Did you know that as few as ten companies world-wide make all the pastels used by artist all over the globe? Only 10 companies serving seven billion people! And I met Darren Richeson the main man at the leading pastel manufacturer and importer today at Wet Paint in St. Paul.
Unison is the brand. And Jack Richeson & Co. from Kimbery, WI is the maker and importer. Pastels are "rolled" by hand in a little shop in England, from the finest clays -- pretty much they way they've been made for centuries.
Craftsmen tint the clay with an array of pigments that yield over 400 colors in the Unison palette. Imagine: yellow earth values .. green values .. blue green earth values ... over 200 hues in this set of "values" alone.
My new friend Darren pointed out that a pastel stick is about 1 1/2" tall. Artists who work in the medium can never have too many sticks. And a "Grey 11" from Unison is not interchangeable with a similar shade of grey from another manufacturer.
Trade secrets, don't you know ....
Darren and his senior rep Steve had set up a huge table display inside the door at Wet Paint. I watched as customers stopped by for the sales pitch, deliberated and dreamed, and made their pastel purchases.
Me? Took a few fotos, chatted it up with Darren, and imagined British pastel rollers, doing for the world of art what Cuban hand-rolled cigar makers do for aficionados of fine tobacco.
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