Their range of paper is pitiful. Quite frankly, Riot Art has a better supply, which isn't saying much. Can I get the tint I want? No. Can I get the type I want? No. I may have to follow the lead of the ever resourceful Mark Calderwood and tint my own.
I went through all their pens for the one I needed. No joy. I can buy my pens from a stationers in Newtown, but not, it seems, from Eckersleys, despite their claim to be a speciality art supplier. I couldn't even see the last thing I wanted.
So I decided to front the counter and ask. "Do you have Sakura pens?" (in case I missed them somewhere).
"What are they?"
I explain. No. They don't. They have Staedtler, Rotring and Copic. Good pens, but not the ones I want.
"Do you have silverpoint supplies?"
"What's silverpoint?"
I explain slowly. The woman looks at me like I have sprouted an extra head or asked for automail or something. I'll take that as a no then. I did end up buying a sketch pad in a nice grey tone, just so I didn't feel I had completely wasted my time, but there's a part of me that keeps saying I shouldn't have rewarded them for being useless.
Time to trek down to The Rocks then, to a real art supplier. Parkers. The Aladdin's cave. The ultimate destination. The shop that makes me feel like I have died and gone to heaven. Even if they don't have what I want they will know what it is and when they are getting it back in, regardless of what I ask for.
They may even have the paper I want. I have but to ask.
(I had thought of including Jim Diamond's "I Should Have Known Better", or Elvis Costello's "How to Be Dumb". Instead I have gone with the Peatbog Faeries. At least they stop me grinding my teeth.)
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