Colorfin LLC

Colorfin LLC is an art materials company based at 65 Willow Street in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The firm is best known as the developer and manufacturer of PanPastel Colors, a line of professional artists' soft pastels packaged in pans rather than in the traditional stick form, along with the companion Sofft Tools range of applicators and knives designed for use with them. The company can be reached by phone at +1 484-646-9900, and product information, color charts, technique guides and stockist details are maintained on its website at panpastel.com.

While the address is a working location in a small Berks County borough, the reach of the business is international. PanPastel and Sofft products are sold through art supply retailers, hobby and model shops, and online sellers across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, typically through a network of national distributors rather than through direct consumer sales from the Kutztown location.

What the Company Makes

The central product is PanPastel, an artist grade soft pastel formulated with a high concentration of pigment and a minimal binder, then compacted into shallow round pans that resemble cosmetic compacts. The format was created to address several long standing practical issues with conventional pastel sticks: dust generation, breakage, difficulty in mixing colors before application, and the challenge of covering large areas evenly. Because the color sits in an open pan, it can be picked up on a sponge or micro applicator and moved onto the surface in a manner closer to painting than to drawing.

The line includes a broad palette organized around pure colors, each supported by tints, shades and extra dark values, together with a set of metallics, pearlescent mediums, and colorless blending and extender mediums. Additional supporting items include:

• Empty pans and palette trays for organizing custom color selections
• Sofft sponge bar applicators in several profiles for broad coverage and edge work
• Sofft knives with interchangeable covers for detail, texture and controlled marks
• Sofft micro applicators and mini applicators for small areas and fine work
• Storage and carrying cases sized for the pan format

The pans stack and lock together, which matters more than it might first appear. Artists who work in pastel are often dealing with fragile sticks and loose dust, so a stackable, sealable container has practical implications for studio storage, travel and classroom use.

Background and Development

Colorfin LLC was formed to bring the pan format pastel to market, and PanPastel was introduced to the art materials trade in the mid to late 2000s. The product was a genuine departure in a category that had changed relatively little for a long period, and it was received as an innovation within the industry, drawing attention at trade shows and in art materials press coverage. Since the initial launch, the company has expanded the color range, added mediums, and developed the Sofft Tools system in parallel so that the applicators and the color function as a single working method rather than as unrelated accessories.

The company has also invested considerable effort in education and demonstration. Much of the material published under the PanPastel name consists of technique videos, project guides, printable color charts and artist profiles showing the product in use across different disciplines. This reflects a practical reality of introducing a new format: artists already know how to use a pastel stick, so the burden falls on the manufacturer to show what changes when the same pigment arrives in a pan.

Who Uses the Products

PanPastel is used well beyond the traditional fine art pastel audience. Common applications include:

• Painting and drawing on sanded pastel papers, primed boards and canvas
• Mixed media and collage work, where pastel is layered with acrylic, ink, graphite or colored pencil
• Underpainting and toning grounds before working in other media
• Scale modeling and miniature painting, particularly weathering effects such as rust, dust, soot and exhaust staining
• Doll making, puppetry and prop fabrication, where subtle shading is needed on three dimensional forms
• Printmaking and monotype work
• Card making, scrapbooking and other paper crafts
• Illustration and comic art, including gradient and atmospheric effects
• Art therapy and classroom settings, where reduced dust and reduced breakage are meaningful considerations

The modeling and miniatures community in particular adopted the pans early, since precise, buildable pigment application is central to realistic weathering, and the pan format allows small quantities to be picked up and worked in without the waste associated with scraping sticks into powder.

Location and Setting

Kutztown sits in Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania, roughly between Reading and Allentown along the Route 222 corridor. The borough is known regionally as the home of Kutztown University and of the long running Kutztown Folk Festival, and it lies in an area with deep Pennsylvania German cultural roots. Willow Street is within the borough itself, a short distance from the town center.

Visitors should note that the Kutztown address functions as a company office and operations base rather than as a retail storefront. Individual artists generally purchase PanPastel and Sofft Tools from art supply dealers, hobby retailers or online vendors. The company website maintains information for locating stockists by region, and the phone number listed is the appropriate contact point for trade inquiries, distributor questions and product support.

Practical Information for Buyers

A few points come up frequently for people new to the format:

• PanPastel is a dry pastel, not a watercolor or a gouache, despite the pan packaging. It is applied dry, although it can be worked with wet media in mixed technique approaches.
• Surfaces with some tooth, such as sanded pastel papers or grounds prepared with a pastel primer, hold significantly more color than smooth papers.
• Finished work is normally protected with a fixative suitable for soft pastel, or framed under glass, following standard pastel conservation practice.
• Sets are offered in themed groupings, including portrait, landscape, painting and drawing selections, as well as larger comprehensive sets, and individual pans can be purchased to refill or extend a palette.
• Sofft applicator covers and knife covers are consumable and replaceable, sold separately from the handles.

For educators, studios and retailers, the company's direct line is the most efficient route for questions about bulk purchasing, distribution and product specifications, including safety data documentation and pigment information.