The Holbein artist quality oil pastel, made with high density artist pigments in 225 colors is without equal world-wide. The culmination of 60 years of research and development, this highly versatile medium is made with refined mineral oil, is inert and non-reactive once down and, unlike pastels using vegetable oils, will not dry out or crack. They handle evenly and cleanly without stickiness and offer excellent surface stability that does not need to be fixed, which can detract from the vigor of the artist grade pigments. They may be applied successfully to almost any surface. Widely used over acrylic and oil color, they may also be broken down with mineral spirits or turpentine and applied as a wash. Truly a unique medium offering optimum permanence without health risk to the artist and designer.
     All Holbein color lines are tested and labeled in accordance with the requirements of the ASTM-D4236 health standard.

Using a new technology and a unique manufacturing process. Holbein has developed an exceptional 144 color range of artist soft pastels which, while eliminating many of the little used light colors, offers a greater soft powder richness in covering and blending than competitive products
     The manufacturing process is entirely computerized and is mechanized from inception to final product. In the final stages of production, the computer has a lens which scans every stick in order to guarantee even distribution of pigment.
     Each stick is made in a square shape for working versatility and, in set form, each has been assigned its own numerically identified bed. Softness, purity, size and shape and method of packaging have been widely acclaimed by working pastel artists.

From a converted coach-house in Northumberland, England, come Unison pastels. Led by the artist John Hersey, a small group of craftsperson's mix the pigments by hand. They make small batches of 100 to 200 pastels at a time. They hand-roll each individual stick and allow it to air-dry.

This unique hand-process provides you with the finest pastels in the world. Mass produced pastels are extruded from large machines which use a long screw to push and compress the pastel dough through a narrow hole. A long "worm" of pastel emerges and is cut into sticks and heat-dried. The result? A pastel stick which is hard and unresponsive to the artist's touch.
Unison pastels, by contrast, are gently hand-rolled. This produces a soft pastel which is eager to embrace the tooth of your drawing paper.

Artist John Hersey developed Unison's color scheme in unified cycles of 18 colors to the set for a total of 270 colors. He observed from nature that a single color takes on endless variations of hue, depending on the quality of light which strikes it. After 15 years of experimentation, his pastels reflect the true nature of color.