Basic Breakdown
Who are Pink Pig
Pink Pig was created in 1992 by Nick Wilson. He understood the value & importance of high quality paper and artist materials, aiming to produce a product that is tailored to the needs of artists and art students. With a background in art, design and printmaking he was well equipped for this task. 30 years later and Pink Pig are supplying schools and colleges, expanding into the retail sector and used by artists up and down the UK and further afield. The iconic colourful covers came from the idea that the artist should have ownership and choice when it came to all aspects of their work. Allowing artists to reflect their personality with the pads they use.
These covers are all handmade in Yorkshire, Great Britain. Each Thai Mulberry sheet is oxygen bleached and made from non-toxic dyes, with the interior greyboard being made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste. Meaning the entire cover is environmentally friendly and sustainable. In general, the company is driven to reduce waste and be as eco-friendly as possible whilst still providing an exceptional product. In fact the cardboard boxes used to ship Pink Pig pads are made from 65% recycled material with the additional Kraft boxes being 100% recyclable.
All paper used in their pads is FSC Certified, meaning it has been sourced sustainably or recycled where possible. As a company they are proud of their low carbon footprint and look to reduce it even further in the years to come, with products that can be fully recycled when used.
The pads come with a wide range of papers to choose from, with toned papers, black paper and watercolour paper being extremely popular lines in the company's arsenal. But despite the popularity of these additional papers the main pink pig cartridge paper is by far the best seller. The paper is a high quality, acid-free drawing cartridge that can be used with all media. The paper is 150gsm and made from pure (virgin) pulp, which won’t degrade over time due to the lack of acid in its construction. The paper is also classed as “twin wire” which essentially means there are two single sheets bonded together to create a paper that can be used on both sizes without damaging the reverse. It has a good tooth to its surface also which provides great grip and texture for pencils, pastels or charcoal. The paper comes in a standard “bright” white colour and an off-white almost cream colour.
You will be hard pressed to find a company that produces pads with such a high level of customisation available. With the sizing, colour of cover and type/colour of paper all being up to the choice of the artist they can literally make a pad to suit anyone's needs. The pads are actually quite popular with urban sketchers as their lightweight yet durable construction lends itself to the demands of working plein air. Seeing this the company decided to produce a collaboration with expert paper makers, St Cuthberts Mill. This merging of the two brands produced a Pink Pig Bockingford pad which, as the name implies, contains sheets of Bockingford watercolour paper. The English-made paper is 300gsm (140lb) and has a slightly textured “Not” surface that works expertly with most wet media.
To say the brand emerged from a simple drawn design done in a day trip to the Yorkshire Dales, it has come extremely far and looks to the future as it develops and progresses over time.
Image Credits
Sandra Manchester