Showing posts with label school supplies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school supplies. Show all posts

3/07/2022

Yuroochii 360-Degree Rotating Pen Holder, 3 Slots

This pen holder looks small, but it's actually very roomy, holds tons of stuff and, that being the case, it saves desktop space. It rotates beautifully. No assembling required. It is made of good antique-white plastic, very skandie if you want, so it looks great anywhere you put it. Good value for money.

Kasimir Drawing Pencils 14pcs/set (12B 10B 8B 7B 6B 5B 4B 3B 2B B HB 2H 4H 6H)

This is a surprisingly good kit of drawing pencils with different degrees of softness, thickness and intensity at an excellent price. I have used several of them in my drawings, and I'm really happy with them. I would have loved having a charcoal stick included and the package to be a tin, not cardboard, but that's me being picky.

3/05/2022

Kaisercraft Colour Acrylic Paint, Sage

I have many of these tubes. Needless to say, they aren't acrylic. They're cheap gouaches. However, the pigments are great and they are great value for money. Great for beginners on a budget. The sage colour is really pretty, especially when dry, but I have noticed that this tube is way runnier than other pigments. I've used this straight from the tube, without mixing it with water, and it has poor coverage and is really watery. Due to being water-based, the pigment dries lighter than the colour you get fresh from the tube.

3/03/2022

Arteza Eraser Pencil with Brush and Sharpener Set

I have mixed feelings about this eraser. To be frank, I expected this to be excellent, because Arteza is a reputed arts supplier. However, this pack didn't match my expectations.

THE GOOD
> The rubber part is excellent and removes graphite traces that other good-brand erasers don't.
> These pencils are really perfect to erase small areas and for shading/ highlighting.
> I initially thought that the sharpener was unnecessary, as I have plenty of similar sharpeners. However, this one is especially designed to sharpen rubber and, after using it, I've realised that this is the one that sharpens the rubber perfectly.
> The brush is perfect to remove eraser/graphite dust.
> Good value for money as there are FIVE pencil erasers with attached brush plus the sharpener.

NOT SO GOOD
> When sharpening the eraser, part of it is wasted.
> If, by any chance, you use the sharpener a a bit over, the fine point rubber will break and it will be wasted.
> The brush is too stiff. I would rather have one stand alone medium quality brush than one bad one attached to each pencil.
> Due to the rubber waste mentioned above, these pencils last less than smaller fine push-up erasers.

2/27/2022

Kaisercraft KAKC002 Kaiser Colour Acrylic Paint, Antique White

I'm a fan of these acrylic water-soluble brand and tubes. I consider this more a gouache than a proper acrylic, though. It is a great product for beginners at a very affordable price, and the tube it has a generous amount of paint in it. The paint is a bit more liquid than other similar acrylics I own and the hue changes a bit when dry.

This antique white colour is just beautiful on its own and perfect to mix with skin colour hues and get a more natural look. It is a white warm, not beige, but it has a hint of beige. Actually, if I had to give it a name that perfectly describes the colour, I would say 'vanilla', as it looks like the colour vanilla ice-cream usually has.

The thing I don't like about this tube is that the top cap and base are too small and thin, respectively, to hold the tube vertically, so I have to store this horizontally and, this being the case, it takes a lot of space.

Kaisercraft KAKC017 Colour Acrylic Paint, Navy Blue

I'm a fan of these Kaisercraft gouache/water-soluble acrylic paint tubes, as they're reasonably good for the price and have a decent quantity of product in them.

I usually find the name the brand gives to the colours accurate as it reflects the known colour or it rightly hints to what we can expect. However, in this case I find that the blue is not navy blue, it is too light for that. The thing is, on the exterior, it actually looks like navy-blue, but the paint itself does not, as per my swatches above. On the other hand, this blue is just wonderful and can be diluted to get lighter blue tones as per my photo above.

MIND
> Liquid body not medium or heavy body acrylic. Almost a glaze.
> This is a water-soluble acrylic. I read this as a gouache, which is OK with me.
> The colour changes considerably when dry, this is because of the water-soluble nature of it.
> The tube cannot be placed vertically due to the cap being tiny, so it has to be stored horizontally.

