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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 23 6:02 pm Post subject: frugal art supplies |
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not about one supplier, but comparing ye olde arts and crafts shop with babylon online via amazon
babylon online does include some who have evolved or migrated entirely
25 year comparison, real terms prices are half to a few percent of "shop"prices from the olden days
A3 handmade 100% cotton paper, 680gm
two uk pounds a sheet and next day delivery, that sort and size of paper would have been at least £15 a sheet in modern money
pigments, some are similar or matched inflation prices, the best are relatively far cheaper
i got several tubes that were a similar number£ to top end back then
i got some japanese pan pigments for a tenth of the price they would have been, chinese ink more choice and a fraction of the old number price for whatever the shop had
tools, i got 7 brushes of good quality for less than i paid for one back then not so good one in number money, and i had a far better choice
(i did get and still have some very good brushes from then, many from stalls etc rather than "art shops")
fur matters many cute things and even some of my wolfy brethen can be put on a stick and are good to use
food/energy goes up, other things sell at what they can get
re frugal, time spent on intel is never wasted in the amazon jungle, same product different advert can be an easy 30% sometimes more or it can find same factory different name or no name which can be dramatic
choice of search terms matters for the same item or the choice of more suitable items is remarkably frugal
between "hobby" and pro for same stuff ditto
avoid words that indicate hobby or pastime, 100gm for work is often cheaper than 10 gm for a hobby, same stuff different marketing
for example gum arabic, art or food, same stuff, very different prices |
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gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 8879 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 23 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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digging deeper in the amazon gold mines, leaf 24k or "foil" matters for arty stuff for chemistry reasons
i only need a little for warm shiny highlights(think medieval manuscripts and icons etc)
good intel got the price down to a fiver for ten 30 by 30 mm sheets of 24k
i could have spent far more if i had gone for the first few suggestions for similar products
PS i was taught gilding by experts who did restoration etc in very posh houses, the real stuff is essential, but it goes a long way, if you avoid sneezing and drafts it even goes the long way you try to send it
an odd aspect of that shopping is that although it is a tiny wt of gold which has been worked, packaged and sent, it is a bit cheaper than the current bullion price per troyes oz
commodity behind the production cost curve
PPS be very wary of food items with "gold" among the ingredients
there is a high chance it aint gold, the prices indicate what may be" shiney" of choice for the cook
next one was ultramarine, persistence got me what i hope is good
£16 for 5 ml or 15ml, different entries from the same supplier, the bigger one might be even higher quality
back soon the traumatised is off to wildlife for a mo |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 23 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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the leaf landed, 99au 1ag, nice colour for under pigments
made in 2021 and has "before date" for "food use"
wow,
that metal would look as ace as when it was deposited if it was found in a field with a metal detector, it does not really have a shelf life
it did have a price life
PS the forge master made scissors are just the tool for leaf and its holding papers
mini sheep shears in style, made by a team who make 2 swords a year and make other tools for fluffier uses the rest of the time
hand made from japan can provide legacy worthy bladed tools if you shop well
they may be small, but they were a bargain hunt for new bargains bargain for less than £40
got those a while back when covid and brexit kicked in when sales dropped before imports did
"old" or "mistimed" stock can provide some useful stuff
it will not be the top listed stuff but it is there, often it is the top listed stuff
back to industrial vs domestic
fire cement
domestic kilo mixed in a tub or 15 kilo in a sack and mix it yourself, about the same price, the industrial had a better spec
oh dear i was just looking at flash the "stock dove" in the sunshine, pigment shopping for twotone refraction will be fun, i think i know where to start looking
years ago i discovered that art pigments and rejected face makeup had crossover for shimmery
this time they may come from the same place as the graphite pans |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15932
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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Posted: Wed Mar 29, 23 11:31 am Post subject: |
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i recon it was the sell by date and "catering" issues rather than the recent rise in gold price that give the differential
what matters is the foil/paint/environmental chemistry
real gold does not react with paint or the world, dutch metal and similar foils react like the alloy of base metals they are made of(bad in food and worse under paint)
as a small aside, i have become very wary of any food at a reasonable price, that has "gold" decoration
i never understood why drinking "christmas" gin or nibbling a fancy cake should require one to be able to donate unicorn manure the next day
the american ultramarine is as good if not better than the moderately expensive stuff from my favourite uk colourist
what happened to the house? i swapped it for a tube of paint
ace shop, i refuse to browse online as i know what is in the jars and draws
about 25yrs ago i needed the correct permanent violet, only a tiny bit, 1ml a bit over £30 in then money
very nice paint, the painting has had interest a few times, but they could not afford it and i am happy to keep it
i am just as happy to use poundland* paint if any of the set is a decent pigment(a few can be surprisingly good, most are landfill or low end decoration tinters)
if you get one decent example out of 12 tubes in a box for a pound, it is a decent one for a pound(with a waste bycatch)
*other bargain shops are available |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46168 Location: yes
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Posted: Tue Apr 25, 23 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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price for purpose again
i need to make some natural stuff dissolve and
abs ethanol, 97.something %. sold as bioethanol stove fuel(same spec as the lab stuff)
vs
lab grade, workshop grade, purple meths etc
no contest on price, and no methanol(major bonus for making and using glazes) in the solvent
i would want to see it through a GLC before i put it in a cocktail, but as a solvent I'm not too bothered that i might go blind after a few mins with the airbrush
owt over 97 with no mention of "denaturing" etc is lab grade abs as far as i care for solvent purposes
having just done a mental stock check on chemical store, it is odd compared to shakenvac or fabreeze
among the odd things i have acquired recently are myrrh and new frankincense for use in the "great gums test"
i know which i prefer
shopping for shellac was quite educational about how to look. for such things the words technical grade reduce the price and improve the choice and quality a lot
ps shellac offered me a huge choice of nail varnish, most of which had never even met a beetle, been there, done that, i got quite good at multi layer water shading and glow in the dark dog claws
not what i needed for this project |
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