raw materials

The drumbeat we’ve been hearing for Copic Markers has started to get deafening, and we are looking at bringing in at least a small selection of them right away, and we plan to expand our selection over the summer.

But which type of Copic markers do you really want? The original Copic marker normally sells for $6.49*, and there is a wide range of replacement nibs available. The Copic Sketch marker also retails for $6.49, has a more limited range of nibs available, but comes with a “Super Brush” nib that isn’t available for the original Copic markers.

What do you prefer? Which should we bring in first? Leave a comment here or on Facebook, drop us an email, or just Twitter us.

* That’s the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP. We will almost certainly sell it for less. We don’t take those suggestions very well.

Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks are perfect for rainy days (I guess that explains the name), or they are also good for using in the hot tub, shower, or other more likely wet environment in our generally-not-rainy climate.

Together with an appropriate pen (like the Fisher space pen, available with the ‘Rite-in-the-Rain’ logo on it) or an old trusty pencil, this specially-coated paper just shrugs off the water.

Get these unique notebooks for 10% off on any rainy day.

Moleskine Folio Notebooks are huge: these aren’t the notebook for your back pocket! They are just like their little siblings, and feature a hardbound cover, elastic closure, cloth ribbon placeholder and an expandable accordion back pocket. Each book contains off-white, acid-free, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper in a durable thread-bound binding. The A4 format books measure 8¼” x 11¾” and the A3 format books measure 11¾” x 16½”. We have both the plain and lined varieties in stock right now.

You can bid on one autographed by celebrities backstage during rehearsals and show day of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards Telecast, or you can come by and check out the pristine ones we have in the store. Get one before the end of February and we’ll throw in a free Stabilo Bionic Pen. (And check back for more on those new pens soon!)

We finally found a supplier of pre-made frames with a quality we were happy with, and it turns out they were practically in our back yard. Framatic is a Southern California company that makes pre-made frames including several lines of “seamless” frames. We’ve started out with a small selection of frames in black and white from their Modern line, as well as some larger Superlight poster frames. These are an affordable alternative to the custom framing services that we offer, and work well with the pre-cut mats from Logan that we stock.

For the month of February, get a free pre-cut mat with the purchase of any pre-made frame. We’ll be working to build out our selection of pre-made frames and mats in the months to come.

We have had a few of the Ivory Black Oilbars from Winsor & Newton in stock for a while now, as well as a set of Slim Oilbars, but we’ve recently added more colors of the original size of Oilbars.

Here’s what they have to say about them:

Artists’ Oilbar is an artists’ quality oil colour in stick form, enabling you to paint and draw freely and directly onto your surface. It is a unique medium because it provides the artist with the buttery consistency and richness of oil colour together with the freedom and directness of pastels or charcoal.

Oilbar is fundamentally different from oil pastels or oil crayons due to its unique formulation. Each of the 35 colours in the range are produced by combining artists’ quality pigments with linseed oil, into which are blended specially selected waxes. To provide further flexibility, Oilbar sticks are available in three different sizes.

Winsor & Newtown Oilbars are 20% off every day. If we don’t already have a color that you’re looking for, let us know! We’ll be working to expand our selection to include the whole line.

The Pilot Parallel Pen is a breakthrough in calligraphy pen design. The pen features a nib that consists of two parallel plates, allowing the writer to produce lines sharper than existing calligraphy pens. Ink cartridges can be switched in the pen to create gradated color lines and mixed colors. Available in four different nib sizes, each set comes with a Parallel pen, one black and one red ink cartridge, a converter to clean the pen and a nib cleaner. Refills in many colors are also available. Get your own Parallel Pen for 20% off for a limited time.

Made by a local FIDM graduate, these art marker and pencil holders are perfect for carrying around the Prismacolor markers and pencils that you stocked up on during our 40% off sale. The marker holder holds 49 markers and is $19.99, and the pencil holder holds 38 pencils and is $15.99.

The new Artist Canvas Folds from Art Alternatives are premium grade, natural, unbleached artist canvas, and ready for priming with either oil or acrylic primers. They are excellent for painting with oils, acrylics or alkyds. These two-yard folds of canvas are perfect for students or professionals requiring just enough canvas in easy-to-transport packaging. The folds come in three weights (7oz, 10oz, and 12oz) and two sizes (52″ or 72″ by 2 yards), and are 20% off every day.

The 8-piece Prismacolor Manga Illustration Marker Set includes both black and sepia markers with fine line, brush, and chisel tips. These are archival quality, lightfast, permanent and acid-free illustration markers. While supplies last, when you buy one of the sets (at 40% off: only $13.80) you’ll get a free 11 x 17″ Strathmore Smooth Bristol Pad perfect for sequential art.

The Pilot Hi-Tec-C has been a long sought-after pen for many pen enthusiasts (I’m not kidding — they have blogs), but until recently it has only been available via importers. The Pilot G-Tec-C Micro-Rollerball Pen is the same pen, repackaged and slightly rebranded for the international market. The pens come in three sizes, 0.25mm, 0.30mm, and the (comparitively) huge 0.4mm, and in black, blue, or red. Get your own version of this infamous pen for 20% off for a limited time.