Tombow Storage Tote Bag

This is a lovey large, roomy, beautifully-made storage bag. The bag material is good-quality threaded nylon and the combination of colors, finishes and embroidered logo made up a very good-looking bag. Both the upper reinforced handle and the shoulder bag are sturdy, and the latter is easily adjustable. 

My photos don't make it justice to the amount of stuff I've been able to put in, and there is still room for more.

The two Velcro separator individual sheets come handy to create different spaces within the bag, and can be moved and/or re-positioned easily. There are two mesh external elastic pouches that can hold plenty of stuff, and I store all my crayons and pastels flat tins in the front pocket. 

 

I don't use it to store my markers but to store a good deal of art & crafts supplies. 

 

THE WEAKEST LINKS

I find that the bag has three design flaws that rest quality to the product if used for anything that isn't markers. The first one is the average quality of the zips, that aren't sturdy enough to carry a fully loaded heavy bag. This mostly affects the upper zip, which is pulled every time I carry the bag.

 

I find that other type of containers hold and organize my markers, pens and pencils better (either vertically or horizontally) and I won't store mine upright here.

 

Finally, although the bag cover is very roomy, it has no reinforcement inside, which seems necessary to me to counteract the pressure put on it by the holder when the bag is full; the sewn attachments aren't strong enough and might eventually  break through here.

 

IN SHORT 

Great storage bag. Good looking. Very spacious. It allows me to store tons of stuff. Yet, the upper cover and the zips are a bit of a let down as they seem fit for a mass-produced bag not for a Tombow product. I will update this review in the future if necessary.

Read More

Uni Posca PC-1MR Marker White Ultra Fine 0.7mm Tip Nib

These are my least favourite of the Posca white range of markers. I'm a devotee of the brand and of their white markers, but this ultra-fine point one has been quite a disappointment. I bought these markers at a good price to use them in my mixed media projects to write and draw on acrylic paint. Like any other Posca marker, I have to pump it out the first time I use it for the ink to flow out. However, unlike the other white Posca markers, whose nibs retain ink for while and you have to re-pump them once in a while, these ones don't retain ink in the nib, so the ink doesn't flow naturally and I have to pump them out or shake them continuously. What's worse, the quality and saturation of the lines are deficient. Just frustrating. I won't be buying this finer point nib again.

Read More

Sakura Pigma Micron 6 Fineliner Set (01/03/05/08/10/12) Black

bought this set of Microns not only to have good-quality permanent archival liners, but also because I wanted markers with bigger nibs than the usual. These markers go from size 1 to 12 (no fine or micro point nibs) so they're perfect for my mixed media projects as liners, fillers and mark making tools. They are precise and don't smudge. See my swatch photo to get an idea of the nib thickness. I love these markers design, which is immediately recognisable and also perfect to read the text on them; the size number is clearly visible both on the cap top and on the pen body, something that I love as I can easily find the size I want no matter the markers are stored vertically or horizontally. I bought this for a good price, so this is a bonus.

Read More

Youshares Colored Pencil Case 166 Slots Pen Case Organizer

PROS 

> Beautiful exterior design. 

> Good quality sturdy materials. 

> It accommodates tons of my drawing stuff: different kinds and lengths of markers, pencils, crayons and what's not. See my photos. 

> The elastic bands aren't individual but 2-3 joint together, large ones, which comes handy to put different sizes of pens together still keeping them all secure. 

> Great to carry around. 

 

CONS 

> A bit bulky. 

> Takes lots of space in my drawer and it's not easy to accommodate in small spaces. > Zip area a bit too tight or close to the inner trays.

Read More

Uni-Posca PC-7M Art Paint Marker

Posca markers are my fav acrylic markers because of the quality of the ink, container pen and nib. This is one of the larger Posca markers and has a round nib. The marker has a beautiful black matte colour and glides easily on watercolour paper (180, 200 and 300 gsm are the ones I usually use them with) without bleeding. I use it for dotting, creating bold marks in my artwork, and to fill small tricky spots in paintings. Ink is water-based so I give it a minute or two to dry off before applying any medium or any other paint on top because it smudges. It prefer to use it when the artwork is almost finished just to contour, fill in gaps and add extra marks. The nib is removable and washable. The only thing that annoys me about the nib is the fact that, when you first get the marker, you have to pump it for an eternity for the ink to come out. The nib gets easily ruined if used on wet painted surfaces, and, although it can be washed, sometimes the damage is not repairable. For the rest, this is one of my art supplies staples.

Read More

Ohuhu Dual-Tip Brush Pen & Fineliner Color Markers, 36 Colors

This is an amazing value for money set The variety of colours is wonderful. These markers are like mini Tombows minus the price tag. Most of the caps match the real marker colour. I've compared and tested them against my Tombows and here are the results: 1/ The Ohuhus have a finer fine point nib, but the brush tip is very similar although smaller. 2/ These markers are shorter, so I'm just guessing that the inner barrel contains less product, which can be expected for the price. 3/ As the Ohuhus are shorter than the Tombows they're easier to store vertically in my pen holder. 4/I have tested them with water, and they react the same to water and on the same paper, no noticeable difference, as per photo. 4/ The external barrel material is cheaper and lighter, which has its pros and cons.

The colour chat that comes with the set is not really good as the real colours look different, as per my photo.

The packaging is OK.

Most pleased with this markers set and with the brand, as this is the third product that I buy from them and it has a great quality/price ratio.

Read More

Tsukineko Fabrico Dual Tip Marker, 116 Peony Purple

This purple water-based ink marker is just beautiful and great quality. I don't use this marker on fabric but in my media projects. It works very similar to my Tombows as it is also water-based. It is permanent once it dries off. The instructions on the pen say to store it horizontally. I have it vertical on my pen holder and I haven't seen any issue with that.

Read More

Chalkola White Chalk Markers Set (1mm, 3mm, 6mm, 10mm, 15mm)

This is a great set of chalk markers in different sizes. The markers are really good quality and they come with a set of sticker tags that you can use around your home for quick notes or to-do lists. I have mine stuck to my laptop, desk and fridge. A sponge eraser is also part of the set and erases the chalk completely with no effort, so the tags can be used endlessly. The different sizes are perfect to use for personal noting or to write big lettering or messages on glass or any large surface. I also use these markers on my art journaling as permanent marker when the surface is porous, but not on gessoed, ModPodged areas or on pastel colours as, otherwise, they aren't permanent. For the rest, they are great value for money.

Read More

Tombow Fude Brush Pen, Fudenosuke, (GCD-112) Soft

I love this soft brush pen. It's extremely pleasurable to use, and the results on paper are what you can expect from a quality brush pen minus the mess I get from other brush pens on the same price range. I love the tiny Kanji plastic template included in the package. Mind: The instructions and labelling are all in Japanese.

Read More