Marker Storage
 

Hi All!
I have limited room {haha, who doesn't?} and I just got a set of 90 zig brush markers for my birthday {YIPPEE!} - I use these markers ALL THE TIME, they are my go to. Right now, I still have them in the plastic box they came in, but it is a pain to put them back and then take them out again & I am finding that I'm just leaving them, loose, on my desk. Any suggestions?? Thanks in advance :)
Christi {who used to be in CT but is now in CO}

I have had mine for about a year. I store them laying on the side in the box they came in. In a spinning rack I bought at Tractor Supply. I store all my markers on their side.

I hot glued toilet paper tubes together, then dropped the whole thing into a plastic container. I then laid the container on its' side and stuck all my markers into the tubes by color family. I did add a bit of scrap wood under the side/front edge so the pens were at a slight angle though. I did this to keep them from sliding out and getting lost.

I have 2 of these stacked for my markers:
Amazon.com : Deflecto Stackable Cube Organizer Cross Dividers, Desk and Craft Organizer, Clear, Removable Dividers, 6"W x 6"H x 6"D (350201) : Literature Organizers : Office Products

Do you have Zig Clean Color Brushes in them? I have one for mine and find it a bit annoying. But I haven�t found anything better yet that�s as compact. And sliding them - or pencils or markers - into individual slots or under little elastic bands would be more annoying! :rolleyes:

I have 2 of them stacked together. I store my SU markers and blender pens, Sharpies, Micron pens and other misc. pens.

Curious- what do you find annoying about the cubes?

It's not major, and speaks to my fussiness more than the cube. (Me to Cube: It's me, it's not you.)

I like keeping colors in very rough ROYGBIV order, whether paper, inks, or Zig Clean Color Real Brushes. When pulling them out, the pile shifts. And it's picky pulling from the bottom narrowest part of the triangle

When pulling out a marker, others sometimes come out part way. But that might be better if the cube was slightly tilted. :idea: So I could put bump-ons underneath the front and it will tilt a bit but still be horizontal. (Thank you for making me think through that!)

I might be better off keeping them in a Container Store Accessory Box - roughly half the size of their inexpensive women's shoe box. I'd just loosely band color families together, maybe with twisty bands I have that keep computer cords together, if not Plasti-bands or rubber bands.

Right now that's how my Copics are stored. SO not for everyone or most. But I don't color much.

https://www.containerstore.com/s/our...ccessory%20box

Beth

I use three storage systems for markers and pencils. Like Beth, mine are in ROYGBIV order. Here's a picture of my peg board and the back of my desk. Actually caught it when it was tidy! I've gone through a few different versions. This gives me maximum work space.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.spl...e6e244a3d0.jpg


Alcohol Markers Crafter's Companion Noir Storage Trays. They can be stacked. Each package contains six trays (holds seventy-two markers up to 5/8 Inch in diameter). I've got Copics, Spectrum Noir, Bics, Sharpies and Prima markers for comparison to the Zigs.


Water based Markers are in a thrift store Wine Rack with glass vases from the dollar store.


Colored Pencils are in dollar store mesh pencil, hanging from peg board.

This makes me consider, once again, changing from a stand-alone stamping table to one next to the wall. Hmmmmmmmm .......

I'm considering going back to my workbench. When we moved in December we acquired a garage, and I let DH put it in there. He NEVER uses it, and I'm as frustrated as it's possible to get with the non-functionality of every way I've tried to configure the guest room/studio in our new apartment! I was trying to keep it "pretty", but it's pretty much just me that sees it, anyway. My kids (the "guests" we have from time to time) are used to sleeping in my studio. I miss the pegboard, the drawers, the light, the work surface... I definitely can't do a "stand alone" table!

Back to the OP: I have the Spectrum Noir trays for my markers and second Carla's high opinion of them!

Would Stampin' Up's Stampin' Write Markers fit in the Crafter's Companion Noir Storage Trays? Thanks for your help.

The Spectrum Noir alcohol markers are fatter & shorter than SU markers. The rack is 5.3 inches deep, my SU markers measure at 6.75 inches. So they would stick out and have more wiggle room in the slots. That might not bother you.

