Jakar Art Supplies Deals — Sales, Discounts & Price Comparison UK

The Complete Guide to Jakar Art Supplies — Plus How to Find the Best UK Deals and Discounts

There are very few businesses in the UK art supplies world with a founding story quite like Jakar's. Most art supplies companies start with a painter or a chemist or a craftsperson. Jakar started with cuckoo clocks. The journey from there to being the exclusive UK distributor for Caran d'Ache — one of the most respected art materials brands in the world — is one of the more interesting stories in British art retail.

From Cuckoo Clocks to Caran d'Ache — The Jakar Story

Jakar International was established in 1949 by Lydia Sacki, whose family had earlier immigrated to England from Germany and from where the company first began importing drawing instruments and cuckoo clocks for sale in the UK market. It's an unlikely combination — precision German drawing instruments alongside the most quintessentially Alpine of novelty items — but it reflects the practical entrepreneurism of a post-war immigrant family finding a niche in a recovering market. Valuecom

The drawing instruments proved considerably more durable as a business proposition than the cuckoo clocks. Lydia's son Kenneth joined the business during the 1950s and eventually took over as Managing Director in the mid-1960s, a position he held until his retirement in 2015. Under Kenneth's leadership Jakar expanded from a drawing instruments importer into a broader distributor of art and educational supplies — building the retail and educational relationships that are still the foundation of the business today. Valuecom

The defining moment in Jakar's history came in 1960. Since 1960, Jakar has been the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Swiss-made Caran d'Ache colour products. Caran d'Ache — founded in Geneva in 1915, named after the Russian word for pencil — is one of the most prestigious art materials brands in the world. Their Luminance coloured pencils are regarded by many serious coloured pencil artists as the finest available anywhere. Securing the exclusive UK distribution rights for Caran d'Ache in 1960 was the decision that defined what Jakar would become. DiscountsCode

The current Managing Director is Paul Sacki — the third generation of the family — who joined as a Sales Representative in 1979, was promoted to Sales Director in 1990, and assumed the role of MD following his father's retirement in 2015. The business is now operated from a state of the art warehouse facility in Elstree, Hertfordshire — considerably more sophisticated than the original post-war import operation, but still fundamentally the same family business that Lydia Sacki started seventy-five years ago. Valuecom

I've been in the art supplies industry for sixteen years and the Jakar name comes up consistently in two very specific contexts — schools and colleges who rely on their own-brand products for combining quality with accessibility, and serious coloured pencil artists who know that Jakar means Caran d'Ache in the UK market. Both communities are loyal in a way that reflects genuine product quality rather than mere familiarity.

The Jakar Range — What's Available

Jakar operates across several distinct product categories that reflect its dual role as both a manufacturer of its own branded products and a distributor for premium international brands.

Jakar Own-Brand Art Materials

In many cases Jakar have developed and manufacture the products sold under their name. The products are particularly well regarded by schools and colleges for offering high quality and reliability at a competitive price.

The Jakar own-brand range covers the full spectrum of art room essentials — brushes in a comprehensive range of sizes and hair types for watercolour, acrylic, and oil painting; palettes in both traditional and stay-wet formats; drawing instruments including technical pens, compasses, and geometry sets; craft knives and blades; cutting mats; portfolios and ringbinders; and a range of drawing accessories covering everything from manikins to sponges.

The quality-to-price ratio of Jakar's own-brand products is the reason they've become standard equipment in British art education. A school art department running on a tight budget can equip a class with Jakar brushes and drawing instruments and be confident of consistent, reliable performance from every product. That reliability, delivered consistently over decades, is what builds the kind of institutional loyalty that Jakar enjoys in the education sector.

Caran d'Ache — The Crown Jewel

For professional artists and serious practitioners, the Caran d'Ache range distributed exclusively through Jakar in the UK is the most significant part of what the company offers. Caran d'Ache produces what is widely regarded as the finest coloured pencil range available — the Luminance series — alongside professional watercolour pencils, the legendary Neocolor wax pastels, and a range of fine writing instruments that sit at the very top of the European luxury stationery market.

The Luminance coloured pencils in particular are consistently recommended by professional coloured pencil artists alongside <a href="https://discountartsupplies.co.uk/brandstore/faber-castell-art-supplies-deals/" target="_blank">Faber-Castell Polychromos</a> as the two benchmark products at the professional tier. The choice between them is one of the most debated topics in the coloured pencil community — Luminance is softer and more blendable, Polychromos is firmer and more precise. Most serious practitioners end up using both.

