I am new to pastel painting and purchasing the sampler was a wonderful way to try out the square-shaped pastel brands that are not available at the art supply store local to me. I will use them in pastel classes and my own paintings to get a good feel for each and then make a purchase or two once I know a bit more about what I'm doing. I'm happy to have found Dakota Art Pastels as a guide and source on my new art journey!

Full-size square pastels to get a feel for the different brands. I love the colors that were sent to me!

Really a good way to test out a variety of brands and get a feel for the product line before making a larger purchase.

These samplers were such a fun way to explore the different pastel brands, and wow, were there surprises! The ones I thought I’d love weren’t right at all for the way I work…while 2 brands I hadn’t really considered turned out to be perfect. It’s a bit of a Goldilocks experience, but with lower stakes and no downside. The boxes were packaged with care and all the pastels arrived intact. There was a nice color selection, and it was unexpectedly delightful to open the boxes not knowing quite what I’d find. I look forward to trying other samples - Highly recommend!

As a long time professional in the art and design world, the differences between the pastel manufacturer's products was not something I had experience with. This sampler was a great way to try a few to get a feel of 4 different brands. Like most art supplies, having someone else tell you what different brands are like to use might be helpful but the only way to really get an understanding is to try a few. The person who I spoke with on phone was great and very helpful. The sampler arrived on the east coast in just a couple of days. The product was well packed and survived the cross country trip in perfect condition. It is great that Dakota offers these samplers and my experience with Dakota was fantastic.

A nice way to compare pastels

First of all, thank you Dakota for giving us an opportunity to get a feel of these different pastels and decide what works for us. I ordered the Square Sampler as well as the Iridescent Sampler sets. Sampling allowed me to get acquainted with my first Terry Ludwigs and Great Americans and Art Spectrum pastels-my chosen brands. The iridescent sampler also provided a great range of brands with varying degrees of softness and made it easy for me to decide which ones I would like to use for my current project, while keeping in mind that I have other brands to turn to when and if my needs change.

High quality iridescent pastels in a sample pack!! Wonderful!

I really liked getting to try the different types of pastels, and get a feel for what I like before I make a larger purchase.

As always, Your samplers are an inspirational mix!

I have been using a mishmash of brands from Senneleirs to Schminkes to Rembrandts. I bought the sampler and I found a whole new world of brands. I was very impressed. Only problem was shipping from Washington to Maine where I live. Took a while to get them.

ITS NICE TO ABLE TO FEEL and move the Pastels before you choose them . pastel is a very tactile media and the texture and feel can be important depending on your style.

I really like this sampler set, gives be chance to try the iridescent pastels without spending a fortune.

It’s a great way to try out different brands, however I didn’t care for 2 out of the 5 colors. The Blue Earth pastel was broken at the edge end. It looked like it didn’t quite fit into the box it was in. The Holbein pastel was in a plastic case that I had to cut open with a knife. I was afraid I was going to break it but to my delight it didn’t break.

I've bought a few samplers over the years -- it's fun to get a surprise selection of colors, and I'd wanted to try a couple of these brands. I'll happily find spots for them in my box.

Very good selection of brands; swatched the colors; very subtle sheen. Pretty effect. Did not care for color selection, I should have requested a custom color box. Perhaps a selection of iridescence pastels brands in one color ?