Cheap Daiso Copic Case

The problem

I really needed a nice but cheap Copic marker case.

When I originally moved to Japan, I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay and didn’t want to start at zero when and if I returned to the states, so I did what any 20-something year old would do and dumped a lot of my things in my old bedroom closet in my parents’ house. This worked well, but in 2019, my parents were thinking of moving and I was and still am happily married in Japan, making the boxes I’d tucked away a problem. I returned that summer to clear out or mail a ton of my things to Japan.

One of the items I brought back to Japan was my marker collection. I have a hefty collection of Copics and Prismacolor markers that I couldn’t part with.

One of the items I sold was my very nice marker case and wallets. Weight was critical, so I stuffed them all into ziplock bags and that’s how they’ve remained since then.

Finding a solution

They’d been in these unwieldy, ugly ziplock bags for over a year and I was determined to do something about it.

I dropped by my local Apita because it has both a bookstore that sells Copic merchandise and also a big Daiso. Loving pretty things, I dropped by the Copic goods first to check out the official storage options.

I love the Copic wallets. They’re so sturdy and organized. You can even see all the markers when it’s opened.

But they’re also quite pricey and after selling off my nice cases once, I was feeling shy about dropping roughly 4000 yen (about $35 when I was writing this) on one of these cases, especially since I really wanted two.

Dragging myself away from the Copic section, I trudged upstairs to Daiso.

First, I poked around the home storage items and boxes, but everything that had a lid and handle was just a little too shallow. Standing around staring at the array of items feeling stumped, I remembered the cheap art marker sets on Amazon and how handy the bags looked.

The bags look a lot like boxy travel makeup storage bags. So with that in mind, I wandered over to the travel section of Daiso and found the perfect case.

The case

I found the case pictured above: The Beautillier make-up case.

It’s clear and it’s the perfect height for Copics and art markers.

Pros:

• It’s only 200 yen, making it extremely cheap.
• It’s transparent, so you can see your makers even when it’s closed.
• When it’s open, it’s sturdy enough to stand up properly.
• It has a handle.

Cons:

• It’s cheap. I would worry about it tearing if I traveled with it regularly.
• No frame at the bottom to keep your markers organized.

Conclusion

It has a few downsides, but I use my markers at home, so sturdiness isn’t a problem. The second can be solved by easily rigging together a frame to put in the base of the case to organize my markers if it starts to bother me.

For 200 yen, this is a easy-to-use storage solution for a large Copic marker collection for the artist who wants an attractive case for cheap.

I plan on buying one or two more for my Prismacolor markers and my other markers later this week.