I wasn’t sure how I liked the Blue Earth pastels at first use. They were a little too soft for me (newbie), and I was frustrated that if I grabbed the pastel at the very top edge, it would stick in the foam and flake—and given the price per ounce, this was irritating. However, given some time and practice, I am now thoroughly enjoying this set. I still have to be careful when removing the pastel from the foam, but I much prefer this setup. I spend less time searching for colors and I drop these far less than similar size pastels. It has actually really helped take some stress out of my workflow. The box is the perfect size, very well constructed, and I appreciate the portability and the extra slots. And kudos to Dakota, as always, for their excellent customer service when I received a duplicate of a couple colors from the manufacturer and was therefore missing a couple unique colors. They made it right immediately!

These pastels are my favorite. I love how you get the different values of a color, both cool and warm. And the results are breathtaking even for an amateur. These pastels have boosted my confidence and made painting with them a joy. Also, Dakota Pastels delivered them in a timely manner. Thank you.