We’re so excited to finally share a behind-the-scenes peek of our newest product with you: The Strathmore^® Art Journal Kit designed by Artterro^®.

I say finally because it’s been over a year in the making!  We met the Strathmore Artist Papers team at the National Art Materials Trade Association show a few years ago, but it wasn’t until last year that we realized there was exciting potential for collaboration.   In case you’re not familiar with their products, for over a hundred years, Strathmore has made exceptionally high-quality paper for a wide variety of media, everything from charcoal to watercolor.  We looked at their lovely line of art pads and sketch books and thought about our mission of inspiring creativity in everyone.  How could we make a plain pad of paper more inviting and exciting for people of all ages who don’t necessarily have a lot of art training but still want to create?  How could we transform it into a special, engaging place to explore your creativity and try out new-to-you art techniques?

After a little brainstorming and lots of conversations back and forth, we realized that the product we were imagining would combine tips and suggestions for beginners, along with a beautiful selection of papers to inspire mixed-media collage, doodling, drawing, painting and even writing.  In short, our dream product was the Art Journal Kit.

Happily, the team at Strathmore gave us the go ahead to design the kit and write the project sheets.  We handed out prototypes to friends and family, kids and grown-ups, novices and art school grads, and turned all that feedback into the great product you see here:

We’re so proud to see the results of our collaboration with Strathmore.  The kit includes a cover you can decorate and make your own, pages full of project ideas and tips, a pocket for scraps and found objects, 100% recycled, handmade papers from Shizen Designs (they make all the beautiful paper in our kits) and Strathmore’s bright construction paper and fine art drawing paper.

It’s perfectly sized for portability, so you can always have it with you when inspiration strikes (and you really never know when that will be).

They make wonderful gifts for all the creative people in your life, or for those who may need some creativity in their lives.  Spark Blog readers can take 20% off with the coupon code 20OFF, so pick one up from the Artterro Store today!