I bet you didn’t think paintbrushes were still hand-made, did you? (I didn’t.) If you’ve drawn, painted or stepped foot in an art supply shop, you’ll know the name Winsor & Newton. They make an array of paper and art tools, and paints but you may be surprised to find out they’ve been making brushed for over 150 years. A new video breaks down the process of how their most famous brush, the Series 7, is made, and they have a contest to win a personalized Series 7 brush.

The Series 7 brush is a hand-made Kolinsky sable-hair brush, which is made from the tail hairs of a male Siberian weasel. Needless to say, those hairs are a bit rare and very expensive. The brushes are most commonly used in watercolor painting for their ability to retain a point and hold the color.

The hair does most of the work, but the skill in constructing the brush makes it all possible. When they begin the video by saying, “We start by measuring every strand of the finest Kolinsky hair”, you have the image of each individual hair carefully checked. They’re measured together, but the process is no less impressive.

YouTube video

They make holding and grooming a thousand weasel hairs between the fingertips look easy, don’t they? 50 people will have the chance to win a personalized Series 7 brush. All you have to do is watch the video and answer a really easy question.

Enter the Contest Here

Regardless, if you enter or not, I recommend these brushes. Visit their site to find out more or purchase a Winsor & Newton Series 7 or grab the bundle I snagged here.

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Author

Josh is founder and editor at SolidSmack.com, founder at Aimsift Inc., and co-founder of EvD Media. He is involved in engineering, design, visualization, the technology making it happen, and the content developed around it. He is a SolidWorks Certified Professional and excels at falling awkwardly.