The Neocolor range — particularly Neocolor II, the water-soluble wax pastels — has a devoted following among artists working in mixed media, illustration, and expressive painting. The combination of wax pastel intensity with water-soluble properties that allow the colours to be activated and blended with water makes Neocolor II one of the most versatile and distinctive products in the Caran d'Ache range.

Worth noting if you're comparing Caran d'Ache prices: because Jakar holds the exclusive UK distribution rights, the pricing and availability of Caran d'Ache products in the UK runs through a single distribution channel. Our <a href="https://discountartsupplies.co.uk" target="_blank">price comparison tool</a> covers the UK retailers stocking Caran d'Ache so you can always find the best current deal across Jacksons, Cass Art, and others before you buy. See our dedicated <a href="https://discountartsupplies.co.uk/brandstore/caran-dache-art-supplies-deals/" target="_blank">Caran d'Ache brand page</a> for the full picture on that range.

Rosa Artists Materials

Jakar is also the UK and Ireland sole distributor for Rosa Artists Materials — watercolours, acrylics, and oils — made in Ukraine. Rosa is a Ukrainian art materials manufacturer with a long history of producing professional-grade paints for Eastern European and increasingly global markets. The range has attracted attention in the UK professional art community for combining genuine pigment quality with pricing that competes favourably against Western European alternatives. DiscountsCode

For artists looking to explore Rosa as an alternative to more established Western brands, Jakar's UK distribution means availability through UK retailers without import complications.

M+R Pencil Sharpeners and Rulers

Alongside their main ranges, Jakar sells the M+R range of pencil sharpeners and rulers. M+R is a German manufacturer of precision sharpeners with a following among artists and draughtspeople who need consistent, reliable sharpening for professional drawing pencils. A specialist product that may not sound exciting but matters enormously to artists whose work depends on precise pencil points. DiscountsCode

Drawing Instruments and Technical Products

The drawing instruments that started the Jakar story in 1949 remain part of the range — compasses, technical drawing sets, geometry instruments, and the professional drawing accessories used in architecture, design, and technical illustration. These products reflect Jakar's roots as a precision instruments importer and maintain the quality standards that the company built its reputation on in the early decades.

How to Get the Best Jakar Deals and Discounts in the UK

Jakar products are stocked by a range of UK art and educational retailers, with availability varying considerably between the own-brand range and the premium distributed brands.

Own-brand Jakar products — brushes, palettes, drawing instruments, craft knives — are widely stocked and competitively priced. Use our price comparison tool to check current pricing before buying, as the variation between retailers on these products can be meaningful.

Caran d'Ache products — because Jakar holds the exclusive UK distribution rights, all UK retailers sourcing Caran d'Ache are going through the same distribution channel. This means pricing tends to be more consistent across retailers than for brands with multiple UK distributors. That said, sale events and promotional pricing do create genuine opportunities — particularly at Black Friday and January sales when UK art retailers discount their Caran d'Ache stock.

Watch for educational and bulk pricing — Jakar's own-brand products are available at volume pricing for schools, colleges, and art groups. If you're buying for a class or studio rather than for individual use, it's worth contacting Jakar directly or through an educational supplier for volume rates.

Check discount codes before checkout — we list verified active codes for UK art retailers on this site, and general retailer codes frequently apply to the full Jakar range.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jakar

When was Jakar founded? Jakar International Ltd was founded in 1949 by Lydia Sacki in London. The company originally imported drawing instruments and cuckoo clocks from Germany before evolving into the art and educational supplies distributor it is today.

Who distributes Caran d'Ache in the UK? Jakar International is the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Caran d'Ache — a position they have held since 1960. All UK retailers stocking Caran d'Ache products source them through Jakar.

Who runs Jakar today? Jakar is currently managed by Paul Sacki — the third generation of the founding Sacki family. Paul joined the company in 1979 and has been Managing Director since 2015 following his father Kenneth's retirement.

Where is Jakar based? Jakar International operates from a warehouse facility in Elstree, Hertfordshire.

Where can I buy Jakar products in the UK? Jakar own-brand products are stocked by Jacksons Art Supplies, Great Art, Amazon UK, and specialist art and educational suppliers. Caran d'Ache products distributed by Jakar are available at Cass Art, Jacksons, and major UK art retailers. Use the comparison tool on this page to find the best current UK deal before you buy.