I have a lot of art supplies. A lot. Especially when it comes to markers and colored pencils. Like hundreds and hundreds.
When you have the biggest set of multiple lines of colored pencils and then you go crazy buying Copic markers and Winsor & Newton Pigment markers (which, by the way, need to be stored flat rather than up-ended in a pen holder!) … well, you quickly realize that traditional drawers aren’t going to do it.
Storing the markers and pencils in the tins they arrived in works – to a point. It’s not as easy to see all the colours at a glance, and you wind up with a ton of pencils scattered all over your desktop when you are trying to work on a drawing.
So I finally caved and got real storage. Those pastel storage boxes are really versatile, and there are a bunch of options for the number of drawers you want.
The most popular seem to be the 3-drawer variety and Amazon has even elevated this 3-drawer Art Alternatives pastel box with the Amazon’s Choice label.
It’s gorgeous, nicely finished and stained, lined with foam (model A only … model B ships without the foam!), with dividers inside so you can separate your pencils from your erasers or pastels or pens or whatever. If you are shipped the model without foam, the solution is simple: just line the drawers with shelf liner!
Unfortunately, for all its pluses, this particular brand does not come in a 5-drawer model. And you remember I said I have a lot of art supplies. So I had two choices: either buy multiple Art Alternatives 3-drawer boxes, or find a company that had a larger box. I went with option 2.
The Vencer 5 Drawer Wood Art Storage Box is perfect for my needs: it has 5 drawers, and the price was right. While the box isn’t as nicely finished as the Art Alternatives box, it’s functional and I can paint the outside if it really bugs me.
One minor annoyance was that the dividers are glued in place (unlike the other box), but it was easy enough to wiggle them back and forth until they came off and then I can replace them to where I wanted them! Well, in my case, I simply removed them altogether to make room for more supplies.
Tip: if you find the drawers sticking as you pull them out, simply rub soap along the edge where it sits on the runner … problem solved!