooks. The Flex light strip is a bit more labor-intensive, as you ideally need to drill the wall attachments in. You can use the adhesive pads that come with it if you’re in a rental, but I found that those lose their “stick” easily and detach, especially in warmer weather.
What do you like about them?
They just work. I wasn’t happy about the price, but I’m glad I made the investment given my poor experiences with cheaper RGB lighting. I have them paired with smart home routines via Alexa so, for example, they switch on at sundown every day, and then turn themselves off at midnight. I can use voice commands to change the colors, or just open the app — it’s responsive, reliable, and lets me pick from a huge variety of presets or create my own custom designs. I host a lot of themed parties and social events, so it’s nice to quickly change them to suit whatever vibe I need. Plus, they bring so much color into my living space. The decor might not be to everyone else’s taste, but it suits mine perfectly.
Is there anything about either or both that you wish were different or that you think would improve them?
The plug end of the power adapter is massive and can get in the way if I have multiple things to hook up, sometimes covering free sockets entirely on extension strips. I also wish the Strings and Flex had an option with translucent cables so they’d be a bit easier to match with surrounding environments, but I’m nitpicking. The biggest issue is that they’re not cheap, so I’d love for them to be more affordable.
Who would you recommend them to?
If you’re looking for some customizable lighting accessories, these could spare you the headaches you might experience with cheaper products. They’re a tad overkill if you just want something that can jump between white, red, green, and so on, but for bright and gorgeous lighting effects, I’m really glad I splurged. My original set of Strings has survived daily use for around five years now with no signs of stopping, and they still bring me as much joy as the day I set them up.
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