I recently attended TangleU, a continuing education seminar for Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZTs) in Santa Fe, NM, at the Loretto Inn and Spa. One highlight of the trip for me was winning the grand prize, a Tombow Storage Tote Bag for Dual Brush Pens and Arts and Crafts Supplies that was filled with many great Tombow art supplies! All loaded up, it was fully a $120 value. I had been thinking about buying one before I even won it and, as I expected, I now find myself using the Tombow Storage Tote Bag daily. My review may help you learn if it is something you’ll want to buy.
Rescuing the the Tombow Pen Rack with the Tombow Storage Tote Bag
I already own a set of 96 Tombow Dual Brush Marker Pens. I love the pens however I was quite flustered with the pen rack that came with the pens. It would come apart all the time until I finally glued it together and that solved the problem. I had wondered how the rack would hold up in the Tombow Storage Tote Bag. Beautifully! The Tombow Storage Tote Bag comes with two adjustable unpadded dividers that snugly hold my full pen rack in place nicely thanks to the wide hook and loop strips. I like that I can easily see the cap colors of all the dual brush pens while stored in the tote due to its intelligent design. The Tombow Storage Tote Bag sides are shorter than the pens, the top of the tote has a ‘skirt’ that is about 1.5 inches long allowing plenty of room for the pens when zipped closed.
Does it Hold Up?
The Tombow Storage Tote Bag is quite rugged and is very well made and includes a comfortable-to-carry, adjustable shoulder strap plus a slightly padded top handle. The two zipper closures are high quality and are made to last. The top of the bag zips from the front center toward the back. This tote is quite spacious with room for additional supplies in the front pocket, next to the pens inside, and in two external mesh pockets. I carry all of my Zentangle class supplies in this tote when teaching a Zentangle Basics classes.
If teaching an advanced Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA) class including color work for 24 college students, I need to carry the Dual Brush Marker Pens to class since I need more room than the tote offers in this case. Since more supplies are needed to teach this particular class, I put this tote in a bin, and carry the bin. I understand this is not the typical user’s experience. I just wanted to state my experience as a CZT.
The Verdict
For the hobbyist, artist, or teacher, I highly rate this roomy, quality tote and can find no flaws with it. It will serve me well for many, many years to come. I even like the Tombow logo on the front!
If you would like your own, here is a link to the Tombow Storage Tote Bag on Amazon.com