I have rather a lot of marker pens. It is very important to me to keep them safe and accessible for easy use.
Regular readers of the Tin Teddy Blog will remember my previous articles on two of my marker pen storage solutions – my trusty ArtBin Super Satchel which holds the bulk of my pens, and the lovely Meeden Professional Marker Case that I use to take pens with me to classes and craft groups.
Today I am reviewing my newest marker storage bag, the rather attractive Togood Storage Tote Bag.
What first attracted me to this bag is that it can store a LOT of markers (the manufacturers say 120, but it will depend on the thickness of the markers in question). The photos here show 112 assorted brands currently in my bag – but there is room for a few more.
It has a surprisingly small footprint and it has additional pockets and space. It is very light when empty.
The Togood Storage Tote Bag
The bag is very cheerful looking. I went for the blue, which is a bright tealy colour, but there was a more restrained black variation available too.
The bag is 9.8″ wide and 11″ tall (23.4 x 27.9 cms) – surprisingly small for a bag that holds so many markers and more.
There is a padded carrying handle on the top and an adjustable shoulder strap that you can clip on or off.
It is made from a tightly woven canvas type material. It feels very sturdy and very well made. This appears to be a long-lasting product.
Marker Storage
This case will accept pretty much any size of pen. Any thickness, any lengths. Even the very long Chamaeleon pens will fit in here. At last I can house my Alte New pens properly! You could of course use it for water based markers, pencils or many other products too.
The pens go in a removable “tray” that comes with 5 optional dividers. The dividers have hook-and-eye tape on them, and can be placed as you choose within the tray part. You can therefore have anything from 1 to 6 compartments for your pens.
Easy Access
When the bag is fully open the tray can be leant forward to make accessing the pens even easier. I found it simple to grab the colours I required efficiently. You can also remove the whole tray and just stand it on your table for even easier access.
I have my pens grouped in colour families. This way I can easily find the little groups I require for colouring areas (base colour, shadows and highlights). It is also quicker to put the pens back into this sort of bag compared to the ones with individual pen slots. You don’t need to worry about placing the pens “properly”, just pop them back with the others of the colour family.
I lay the bag down when storing it, because some marker brands, such as Spectrum Noirs, suggest that their pens are best stored in a horizontal position.
Extra Space and Pockets
There is quite a bit of empty space above the markers in the main part of the bag. This can easily hold stamps, ink pads, stamping blocks, small paper pads and so on. You could also put a pencil case in here with additional markers. Or even your phone and purse!
There are four additional pockets.
There is a pocket on each side. They zip up and are tall enough to hold pens such as fineliners.
The is a pocket along the back, again it zips up. This would be ideal for storing paper.
And there is another zip up pocket inside the front flap. This is a mesh type pocket.
Summary
This is a fantastic way to transport or store over 100 markers. It is small enough to easily carry around, and looks discreet, like a smart tote bag.
It is very well made and I am sure will last many years. Little details like the zippers on the pockets and the adjustable strap are nice
The pens you see in my bag are the following brands.
- Copic Sketch
- Copic Caio
- Spectrum Noir – old and new style
- Spectrum Illustrator
- Stamping Up – old style
- First Edition Twin Markers
- Promarkers – Letraset and Windsor and Newton versions
- Paperchase Dual End Markers
- Tiger Twin Markers
- Boldmere Art Markers
- Tonic Nuvo Creative Alcohol Markers
- Tombow ABT Dual Brush Markers (not in the bag right now, but they do fit)
Togood Storage Bag on Amazon
These links lead to the Togood Storage Tote bag on Amazon.com (left) and Amazon.co.uk (right).
If you purchase something from these links then I would get a small commission from Amazon for sending custom their way. At no extra cost to yourself. Thank you.