So, you're looking for places in Singapore that sell Prismacolor colored pencils. The short answer is, Art Mark...
They stock all sorts of Prismacolor sets; Verithin, Premier sets of 12, 24, 48, 72, 132, and even the latest set of 150. I even saw a set of 23 colors Isn't that an odd number? They also stock NuPastels, colorless blenders, and open stocked Premiers, Verithin, Col-erase pencils, mixed media sets, and even Prismacolor markers. What I'm saying is that Art Mart is pretty much the go-to store for Prismacolor products.
What really excites me, though, is that they do have a small number of US made Premier pencils in open stock. I bought a "Ginger Root" for SGD $2.80. Slightly pricey- I thought they went at a dollar plus. But worth it for the quality assurance. Not all colors are made in the US of A though. I tried to get an "Orange" from the US batch but alas, they were out. You have to look out for the USA or MEXICO stamp on each pencils. An easy way to tell which is which is by the color of the printed words on the pencils. Gold lettering are US made pencils, the silver letterings are from the Mexico batch. I also think that they have a different pricing system for the different batches.
One of the things I do not like about their store is that prices are not stated. They have a pricing book from which they scan the prices from. So if you want to know the price of something, you'll just have to ask.
NuPastels
Open stock Premiers
Verithin, Col-Erase
Look out for the "USA" embossed on the end of each pencil.
Side by side comparison of "Ginger Root".
Top, Mexico made- silver lettering. Bottom, USA made- gold lettering.
They're located at #04-35, Bras Basah Complex, Blk 231, Bain Street, Singapore 180231. Give them a ring at (65) - 6338 0820. Or visit their website; http://www.artmark.com.sg/
Please note; I am not affiliated with Art Mark in any ways, and I do not receive any commission from any sales, nor are they paying me to write about them on this blog. I just want to get this information out to the public.
If you'd like to see a list of stores to get your art materials in Singapore, click here.
If you have any questions, write to me at < stephanie_jennifer@ymail.com > and I'll try my best to help you.
I hope you found this post helpful and would love to hear from you in the comment section below. :)
Hi, i just came across your website.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering any chances that you might know where to get stonehenge paper?
I've been to Popular and Art Friend in Bras Basha, but can't find it yet.
If you can find Stonehenge paper in a regular store in Singapore, do inform me as well because I would LOVE to know where to get some. Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteArt Mark sells Bristol board. Art Friend sells Derwent and Canson. Other than that; buy online. Amazon.com, and DickBlick.com. Use coupons, and wait for sales. :)
www.thepaperparlour.sg
DeleteHi Stephanie, I have some questions on buying things on Amazon or DickBlick.. How do you know if it's safe to buy.. I mean.. on Amazon, some are sold by other suppliers etc.. I am extremely new to buying things online.. I want to get the Prismacolor Colored Pencils and I went to check it out at Art Mark.. It is sooooo expensive; I am looking to buying them online cause it seems like it's cheaper.. Any advice please?
ReplyDeleteBuying online is definitely cheaper. For Amazon, if it's sold by other suppliers, you have to see the reviews for them. Credit card companies are usually quite protective of their clients so if (touch wood) the supplier doesn't send the products, you can inform your bank of the case.
DeleteDickBlick and Amazon and very large companies and they do try to give as good customer service as they can.
And also, what kind of paper should I use for pastel and color pencil drawings?
ReplyDeleteGood resources for coloured pencils:
Deletehttp://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267524
http://colored-pencil-studio.com/
Different artists prefer different supports (papers). It really depends on the type of style you have, the subjects you're drawing, and the type of medium you're using. I recommend trying different papers to see which you like best.
As for pastels; there are papers specifically marketed for pastels. You can go to Art Friend and ask a staff for assistance.
Hope that helps~
Hi, is this the only place that stocks prismacolour? The two times I've been there, the shop owners (old middle age man and woman) were really rude and snappy. Asking any questions about other art supplies just results in, "Why would I know such things? Go and find out yourself." Utterly trashy behaviour that makes me not wanna buy anything from them anymore. Do you think Art Friend stocks prismacolour as well?? Or other art stores?
