New and Improved Taboret

We recently finish and deliver this brand new and improved taboret table. See more about A better taboret here. It's built with oak and stained in a red oak finish. This custom table was purchased by a very nice man and talented comic strip artist Jerry Scott. He wrote a wonderful article about the table on his blog. You can see his blog post here.

This new taboret table has a couple of great new features:

1) Opening in table top for trash w/slide out cover
2) Trash cupboard with built-in pull out trash can
3) Larger compartment to hold two brush cleaning tanks
4) More efficient layout for customizable paint drawers

New Taboret Table

Here's the new taboret which I designed and had built for me. I'm very happy with how it turned out and it's so nice I'm kinda afraid to use it! :)

I'm currently working on a new site showcasing this taboret table as well as allowing other artists to purchase their own custom table if they'd like. We'd like to be able to offer 2 types of taborets--this studio taboret and a more cost effective model where we supply the materials and the buyer will assemble the table themselves...

Here's a sneek peek of the site: http://artisttaboret.wordpress.com/

A better kind of Taboret layout

Now that the prototype for this taboret table is done, we've been working on the final piece. Which is almost done. A few finishing touches followed by stained and coated with urethane and it'll be finished.

I want to discuss the features on the top of this taboret which, I feel, make it better than anything out there--(See the photo below)

1. Area for an old phone book. I learned from my mentor, William Whitaker, how to use an old phone book to clean the paint out of my brush. You dip your brush in your mineral spirits ONCE then wipe your brush on the top page of the phone book until the page is entirely soiled then tear it out and throw it away! You've got a fresh page ready to go underneath it. This saves on gunking up the tank as quickly, plus everybody's got an old phone book laying around.

2. Boxes for quartered shop towels. This is also something I learned from Whitaker--I use paper shop towels to wipe/clean out my brushes when painting. And by quartering them you can get more out of a roll of towels. Thus saving money! I wanted boxes to hold them since sometimes when I'm painting with my hand palette and I've got a small stack of towels on my taboret, they slide around everywhere when I'm trying to wiping out my brush. The boxes will keep them from doing that--same with the phone book!

3. Box for brush cleaning tank. I wanted somewhere to keep my brush cleaning tank since I use it constantly. Now I've got a place for it!

4. Areas for cups/canisters. These are similar to most artist taboret tables with hole cut-outs for canisters and cups to hold mediums and such. Very useful.

5. Hinged cover. This cover makes this taboret table very unique! The hinged cover closes to hide these items on your taboret table that are sometimes an eye sore. And more importantly, blocks the air to keep the mineral spirits, mediums, etc from evaporating. The cover is also notched on the underside for an additional area to rest paintbrushes during painting sessions.

6. Paintbrush rests. The entire back edge of the taboret is notched to hold many wet brushes. When I'm painting, I'm always looking for places to put my brushes down without making a mess. Now I've got plenty.

7. Large glass palette. Of course this taboret needed a large area for mixing paint. A 2' x 3' area on top is reserved for a 1/4" glass palette.

The image below shows the items just listed:



Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Is this something you would use? Would you add/subtract anything?

A Better Kind of Taboret Drawer

*DISCLAIMER* This is only the prototype for the taboret drawer layout, the actual drawers will be constructed of stain grade wood with different drawer fronts and hardware.

In designing this taboret table I felt it very necessary to have drawers specifically designed to store individual tubes of paint. Thus making it easier to find the color I'm looking for. Right now I've got a few trays where I store my paint tubes, but the tubes seem to always get mixed up and get unorganized very quickly when I'm busy. So here's what I've come up with:

Individual compartments for each tube of paint.

This layout will hold 30+ 40 ml. tubes of paint. The table will have 3 of these types of drawers.

FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE!! The dividers in the drawers will be removable to be able to customize the layout for different sizes of tubes.

The bottom drawer shows how the compartments can be customized to hold large tubes, 175 ml, as well as small tubes in the same drawer.

I should get some kind of kick back from Vasari for showing off their paint so nicely! :)

A better kind of taboret table

I've been frustrated for quite some time with my painting setup--well, actually just my painting table. The kind of table or rolling cabinet I'm talking about is generally referred to as a taboret. A taboret is a small portable stand or cabinet, with drawers and shelves for storage. It is used to help organize a work area and is very useful to an artist.

The table I'm using now was given to me by little bro years ago which has worked ok over the years but it's missing a few things I would like. First of all, I need a bigger area on top to mix paints. Most artist taborets have a sheet of glass on top to use as a palette for mixing paint, which my currently doesn't have. And since I use an old phonebook along with paper towel squares to clean the paint off my brushes, I need compartments to hold them. And that's just to name a few things I want my taboret to have. I researched a few places online that sell taborets, but none are setup the way I'd like. In fact, none seem to work that great for an artist except that they have drawers and shelves for storage.

So I decide to design my own. With the help of my friend Jared, we are in the process of building a prototype of what I think is a better kind of taboret table. One that is setup for a working professional artist. I'll discuss more in future posts about what makes this table unique, but for now here's some photos of the prototype in progress...