Pochade 5th Anniversary - (Still as solid as a tank!)

After many tests and planning I built my pochade box five years ago and made the plans available online for everyone who wants to build one. Many people have bought the detailed step by step plans. They are just $2.99. I would love to hear from them through this post and hopefully receive photos that I can share as well. It would really be wonderful.

I never regretted building my own pochade as opposed to buying one. The cost was one big factor at the beginning. It cost me less than $100 to build mine. Actually much less. But that was not all. I initially built my pochade to withstand a lot of abuse. I noticed that the ones commercially available were too dainty and I needed something that can handle being outdoors regularly not just on occasion. Over the years my pochade has survived countless accidents including falling off the top of the SUV while I drove away, being dropped down a steep hill and tumbling into a stream. You name it it has survived it. I won't even mention all the small  falls, the bangs and tripod drops that I know the more dainty ones would not survive.

The best part is that I feel it is getting stronger every year! The caking of paints and dried oil in cervices has served to make it even more solid. It also gave it an air of experience. It has been in many battles and just keeps getting better by the day.

What is your pochade like? If you built one based on my plans, please share and send me photos to add to this post if you can.

The Ultimate Do-it-yourself Pochade Box

Ok! I finally did it. After weeks of planning and researching, I think I have built the ultimate pochade box. Here is the launch:

The Sojourn pochadeand Portage wet panel carrierA Canadian everyman’s pochade

The Sojourn is a plein air pochade box designed for artists who demand versatility from their tools and expect value at a low price. A one day garage-bench project, the Sojourn - which comes with its own wet panel carrier the Portage - can be built using the minimum of hand tools that are found in most suburban garages. It cost less than $90 in material to build this 12 1/2” x 15 1/2” x 2 1/2" slick pochade box and wet panel carrier, and what’s more you don’t have to be a workshop master to build the Sojourn. Everything you need is readily available at your local hardware store. Just take the shopping list that is provided and check-off the items as you place them in the cart. The detailed easy to follow step by step instructions below along with the diagrams will guide you through the project and help you finish your dream pochade in one rainy day.

The Sojourn Pochade has no equal in the market. Designed by a plein air artist for plein air artists, it is a light weight box (less than 6Lbs) that comes with its own slick wet panel carrier – the Portage. The Sojourn can carry one 11” x 14”. For longer trips the Portage wet panel carrier can carry up to 6 panels. Drop the Sojourn Pochade and the Portage wet panel carrier in a backpack and you are ready to go. I will be adding plans for partitions so you can turn the carring space to 6x8, 8x10 etc... soon so if you buy the plans, you will also get the partition plans as soon as I have them ready.


I have worked hard to document this pochade and help others build it from everyday material that you can find at the hardware store. As a matter of fact, the shopping list which comes with the plan is all you need to buy to get the project done.


To get the plan click here if you have an iPad or a Mac, you can also get the plans on iBooks or iTunes. Cost? $2.99! The price of a cup of Java! Get it!!

Update on the pochade project

The best plans will change as they get executed... So I learned.
This weekend, between fighting a bad cold and keeping up with our growing OPAS group, I went to the hardware stores armed with a detailed shopping list. I had worked out a detailed plan for building my new and superior pochade box and the shopping list was extracted from there.

BTW, as soon as I have it built I will have the plans available but not before. Until it is built, things will remain fluid and I may change things around for a better build.

Anyway, I went to the store armed with a shopping list and once there, I made changes and more changes so that the shopping looks nothing like it did when I started. It is funny, but once you have a clear vision of what you are trying to do, new ideas are easy to incorporate and new directions are not as difficult to adjust for. I must have walked through every isle and looked at most gadgets to see if they would help. The idea is to make this pochade something easy to build with items off the shelf!

All to say I have all the hardware I need now sitting in the garage and all in all the cost is under $100. That includes hardware for both a 14x11 pochade and a wet panel carrier. I also have a brand name for the pochade :) No I don't plan to manufacture, but I do plan to sell the plans at a symbolic price so the name is an identifier and I think it fits. What is it you say? No no no. Not yet :) All in good time.