My husband says I’ve gone native on the subject of shopping. As far as we can tell, Germans don’t do a lot of recreational shopping. They make a lot of small trips to the market and bakery and butcher, but they don’t seem to spend a lot of time at the mall or dreaming about their next clothing or electronics purchase.
When they DO buy something, though, they’re apt to spend more to get better quality. A bargain is less important. And the phrase in the title is a frequently heard refrain, one that I seem to have picked up.
Recently I went to my favorite little claustrophia-inducing neighborhood art shop in search of kid’s art supplies. There’s no Crayola there, folks. The crayons are pure beeswax. PURE. We opted for some fat colored pencils, which were 15 euros a pack. Yes, that’s 10 colored pencils for the equivalent of over $20! I know, I know. I justified with the handy phrase above. And you know what? The kids looove the pencils. They had some old ones from a cheap American box store (a place I love, it must be said) which they never used because they were just plain lousy. These colored pencils have deep, rich colors, and they use them all the time and carry them everywhere. I think we’ll be getting our money’s worth.
I was telling some friends about the pencils and remembering my own set of Swiss colored pencils given to me by my aunt and uncle when I was about 9. I treasured them and STILL have them. In fact, they’re here in Germany with me:
I have this pathological need to keep the colors in the same order in which they arrived. Thanks Aunt and Uncle! It was money well-spent.
In other news: check out this student review of Slowpoke at Kiss the Book.
Also, there’s a month-long feature about crafts inspired by children’s books over at “Once Upon a Thread” by No Big Dill. My favorite is the Dot shirt, inspired by The Dot by Peter Reynolds. The project is by Meg of Elsie Marley. Now I just need a craft project inspired by Slowpoke…….
Emily Smith Pearce 
Oooh, awesome! I wonder if you can find Pentel markers in Germany? They’re French I think but my mother tracked them down in Nashville somehow when I was 10. I thnk I used Berol Colored Pencils, but yeah, Crayola was a staple for crayons. Can someone mail you some of those? Also, look for pastels. They’ll be messier than crayons, def, but another good option if you’re looking to recreate that look.
Yeah, I’m fond of Berol Prismacolors also, and still have mine from high school, too! It would probably be more expensive to ship crayons than to buy the fancy ones, and I’m kind of converting to the “consider quality before price” mindset. Our crayons are always breaking to bits and becoming unusable, whereas these pencils are so far very sturdy. I will look for the Pentel markers. We did buy some markers but I can’t remember the brand. I’m not a big fan of pastels, though I do have a few for myself, not the kids. Glad you enjoyed it. Makes me want to draw….
Lyra makes the most incredible pencils ever. When I worked in the Art Studio at a children’s museum we’d buy that brand because they’d forever. I forgot how much I like them. Off to find some now. 🙂
Yeah, they’re great. We had to buy an extra Lyra pencil (not in the set) that is neon pink, and it’s the shortest of the bunch. Thanks for stopping by 🙂 I also love Prismacolors but I’m selfish and keep those hidden.
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