Spectrum Noir Marker Storage - Individual Tray

This would work better for SU markers, I think.


Amazon.com: Tombow 56148 Dual Brush Pen Desk Stand, Empty. Upright Desk Stand for Tombow Dual Brush Pens: Office Products

I found that I needed to store all my markers horizontally. So I have ten deflecto cubes. Some have the "X" divisions, some have straight. Besides markers, they store all my different pencils...watercolor, inktense, and prismas.

As for my "brush markers" (I have arteza and tonic) both say to store vertically, with brush end up, so they are in vertical sections made from plastic containers.

ALL of my stuff is by ROYGBIV...of course!

For those who have the deflecto cubes with the "X" divisions, here's a little hint.

Cut a piece of lightweight posterboard 5-7/8 by 4 inches. Then score the 4 inch sides at 1-1/4 and 2-1/2. The third section will be 1-3/4 inches wide. Fold into a triangle. Use scotch tape to tape the edges together. You will have a triangular shape almost 6 inches long.

Place that triangle in the bottom of the two SIDE sections of the cube. The bigger side goes on the diagonal and the smaller sides on the side, and horizontally. Your pencils or markers will have a ledge to sit on and won't drop to the bottom of the sections.

Just as a side note, I don’t have any Tonic or Aretha brush markers, but Zig Clean Color Real Brushes (which some call markers) should be stored horizontally. From Kuretake:

“Thank you for reaching out to Kuretake, to answer your question the clean color real brush needs to be stored horizontally. However, while using the brushes if you need to keep them vertical just during the use you are more than welcome to do so but continue to keep them horizontally and stored in room temperature climate.
Thank you,
Morgan Micheli”

Brilliant. Which is why I didn’t think of it. Thank you.

Plus triangular blocks can be made to play with. Who wouldn’t like that?

Thank you for your replies regarding storage of the Stampin' Write Markers.
I appreciate each of you taking the time to explain the different options.

I just came across this Real Pen storage case from Arteza:

Amazon.com: Arteza Marker Pen Organizer Case with 108 Slots, Removable Baldric, Zipper Pocket and Carrying Handle


I'm guessing the Zigs would fit. I think I like this case. I don't use mine much so this would be a nice was to keep them nice and out of the way.

I am seriously considering changing things (again) and getting rid of my tp tube holder. I got a very large set of gel pens as a gift about a year ago and did not have room for all of them. I ended up purchasing one of those desktop 3 drawer units and I'm loving it. I took poster board, cut and scored it to make dividers for each color group. It holds A LOT and takes up much less room on my desk. If I get one or two more then I can place them side by side and create a shelf above for storing other stuff too. I've already checked and the drawers are long enough to hold even my longest markers. Yeah!

Buyer beware though! I had something similar years ago for non crafting storage and it was a piece of junk because the drawers would not stay in place, they kept falling through. You can bet I checked this one out very carefully before buying it. Sorry don't remember the brand or where I bought this one.

Time for another episode of "Free Is My Favorite Price"! I recently acquired a whack of markers (non-alcoholic, lol) and I was getting frustrated with the whole storage issue of SO MANY and SO SKINNY and so hard to have them easily accessible and usable. My office at work is in The Venetian and the banquet people are the folks who supply our kitchen (I'm in Corporate Development). One of the things we have all the time are those little single-serving size boxes of cold cereal. I was eating some cereal one morning and looked at the little box it came in and had a brainstorm. I had my coworkers save their boxes for me, too, and made a marker storage unit. It's not pretty (but could be if I take a minute to gussy it up), but it IS very serviceable:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.spl...3908bd0ec9.jpg

My Bics are in the boxes across the top, and the rest are CraZArt (the numbered ones) and Crayolas. All of the boxes are divided, like this:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.spl...fc97654aff.jpg

I made some triangular "tubes" out of a regular cereal box to support the front edge of the unit so it would be slightly tilted upward so it would be easier to see and grab the correct marker. I made a pdf of the process (super fast, no adhesive or tools required except scissors) and attached it below.

I use the crafter's companion storage for all my markers except the fat ones.