2/19/2022

NBEST 360-degree rotating multi-functional pen holder, 3 slots

I had one of those square pen holders that are so trendy now, but it takes a lot of space on my desk and the pens come off easily. This being the case, I decided to give this holder a try. I wasn't really sure if this would save me space, rotate smoothly or hold all my stuff. I am very impressed with this little holder. It takes half of the space than the other pen holder, it rotates beautifully and holds tons of stuff. This is plastic, but good quality one. The cream colour makes it fit in with any decor, especially skandy and minimalist spaces like my study. I'm in love with this.

2/12/2022

Deli Soft Oil Pastels Set of 48 Standard Assorted Colors

This is a great set of oil pastels for beginners. It's really cheap, the quality is excellent for the price, like better than expected, and the selection of colours is terrific as the package contains a mix of primary, secondary and pastel colours. Easy to use and spread, although not as spreadable as good quality ones. On the other hand, I wish these ones have points, a la crayons, to make use easier while drawing lines or filling in corners or narrow spaces. I love this set.

DS DISTINCTIVE STYLE 20-Piece Round Foam Brush Set, 4 sizes

This a very generous package of round foams in different sizes, each set packaged individually. The handles are made of wood not plastic, something that I love. The different sizes are great to work on different kinds of projects. Quality is average and the small foam items get damaged rapidly when used, as I do, with stencils and ink. On the other hand, if you want to use them for painting and/or spreading medium/gesso/ModPodge on paper, they are fine. So, it depends what you use them for. Overall, this is a nice product, with a good selection of sizes and well packaged, but it deteriorates rapidly if used with ink over stencils.

1/30/2022

Westcott Office and School Ruler

I'm a bit disappointed with the quality of this ruler. I bought this one because I own a couple of plastic rulers and I needed something steadier and with some grip to draw lines with ink pens and paintings, so this seemed ideal. The steel is good, but also feeble and wobbly, not strong enough. This being the case, the ruler is not steady enough. Also, for whatever reason, the lines don't come up clean. It doesn't help that the cork at the base has some edge, as it doesn't cover the full ruler belly and I think contributes to the wobbliness. It would not use this with paints or ink pens, just to measure or use with pencil.

Multifunctional Geometric Ruler

This is a very good quality beautiful easy to clean geometric ruler that I use mostly to draw lines and shapes when painting or scrap-booking. I love the fact that I can use it a ruler, as a protractor, to create circles, triangles and other geometric shapes. Easy to clean even when I use it with Indian ink. It comes in a handy plastic pouch and instructions leaflet. Unfortunately, everything is written in Chinese.

1/22/2022

Quill Premium PP Visual Art Diary, 125gsm A4 120 Pages, Black

This is a decent quality notepad for drawing with pencils, charcoal and pastels. Not good for gouache, tempera or watercolor as it bleeds, and you'd need to apply gesso for a sheet to hold any water or ink painting. Paper not good either for permanent ink makers; a normal sharpie ink would go through. I wanted this for doodles and to try stuff before using my good quality pad, so that's OK, but this is not a paper I would use with any water or permanent ink medium. Elastic strap came out of one of the holes. Good quality cover and back.

Kaisercraft CS757 Sheet Music Texture Clear Stamp


Beautifully detailed, this stencil is easy to use and can be used with an array of art mediums (gouache, watercolor and ink.) This stamp is made of clear silicone, bass-relieved, so the end result is quite polished. Easy to clean even when used with solvent ink.

1/19/2022

1/18/2022

MAPED Foldable Plastic Ruler

This is a very pretty folding ruler that can be put away easily and looks good if on display. The multi-leveled texture allows me to draw different lines without moving the ruler. On the other hand, the ruler is not steady, so it tends to move easily, so your lines might be broken. Average quality. I think this is great for kids. The price reflects the quality.

1/02/2022

BlueFire Colored Water-soluble Professional 72-Pencil Set

THE GOOD
> The package is really elegant, well presented and organized.
> The set contains 72 colored pencils plus a complimentary brush, with enough diversity of colors to do coloring and work on shadows and mid-tones.
> OK as coloring pencils.
> The tiny coloring Fantasy Dream is really beautiful.
> Good priced for the amount of colors you get.

