Website review.

This is twofold. Firstly have you heard about Willowing's Life Book online course. This is a year long course, starting in January. Please take a look at that link and treat yourself, the cost is low considering what you get in return, and supplies needed are minimal too. you will have a wonderful year, learn so much, meet and share with over 200 other people who are doing the course...and it will be fun!

I have signed up, and I cant wait to get started in January. In preparation I ordered some new crayons.

Now you may have noticed how I adore my Neocolor IIs, watersoluble crayons. They are gorgeous crayons, beautiful to work with and the results are always pleasing. If you decide to do the Willowing Life Book, you will see that Tamara uses these crayons too. They are mentioned in the supplies list as are Derwent Inktense pencils.

I am very lucky to have the tin of 84 Neocolors, but there are in fact 126 colours, so I searched online to find some single colours to add to my collection. I did first try a local art shop, with no luck.

So I googled 'neocolor crayons uk'...several sites came up and I checked them all out for prices, and came back to the second on the search list which was ..

Pencils4Artists

I ordered my crayons, late at night..and within 3 working days they were here. I popped them away in a drawer, pleased with the prompt delivery and price. The problem came when I went to use the new ones. I selected a blue crayon, used it on a project and then proceeded to blend with a damp paintbrush, only it wouldnt...blend that is. Kinda puzzled, I started the project again, got to the same point, used the blue crayon and again it wouldnt blend. Only at this point did I read the label, and was gutted to see it was a Neocolor I.

Neocolor do two types of crayons. The I's  and the II's. The I's are just regular wax crayons, the II's are watersoluble.

So I was a bit annoyed to say the least and quickly sent off a letter to pencils4artists, explaining the problem and asking them to replace the blue crayon. I checked the rest of the delivery, and they were all correct.

Now this is the reason why I am blogging about what happened.


The next day I received an email from Alan at pencils4artists . The email was very courteous and apologetic. Alan explained he had checked his stock and all of that particular shade were Neo I's, not only annoying for me, but hassle for them too as they don't even stock the Neo I's. He very generously offered to send me 10 other crayons to make up for the blue being incorrect. I thought this was above and beyond the service I would have expected. So I emailed back with a list of colours and within 2 working days they were here, all correct.

So because of their excellent customer service I wanted to tell you all about them. Not only are their communications polite, their delivery is prompt and their prices are very competitive. In fact taking into account postage/minimum spend, I couldnt find anywhere cheaper for single crayons.

so I urge you to take a look at their website 


The site is very well laid out. With the UK postage displayed clearly at the top. I do find it very annoying when I have to search for shipping charges, but here it is the first thing you see.

UK postage £1.95 no matter how much you buy.

next you see the different sections, Clearance. Pencil Type. Accessories.

Scrolling down you see the sections for 12 different brands of pencils. Followed by a further 4 sections for other types of pencils/crayons.

Each section, has a clear photo and main heading, making it easy to decide which area to explore. Within each section are subsections, again all clearly defined. The text for and within each section is clear and concise, with good grammar and punctuation.

Although the look of the website is a little stark, with a plain white background, it is very easy to navigate...and quite frankly ease of use is far more important to me than a fancy background. Also this is very clearly a 'shopping' site. It is not exclusive to working/qualified artists, but effectively  targeted at those who love and use these products, whether they be professional artists or crafters.

The checkout procedure is easy, and delivery is prompt. The option to contact the company is also very easy to find, and as was proved in my case they reply very quickly.

If you are planning on doing the Willowing course then you would be hard pushed to find a better site for  your pencils and crayons.

The Neo II's are £1.06 each, a tin of 40 crayons comes in at just under £50.

In the CLEARANCE SECTION you will find the complete set of Derwent Inktense pencils in a tin for £68.99 ( while stocks last)

All in all my experience with this company was excellent, and I am more than happy to recommend them to you.