Acme Online started at a kitchen table with a pile of supplies that did not do what the packaging said. Paper that buckled under one wash. Pencils with leads broken inside the barrel. Paint that was mostly filler. We wanted a short list of tools that simply work, and we could not find it in one place.
So we built it. Today Acme Online is a small shop in Franklin, New Hampshire, selling drawing and painting supplies for people who use them most days: on the bus, at lunch, after the dishes are done. Every item is something we draw with ourselves.
How we choose what to sell
Before anything goes on the shelf it spends a month in our own bags and on our own desks. We soak the paper, drop the pencils, leave the paint tins open and carry the canvas in the rain. If it fails in ordinary use, we do not sell it.
What we look for
- Paper weight matched to the medium it is sold for.
- Pencil leads bonded to the wood along their full length.
- Single pigments with the code printed on the label.
- Solid timber, real brass and heavy cotton canvas.
- Something that can be repaired, refilled or rewaxed.
We would rather sell you one good pencil than a tin of forty you will never sharpen.
Who makes it
Most of what we sell is made by small workshops we know by name. Sketchbooks are sewn and cased in Oregon. Canvas rolls, satchels and pouches are cut and stitched in Ohio. Walnut boxes, trays and the tabletop easel come from a woodshop in North Carolina, the drawing boards from Michigan, and watercolor is poured into pans in Wisconsin. Some things, like the beech field easel and the fineliners, come from long-established makers abroad because nobody does them better nearby. Every listing says where the piece is made.
How an order reaches you
- InvoiceWithin one business day of your order we email an invoice with bank transfer details.
- PackingOnce the transfer clears we pack by hand: paper in kraft with corner guards, pencils in their tins.
- DeliveryUSPS Priority, $9.95 flat rate, 2 to 3 business days to any US address.
- After30 days to return anything unused. Questions go to a person, not a ticket queue.
Write to us
If you are not sure which paper suits your watercolor, or which pencil degree to start with, ask. We answer every email within one business day at [email protected]. You can also read how we think about materials or browse the full collection.