ReplyDeleteOh, sweet lord, I've had a similar experience with them before. And then there's this one creepy weird male salesperson that followed me around the shop the entire time I was there and made me really uncomfortable.... *sighs*
DeleteArt Friend does not stock Prismas, unfortunately. I have no idea why.
Straits Art Co. does stock them though. It's a shop owned by two brothers and they really are very nice people whom are very generous with their knowledge on art products. The other staffs are quite pleasant as well. Highly recommended.
Location: North Bridge Centre #01-27, 420 North Bridge Road, (S)188727
Ring ring: 6338 1710
I'd also like to give you a head's up of Prismacolor's quality drop since they started manufacturing their pencils in Mexico: http://www.everythingis-art.com/2012/05/prismacolors-quality-drop.html
For everything else coloured pencil related, an awesome resource is here: http://colored-pencil-studio.com/
And~ If you have any other questions, my inbox is always open. :)
Excuse me, is it an international art store? Can they send the material to Indonesia? Thanks before.. :)
ReplyDeleteArt Mark is definitely NOT an international store. Neither do I recommend you shop there.
DeleteYou'd be better off buying from Amazon.com or DickBlick.com. I'm sure both sites will ship to Indonesia. :)
how much are the premiere sets sold for?
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on how big of a set you want to get....
DeleteYou can enquire them by calling. Their contact details is listed in the "business enquiry" section of their site.
http://www.artmark.com.sg
Hope that helps. :)
I wonder if at artfriend sell gamsol for blending pencil?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about that.
DeleteBut I do know they sell these blender pen by Derwent.
Link: http://www.everythingis-art.com/2015/01/try-out-thursday-derwent-blender-pens.html?m=1
You can also use an old brush to work the pigment into your paper. Or, a colourless blender pencil. All those work well too. :)
Do you know where in sg sell manga tools? Like lightbox, gpen and stuff
DeleteLightbox; Art Friend.
DeleteGpen; never heard of it before, so I can't help you there.
Art Friend sells lots of Copic markers and other manga pens. Art Mark as well; although I don't like Art Mark for their poor customer service...
Do you know how much the lightbox cost?
ReplyDeleteExpensive. Hahaha
DeleteBut in all seriousness; no, I do not know. You'll have to check with the Art Friend store closest to you to find out.
https://artfriendonline.com/OnlineUsers/locates
I go there once but i see there is no lightbox only tablet. Now im confused. I never go to bras basah complex before so i dont know and im not singaporean so i have a very limited info
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely sure whether Bras Basah's Art Friend sells lightboxes, but I'm quite sure Dhoby Ghaut's Art Friend sells them.
DeleteThat's why I always recommend calling the branch you're visiting to enquire whether a product is available or not. I assume you live in Singapore..? I'll say this again; I am not a sales representative. I am an artist and help others with their questions, but I cannot be finding out the exact prices of all the materials you need for you. Please give Dhoby Ghaut's Art Friend a call to ask them whether they have light boxes.
If you'd like to ask any more questions, you can contact me via my email: stephanie_jennifer@ymail.com
Ok thanks for the info. No im not live in sg. I only go there during the holiday
DeleteYou're welcome. I hope you find your lightbox the next time you come to Singapore.
DeleteI have a great recommendation from you thanks intry the derwent blender pen. Ok will try colorsoft. I search online that farber castell polychromos is actually quite same as prisma. Do you know where to buy the open stock for it?
DeleteYes. Polychromos are similar to Prismas. Faber Castell has a flagship store at ION Orchard, #04-13, Singapore 238801.
DeleteBut you have to buy six of each colour if you want to get open stock pencils. That's why I recommend Coloursoft- you can easily get them open stock at Art Friend.
Hope that helps~
Hi stephanie jennifer..dont mind me asking,about the Open stock Premiers
ReplyDeleteHow much is it per colour ?
Hi there,
DeleteI do not know the exact prices of one Prismacolor pencil. However, in sets, the prices are as follows:
Prismacolor set of:
12- $32 (at Art Mark)
132- $324 (at Straits Art. Co)
150- $365 (at Art Mark)
So I would say it's SGD2 plus per pencil.
