Back to School Extended Hours

Back to School is upon us and ARCH is ready to tackle all your supply needs to get your school year started right.

We'll also be extending our store hours this week to allow you extra time to gather all those lists and get everything in one visit. Our extended hours this week will go like this:

Tuesday & Wednesday - Normal hours, 9am - 6pm

Thursday & Friday - Open late, 9am - 8pm

Saturday the 8th - Open early, 10am - 5pm

We are well stocked on all your art & architecture needs. To name just a few;

Architecture / Engineering / Metric Scales
1000-H Drafting Vellum
Lead Holders and 2mm Leads
Adjustable Triangles
Koh-i-Noor Technical Pens
Chipboard, Museum Boards, E-Flute
Watercolor, Acrylic and Oil Paint
Gamblin and Winsor & Newton Painting Mediums,
Canvas, Arches, Somerset, Rives BFK and more
Princeton and Escoda paint brushes

Gamblin Art Sketching Oil Colors

ARCH is now stocking Gamblin Art Sketching Oil paints. Created specifically for those learning how to control colors in oil paint, Gablin ASO colors are made from the same finest quality pigments that Gamblin is known for. Made with no gelling agents, they have the more traditional feel of Gamblin Artists' Grade oil colors.

Available in an array of colors (including genuine Cadmium and Cobalt colors), ARCH is stocking the 150ml tubes, perfect for students looking for quantity, quality and economy.

Learn on the Gamblin ASO colors, and as your skills grow, expad your pallet with the Gamblin Artists' Grade oil colors, also available at ARCH.

Summer's almost over. Isn't it time to Get Your Sh*t Together?

Written by visual artist, curator and educator Karen Atkinson, Getting Your Sh*t Together is a comprehensive guide on the business of being an artist. The book covers most any situation and gives practical advice on everything from hanging artwork to hiring employees.

We would recommend this manual for artists of all backgrounds, who are looking for help organizing both the creative side and the business side of their life.

Get into ARCH and Get Your Sh*t Together today.

Falconboard - a Foam Board Alternative

How about a "green" alternative to Foam Boards? ARCH is now stocking Falconboard. It's honeycomb structure can handle the most demanding of graphic display requirements due to its high rigidity and dimensional stability.

Just a bit over 1/4" thick (17/64"), we have sheets available in 30" x 40" and 4' x 8'. Falconboard emits zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs), contains up to 20% chlorofluorocarbon-free recycled paper and is both bio-degradable and recyclable.

While the manufacture sees this primarily as a mounting board, we would love to see how this looks in a scale model.

We have a limited amount of samples if you want to try it out. Stop in to ARCH today!

Papergirl SF 2012 - Call For Entries

Calling all Artists, Makers, & Doers!

We invite you to participate in this year’s Papergirl SF project! Complete with art-wielding bike riders and bike-riding artists!

Papergirl is a community art project that distributes submitted art pieces by bicycle, freely and at random, to people in the streets of San Francisco, American paperboy style! All are welcome to participate.

We think art is best when shared, why else do it? As artists, we want to express ourselves creatively, show our creations to others, and start a conversation. Every day could use more art and kindness. Won't you join us? Send us your art, tell your friends and foes, and we'll see you in November with tires full of air and bags full of artwork, ripe for the giving.

Send roll-able artwork by October 20th to: 

Papergirl SF

PO Box 410156

San Francisco, CA 94141 

USA

You can also drop you art off right here at ARCH!

Donate your used Backpacks, Messenger & Computer Bags

ARCH is a donation drop off location for Good Backpacks. Good Backpacks encourages the re-use of gently used backpacks, messenger bags and computer bags, helping Potrero Hill and Dogpatch students find the right fit and personalize them at a community event on August 18th.

Do you have some used bags that fit the above description? Drop them off at our store and you will be entered into a raffle to win a $25 ARCH gift certificate.

Good Backpacks is also looking for volunteers and makers to help facilitate the community event on the 18th. Do you have a skill you could share for this great event. Click here and send them a message.

CARAN d'ACHE Luminance 6901 Color Pencils

Let's talk color pencils.

Two of the biggest concerns/questions we get regarding color pencils are "How will these colors look in 20+ years?" and "How can I get my color pencils to stop breaking?"

The new Luminance 6901 pencils from Caran d'Ache were created specifically with lightfast levels in mind (so much so that 6901 is a direct reference to the standard that the American Society for Testing and Material uses to judge the lightfast level of a color pencil). Every shade has been formulated using finely-ground pigments chosen for their purity, intensity and resistance to UV. Available in 76 colors, 61 of which classified in the best category (Lightfastness 1) under the ASTM D-6901 standard.

We also checked in with artist Sid Garrison about what he liked most about the Luminance 6901 pencils. Sid works almost exclusively in color pencil and has a wealth of knowledge about them. So what did he have to say?

Simply put, "They don't break."

We all know how frustrating it is to finally get a great pencil point and then put it to paper and it cracks at the edge of the wood. Made from responsibly forested California Cedar and Swiss engineered to create a superior drawing experience.

The Luminance 6901 color pencils are not just long lasting, but will help you create long lasting, vibrant artwork. Stop by ARCH and try one out today.