THE NOT SO GOOD
> These are watercolor pencils, but once you apply water, the color is barely there. I expected, for sure, the color to dilute and be less vibrant once it becomes watercolor, but the dilution of the color was dramatic, like the pigment doesn't hold much with the water because the pigment is not good.
> The brush doesn't help much with the water-coloring, as the color didn't spread well, the bristles hold too much water and there aren't enough bristles in it for the water to be more evenly distributed.
> Color chart on the box doesn't match the pencil colors in the box. Also, there are discrepancies in the numbering on the pencils, with some of the numbers missing or just wrongly numbered.
> The color trays arrived with the colors all mixed up as per my photo, not color organized, so I had to spend an hour organizing the pencils properly.
> Bad quality pencil body and lead that break and bristle easily, like just getting the pencil out of the grip.
> The holding tray is made of plastic, and the grips where the pencils are held, tend not to be stable, so once I get one out, others pop up on their own.

OVERALL
This is a good set for just coloring, not so much if you want professional watercolor pencils. Quality of the pencils overall is average and they're easily breakable.

3/27/2021

4/02/2012

Officeworks Online Shop (Australia)


I recently ordered some Microsoft Software online from Officeworks, as the store in Perth city did not have it, and it was taking ages to get it from Sydney. I cancelled my order with the store and I put my order online, using their website, with great results and satisfaction.

The website is very easy to browse and to add items to your shopping cart. However, you have to register to be able to purchase, which is something that could easily be avoided if they had a "purchase as a guest" option; this also would certainly generate more business for them, as many people are put off by online registrations. Nevertheless, I am surprised at how serious they are, and the fact that you can customise your account so you don't receive any promotional mail/email. That is always a guarantee of seriousness to me. The only down is the tracking area, which does not show activity beyond the "order received". I don't call this a tracking device, but an "order received" device. A tracking device not only shows the receipt of the order, but also the dispatch of the parcels and the different transit spots of the same; this was never the case when I checked my account. That could be certainly improved; if you don't live in a city area or you put your order on a Friday evening, is takes about 4 days for your parcel to arrive, and you want to know if the parcel has been dispatched.

The website states that the delivery is done in the next two working days for free in city areas by courier if your over is over $55. I thought that, like in many other websites, the statement was a declaration of intentions, but they were actually right and serious about their commitment, and I got my items delivered on the same day. This has happened every time I have ordered. I am most impressed.

Officeworks offer some of the best prices for the office and school supplies in Australia, with frequent specials, clearings, and regular discount catalogues. What is more important, they offer a super-easy to shop online and get your order at home in time record. 

Actually, after my experience with the real store, I prefer their online service. That is a lot to say.

The only thing I don't like about the online store is their idiotic patronising censorship on reviews. No wonder most items don't have any.

Most recommended!


UPDATE JANUARY 2015

I still love Officeworks and I buy a good deal of staff online from them. The people on the phone at Customer Service are usually lovely, but there are a few issues that you have to beware of:
> You can be waiting for your call to be taken by a representative about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, you are bombarded with Officworks self-promotion. What happened to the right music being used? Or, "your call has progressed in the cue message"? Or the minimum period wait is X sort of message?  
> Customer Service can give you contradictory replies to the same question.
> They don't tell you aproximate time of delivery.
> They cannot contact the driver to tell you an approximate time of delivery either, or if they are going to be in the morning or afternoon. So you cannot leave your place unless you want your purchase to be leaved at your door and trust the Universe that nobody will take it.
> The delivery on the same day tick box is not  on view any longer. It used to be clearly visible. Now, the next business day delivery is used as a default, so bear that in mind.
> The track your order in your account is completely worthless and inaccurate. What is the point in having a tracking system that does not do just that?

UPDATE 3/12/2019


I've been buying from Officeworks for years having different local stores as home store where the supplies would be dispatched.

POSITIVES
> They free delivery minimum expenditure is low and easy to achieve.
> You can get your items delivered on the next day if you order a day ahead or that day before 11. I've done that multiple times and received my parcels in less than 24 hours.
> Pricing of products online is the same as products in store.
> Huge selection of items.
> Great return policies.
> Friendly delivery guys.
> Customer service operators on the phone have always been extremely kind and helpful.

NEGATIVES
> The main downside is that, depending on the store you set as your default, you will get a better or worse service. However, you can manually change that. I have done as one of the stores I used to provide me with supplies for my last relocation were sending wrong numbers or not sending them or double sending then. I changed the store, and problem solved.
> Office chairs used to be part of the next day delivery for free. However, that's not the case these days, and you have to pay 30+ bucks for being considered a bulky item, and next day delivery isn't guaranteed.
> There are online and local retailers selling some of the products they sell at cheaper prices, printer cartridges among them.

My experience is very positive overall.