Do note that I strongly suggest against buying Prismas as their quality has dropped as they're now made in Mexico instead of the US... I now recommend Derwent's Coloursoft instead. They're available at Art Friend in open stock and in sets, are affordable, lightfast, and are beautifully vibrant. :)
Hope that helps~
Kind Regards,
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, I was wondering, does Art Mark or Art Friend sell Prismacolor Watercolor pencils? I live in Singapore, but far from Town and Bras Basah so I'm not too sure whether they have any since I've not checked. Thank you so so much for all your info in this page! I've been referencing all your info and putting in mind all the tips and reviews. Art Mark certainly isn't really friendly to adults especially. I went inside, and witnessed the lady snapping at a man about something he asked, but when I j asked if the paper I was looking at could hold watercolor and what it's good with, the lady told me almost everything about it, which was true, because I searched all her info and they were correct... I wonder if that was just luck, considering I've done it so many times- asking questions on the products I mean- and getting good answers, like Art Friend. Which I love.
ReplyDeleteHello there,
DeleteI have never actually seen Prismacolor watercolor pencils. However, I also have never looked for then, so I might have missed them. As Art Mark is the sole distributor of Prismas, your best bet would be to give them a call to ask.
I have no idea what kind of people the staff at Art Mark serves well/doesn't, but it isn't the first time I've heard bad things about that. However, to be fair to them; most customers are more prone to complain about bad customer service but not compliment good customer service.
Alternatives! You can get watercolour pencils by Derwent at Art Friend. They sell them in sets and in open stock so they'd be easy to replace. You can also buy from Amazon or Dick Blick.
I hope that helps~ I'm glad you like my blog and find it informative. I try my best to pass my knowledge on art and art materials to others. ^-^
Hi! I'm looking to buy some Prismacolor color pencils, but I don't want to buy a whole set, I sort of just want to buy a few Col-Erase red prismacolor pencils. Does Straits Art Co. only sell the sets, or can I go and just grab a few color pencils? And how much would they cost for each pencil?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to buy a few Faber Castell polychromos color pencils, and I saw you mention in one of the previous comments that they have a flagship store in Orchard? Is the store still there o-o and how much does one of the polychromos cost over there?
Thank you :>
Straits Art Co sells a very limited selection of Prismas. You might want to give them a call to ask whether they sell Col-Erase. They usually cost a little less than $3 each.
DeleteYou cannot easily buy Polys anywhere in Singapore. Yes; Faber Castell's flagship store at ion is still open. If you want to buy their pencils in open stock, you'll have to buy at least six of each colour. Which is a horrible idea, and I'd recommend you to just buy a set instead.
You can find info on prices of coloured pencils in this post: http://www.everythingis-art.com/2013/09/prices-of-art-material-in-singapore.html?m=1
Hope that helps~
Which is better in terms of quality and effect - prismas or polys?
ReplyDeleteI definitely support Polys when making that comparison. Prismas have suffered a drop in quality since changing its manufacturer. You get warped pencils, broken leads, split wood casing...... it's terrible. Polys are also more lightfast. However, I do feel that Prismas come in a wider range of colours and are easier to purchase in singles in Singapore.
DeleteSo Polys are better huh.
ReplyDeleteArtmark is only polite when you pay big bucks. They actually offer classes and when I was a student the shop people were smiling and polite but when i went there years later they were rude.
What happened was I bought a Prismacolour openstock NP BLue pencil and its not what I expected. Usually i get it from Art Friend but its sold out.
There was completely no colour and I thought pressing hard would help. still no colour - all I was doing was carving the paper up. So I brought it back but the man told me off saying I didn't know what I was doing. The lady came up and together both of them ganged up on me. The lady even thought that my pencil (clearly sharpened and not a new display product) was the shop's and tried to put it back on the shelf. I asked for exchange/refund and they refused so I said to them "Well if you won't exchange for me I want my pencil back. I already bought it." The lady then shouted at me for being rude!
I took the pencil and told her off and walked out of there. Its a pity if they are the only shop with Prismas because they definitely charge way more than Art Friend. (not a significant improvement though. Art shops in Singapore have not much competition so the service and products leave much to be desired)