Back To School - Extended Hours This Week!

To help you find the time to get all those supplies on your list Arch Drafting Supply will be open from 9am - 8pm this week only!

How to get to Arch?

California College of the Arts Students click here.

Architecture Students at Academy of Art University click here.

We have great back to school deals and everything you'll need to get the semester started right.

Limited Edition Schmincke Horadam Half Pan Watercolor Set

List Price: $155.95 - Arch Price $69.95 - Limited Quantities

Schmincke is known the world over for their high quality art materials. The four generations old, family owned business, developed the Horadam line in 1881 and they only use the highest quality materials in their production.

This exclusive 12 color set was produced for Arch Drafting Supply and other members of iAMart, a national organization of independent art materials dealers. Running an independent business is important to both the local art community and economy and we hope that great deals with great businesses, like Schmincke, will encourage you to buy local.

12 Color Set with room to add 6 more Colors

This is a limited edition set & is available only while supplies last, so pick yours up today!

Back To School Deals - Extra 10% Off for Students & Faculty

Attention Architecture and Design Students!

Are you getting blank stares when you go to those big box art stores and ask for "lead pointers, architectural scales and erasing shields"?

Well look no further. We know all about "bum wads, scum bags & french curves" and have Back To School specials for all your supply list needs.

Trace Rolls, Cutting Mat's, Storage Boxes and More!

Check out some of the great deals:

Daler Rowney Sketchbooks 8.5" x 11" Hard and Wire Bound 
List Price: $10.85
Back to School w/ Student ID price: $7.81

Prismacolor Premier 12pc Set 
List Price: $19.31
Back to School w/ Student ID price: $12.16

Pacific Arc Basic Bow Compass with Pen Attachment
List Price: $12.95
Back to School w/ Student ID price: $8.95

Staedtler Mars Lumograph Pencil Set
List Price: $18.89
Back to School w/ Student ID price: $14.30
 

Drafting Vellum, Lead Pointers, Drafting Dots, Architectural Scales and More!

Back to school is here and on top of the everyday student and faculty discount that Arch offers we have been working hard on great deals to cover all your back to school needs. So drop by, we'll have just what you need!

New Oil Paints

Fresh off the mill, Arch has just brought in two new lines of oil paint!

Our new student grade oil is the Pebeo XL line.  These paints are alkyd-based, meaning they are dry within 2-3 days, rather than 2-3 weeks!  They're perfect for last-minute assignments (we're looking at you, procrastinators)!  In addition to traditional oil colors, this line features Pebeo's Dyna Oil Color.  These iridescent colors add modern flair to your painting! 

Just $4.60 per tube ($4.14 with valid student ID)!

Ohhh, sparkles!

We've also expanded our line of Gamblin Oils!  Introducing Gamblin FastMatte: Alkyd oils with a matte finish. FastMatte Alkyd Oils Colors will dry within 18 – 24 hours, in thinly painted layers.  This drying rate allows painters to work throughout a painting session, while creating a dry surface for the painting session the following day. They're also great for plein air!

A selection of colors available in the Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oils

Call for Entries - Enter to win a $25 Gift Certificate

Arch Drafting Supply is a drop off location for this years PaperGirl art show and also the starting point for this years roll and ride on October 29th.

The deadline for submissions is October 1st, but Arch wants to reward and encourage all the early birds.  So if you drop off your works before September 1st you'll be entered into a drawing for one of two $25 Arch Gift Certificates.  This contest is limited to the folks who drop their work of in person, at our store and the Artwork must meet the submission guidlines outlined here.

Check out the PaperGirl website for more info and then get to Arch by September 1st to be entered into the drawing. 

Cool Stuff - Lousy Packaging - Now On Sale

Bad packaging drives retailers like ourselves crazy.  We work hard to find really unique and interesting items and more often than not, if the packaging makes the product hard to grasp customers walk right by. 

We thought we would highlight a couple of culprits.  These items are now on sale.  We love these things, but suspect the bad packaging has kept you from loving them as much as we do.

Small cardboard box, text in french. Original Price $15

Inside: A cute nylon jump rope with carved wood animal handles. Sale Price $6

This jump rope is so cute and we have a whole collection of different animals to choose from. Croc's, Bears, Mice and more.

Hard to open, black plastic box, looks like it's from the Knight Rider era. Original Price $90

Voila: A super nice, metal, Rotring fountain pen. Sale Price $45

Rotring makes all types of terrific drawing utensils.  These fountain pens are no exception.  They have a very heavy and cool feel to them and are available in a matte black, matte silver and the above pictured "lava".

What is this? Woven Basket? Fireworks? Ughhh! Original Price $39

Ahhh, it's an herb garden! Sale Price $28

A great concept, just hard to visualize since it is trapped in this woven bamboo equivalent of a retail prison.

We hope that showing off these cool products a little more will entice you to come down and have a second look.  See you soon!

New Brushes @ Arch!

You may have noticed a lot of changes in the Fine Arts section at Arch!  We have completely revamped our brush section, with supplies for every need and every budget.  Here are our newest arrivals.

Princeton Select:

Princeton Artist Brush Company has teamed up with art superstar Willow Wofle to create the Princeton Select line.  This is a huge range of short-handle brushes great for watercolor, acrylic and gouache.  The line features classic shapes of absorbent, soft gold taklon, but also includes some very unusual styles!

Lunar Mop:

Made of soft, white goat hair, the Lunar Mop is adept at creating soft fields of color like clouds, down, or mist.  This brush is also useful for blending and softening edges.

Lunar Blender:

These filbert brushes are a blend of absorbent gold taklon and soft white goat hair.

Grainer:

Similar to a Grass Comb, this brush can work magic in lots of paintings.  Try using it in a dry brush technique!  The Grainer can instantly mimic grass, feathers, and more.

Deerfoot:

Similar to a stencil brush, the Deerfoot is angled slightly to allow a pouncing technique while holding the brush in a natural, angled position.  This brush is made from a special spend of natural hair to create a more random pattern.

Round Blender:

Similar to a smudging brush for eyeliners and eyeshadows, this soft, natural hair brush ends in a point, enabling entirely new blending techniques.

 Princeton Neptune

Also new to Arch is the Princeton Neptune line of watercolor brushes.  Princeton boasts these as their softest, thirstiest synthetic brush ever-- and they weren't kidding!!!  This line includes several sizes of quill brushes, which are more versatile than a traditional round brush because they are capable of holding a ton of liquid for doing large washes, but also keep a fine point for more detailed techniques.

We encourage you to try out our brushes every time you come in.  We have a cup of water and some specialty paper for you to practice techniques, test absorption etc.  Please do touch!