Okay if you’ve seen aaaaany of my past videos you know– I have a LOT of brush pens.
As you can see in those photos, I now store them in my Dreambox… but over the years, I’ve stored them in all different configurations as I’ve had 4 different studios since I started this business. I’ve tried a lot of different options.
The question is though…. how SHOULD you store your pens? I’m gonna answer that for you in this post.
First Things First…
The links below may be affiliate links where appropriate. This means that your purchase through these links may result in a few cents in payment to me, to support creating further resources like this one! That being said, I will never suggest supplies that I do not personally use and fully recommend.
Supplies Mentioned
- DreamBox by Create Room (FOR US or CANADA orders, use code: HAPPYEVERCRAFTER for a discount!)
- Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens
- Tombow Dual Brush Pens
- Posca Paint Pens
- Micron Pens
- I mention tons of supplies and types of pens in the full video. I have links to all my favourite supplies in my free supplies guide here.
Rather watch than read? No problem! You can watch me walk through my entire pen collection in my DreamBox by clicking the video below!
Let’s Get Started!
I am asked by beginners alllll the time about how to store brush pens because, let’s face it, they’re NOT cheap, and you wanna make sure you get the most out of them.
I’m gonna jump in and show you how I have mine set up, but right off the bat I wanna say something that maaaaay be surprising…
IT’S REALLY NOT AS BIG A DEAL AS PEOPLE MAKE IT OUT TO BE.
And I’ll be clear that that’s just my personal opinion after having experimented with pen storage for the past 6 years… there are some guidelines from the pen companies which I’ll fill you in on. BUT I wanna make sure you know that GENERALLY speaking, storing a pen the wrong way isn’t going to completely ruin it. You don’t have to like, lose sleep over how your brush pens are stored.
I have only had ONE pen storage mishap in 6 years, and I reeeeeeeally haven’t been meticulous about how I store mine, I kinda just put them in cups or bins however I can at the time. So that should give you an indication, okay? Don’t freak out toooooo much about it.
(I know you’re wondering: the pen storage mishap I had was that I stored a pack of Tombow Fudenosukes vertically in a cup, and I had them on a windowsill with the sun beating on them for over a year. When I went to put them in my workshop kits they were dried out. But like… sorta duh, Becca. Don’t store your pens in direct sunlight for over a year. Yeah, duh.)
With that said, though, if you want to see all the pens I have and the ways I have them stored, check out the full YouTube video. It’s about 12 minutes long, and I walk you through every pen type I have and how I store them.
If you’d rather not check out the video though, I boiled down all the examples from the video into some advice you can take away.
#1: When in doubt, store horizontally. The majority of pens are totally fine (or recommended) to store that way.
I have tons of Tombow Dual Brush Pens and Fudenosuke Brush Pens – both for myself and for workshops. Tombow’s website specifically says you can store them however you want. They’re pressurized in the barrel, so it doesn’t matter if they’re stored vertically or horizontally. (Tombow even sells both vertical and horizontal storage containers.)
*Microns should be stored horizontally. These are honestly the only pens in my whole Dreambox that I am very mindful of how they’re stored. Microns have pigment ink, and it’s recommended to store them horizontally. If stored vertically the ink can settle in the bottom of the pen and dry out the tip. They’re quite expensive, so I’m very mindful to keep them horizontal to help them last longer.
I typically store my more expensive pens, like Posca paint pens, horizontally because that’s how the company recommends to store them. Most paint and chalk pens have the little ball in them to help you mix up the ink if they’ve been sitting for a while, so they’re okay to store vertically, but I prefer to store horizontally since that’s what the company recommends. Which brings me to number two…
#2: If you wanna store it vertically but aren’t sure, most pen companies have instructions on their websites.
Just a quick “Google” to make sure, but usually, it’s totally fine.
#3: If it’s full of paint or really flowy ink, don’t store it upside down!
The paint/ink will start to leak out if you store them with the tip down. As long as they’re vertical or horizontal, they’re okay and shouldn’t leak.
#4: Try to keep them away from the sun or intense heat!
Don’t be like me and dry them all out.
#5: Relax! Don’t get yourself all worked up about it.
Store them how you wanna store them and how it makes sense in your space to store them. You can always reassess if need be. A lot of my current storage choices for my pens are due to the design of the Dreambox. Most pens, like the Tombows I have, can be stored either way.
And that’s a wrap!
Hope that helps! If you have any specific questions about storing pens, leave the questions on my YouTube video or in the comments below.
If you’re wondering about how to actually USE your brush pens properly, check out this post.
And finally, your dad joke…
What company has the most storage?
Tupperware
It would be ideal if you avoided storing paint markers vertically. Instead, to equal out the paint within, paint markers and pens must be positioned horizontally.