Pysanky

I’m frequently asked about pysankarstvo resources. I’ve tried a number of suppliers and outlined my recommendations below:

  • Traditional Kistky
  • Electric Kistky
    • Most comfortable: Ukrainian Gift Shop – Luba’s Electric
      • Note: UGS Kistka tips have a tendency to deform. The WAS tips are compatible with it and I recommend using those instead.
    • Best tips: Wax Art Supply
      • I almost always use tips #1, #2, and #3. These are the “must-haves”.
      • I rarely use #0 for extremely fine lines on chicken eggs, but it becomes clogged easily.
      • I never use smaller than #0
  • Kistka Tip Cleaning
  • Dyes
    • Ukrainian Eggcessories: These are my favorite dyes. I use the 28-pack, but they have smaller packs available too.
      • EXCEPTION:  The UE black dye is weak due to Canadian environmental laws, which prohibit Acid Black 1. I buy UGS Black instead. The UGS Black should not be flushed down the drain.
    • Ukrainian Gift Shop: These can work well if you’re using the UGS books, as the colors will match up exactly and you can be sure that the dyes will work well in the recommended orders.
  • Dye Jars
    • 16oz Clear Plastic Wide Mouth
      • Note: Because these are plastic, you cannot pour hot water in them or they will melt. I mix in a Pyrex container, wait for it to cool, and then pour into the jar.
  • Ping-pong balls: Any brand works fine, I use them to hold blown eggs under the surface of the dye
  • Books
  • Gloves
    • White Cotton Gloves – I use a single glove on my left hand for manipulating the egg so I don’t smudge the dye
  • Paper Towels
    • Any brand is fine, but if possible the Viva Signature Cloth ones do the best job of not leaving residue
  • Wax
    • Sheet Wax
      • Ukrainian Eggcessories – These are great and typically what I use now. Typically don’t clog even the extra fine electric tips. The variety of colors is nice for complex designs
    • String Wax — Much easier to use than blocks
      • Wax Art Supply – Well filtered; Don’t clog. Black or Clear
      • PUSA, UGS – These clog the kistky. DO NOT USE.
    • Wax blocks
      • I use these for classes because they’re cheap. Any brand will do, as long is it’s definitely beeswax (some brands lie and give you paraffin, so stick with a pysanka-specific brands)
    • White Wax
      • Mix ~10 clear WAS strings to one white crayola crayon for use on black pysanky
  • Egg Blowing
    • Best: Ukrainian Gift Shop – Electric Egg Blowing Kit
      • Unfortunately these seem to have been discontinued after Luba Perchyshyn’s passing in 2020
    • Budget: Better Than Blas-Fix
  • Acid
    • ACID Magic: To etch the egg or clean it back to white as the last step, dip the egg into Acid Magic while wearing gloves. Remove every 10 seconds and wipe to check progress. When complete, rinse with water to remove residual acid.
  • White Pencil
    • Bohin Extra-Fine Mechanical Chalk Pencil
  • Egg Cleaning
    • 1 drop Ivory Soap + 600mL water: Clean the egg with a toothbrush, then rinse with water
    • Vinegar: Soak the egg in vinegar for 30 seconds, dry, then begin working
  • Egg Cleaning – Wash Back
    • 1/3 Ivory Dish Soap + 2/3 Water
    • Use for washing the egg back to white with a soft-bristle toothbrush. Used for switching color families (e.g. red to blue)
  • Help

Major Suppliers:

  • Ukrainian Gift Shop (UGS)
    • The “standard” supplier. Most people are familiar with their dyes and frequently refer to them as standard shades (e.g. “UGS Orange”). They are nothing special but there is also nothing wrong with them and they are very reliable.
  • Ukrainian Eggcessories (UE)
    • Some of the best dyes, however their standard orange does not behave as a rinse and will not work with many of the diaspora resources, so be sure to buy their cleansing orange as a substitute for UGS Orange.
  • Best Pysanky (BP)
  • WaxArtSupply (WAS)
    • Formerly Folk Impressions (FI). Many people continue to use the old name, and lots of their products are still labeled with it.
  • EggstrArt
    • They have supplies for Polish and Lemko style drop-pull pysanky
  • JustEggsquisite
    • They have great scratch tools for scratched pysanky (“shkrobanki” or “drapanki”)
  • BabasBeeswax
  • Pysanky USA (PUSA) – Reopened as of January 2022 (have not looked through their new catalogue yet) Closed Indefinitely (owner Jim Hollock passed away in early 2021)
    Here are a few options for equivalents for some of the more popular equipment they sold:

    • “Setting Powder”: This is just granular citric acid. Buy it on Amazon and add a few granules to each of your dyes.
    • Waxmelter Tray: waxmeltingtools.com. I would email them and ask for a custom order with extra cups.
    • Drapanki scratch tools: JustEggsquisite on Etsy for the manual tool, and a Dremel with flex shaft and engraving bits for everything else (WEAR A MASK WHILE DOING THIS, YOU WILL DESTROY YOUR LUNGS OTHERWISE)
    • Wax scratch tools: Use Pottery sculpting tools of your choice
    • Dyes: PUSA is famous for selling tons and tons of different shades, but I found that I end up not using most of them. Ukrainian Eggcessories or WaxArtSupply have plenty of variety without going overboard, and when you need something custom it’s usually easier to just mix a few dyes together to get the exact shade you’re looking for.

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