Cassie Brehmer, MacPherson’s Account Manager In my time as a buyer and retail manager, before I came to MacPherson’s, a dedicated member of our retail team actively worked on building and maintaining kit business for at least five months out of every year. From reaching out to teachers and following-up, and following-up…and following-up, to picking brands and price points for professors unfamiliar with the options available, to ordering and finding appropriate replacement items, to assembling, spot checking and labeling kits, to distributing them to students and their parents unfamiliar with the uses or costs of materials…it’s tough work. With every kit success comes many (many) failed attempts at cultivating that…
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Ben Lapin Announced President of Speedball Art Products
Speedball Art Products Company Speedball is pleased to announce that Ben Lapin has been promoted to President of Speedball Art Products Company. Ben started with Speedball in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer and handled all financial matters during the start-up years. He later took on responsibility for Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service and proved that he was much more than a bean counter. In October 2006, Ben became Chief Operating Officer responsible for all day-to-day activities of Speedball. In the past 12 years Ben has led the integration of several acquisitions while strengthening Speedball’s core business. “Good is never good enough” with Ben; he pushes himself and all…
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Creative Holiday Traditions From MacPherson’s
Once you are a part of the MacPherson’s team, whether or not you’ve dabbled in the arts before working here, the creative spark rubs off on you. It’s inevitable, with so many art supplies around! In celebration of our creative endeavors on and off the clock, we wanted to share some of our creative holiday traditions with you. Gratitude Place Cards “Every year for as long as I can remember I’ve created place cards for every guest with the question “What are you thankful for?” written with a space to answer. When guests arrive or before dinner is served, everyone is given time to write. Before we eat, we go…
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Celebrations At The Atlanta Distribution Center
Our Distribution Center in Atlanta had a lot to celebrate this month. The AM shift and PM shift overlapped for a special Thanksgiving dinner: The team also threw a baby shower for Selam Mamo, a Shift Order Selector. She is due on December 27th!
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The Wet Paint Way: 4 Strategies for Successful Marketing
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Wet Paint is an independently owned store in St. Paul, MN that is well known for their social media and marketing verve. They organize regular in-store events, classes, weekly newsletters, an interactive website, regular social media postings via Instagram, Facebook, a bit of Twitter and Google+ content as well as a blog on WordPress and videos via YouTube. They also maintain a steady flow of print materials. In short, they do a lot. This dynamic, multi-platform strategy is made possible by the dedicated Social Media and Marketing team: Kristina Fjellmen and Chris Nolt. Kristina and Chris are both working artists with years of experience on the…
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Venerable Vintages: The Compass
Catherine Monahon, MacPherson’s Copywriter Venerable Vintages is a chance to indulge in the art supply nerd in all of us. To submit a special item connect with us at artdogblog (@) macphersonart.com. This month’s Venerable Vintages is a collection of drawing instrument ephemera from MacPherson’s Emeryville office. The collection features a compass set beside various patented compass, divider and ruling pen designs from an Alteneder & Son’s pricing booklet published in 1871. The compass has a long interdisciplinary history, with science and art at the heart of its purpose. A tool for mathematics, architecture, engineering, geography and the arts, the compass (or “divider”) dates back to ancient civilizations3. We investigated…
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Products By Personality: Customer Gift Guide
Cassie Brehmer, MacPherson’s Account Manager & Catherine Monahon, MacPherson’s Copywriter The classic question this time of year: “My cousin/sister-in-law/friend/neighbor is an artist, what should I get them?” Gifters may not be familiar with the supplies and mediums their giftee prefers; providing an endcap or featured table in the form of a “Gift Guide” helps point customers in the right direction—without needing a staff member to walk them through the entire world of art supplies in three minutes. In an effort to encourage and inspire, we’ve created a selection of products for five creative personalities your customers might be shopping for: The Dedicated Artist, The DIY Crafter, The Young Creative, The…
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Riley Street San Rafael Celebrates 11 Years
Catherine Monahon, MacPherson’s Copywriter Riley Street Art Supply has locations in San Rafael and Santa Rosa, CA; this month they celebrated 50 years of being in business, with the San Rafael store turning 11 this past June. Both stores celebrated with a two day sale where everything was at least 30% off, and the San Rafael store partnered with vendors to set up outdoor booths with various Make-and-Take activities and demonstrations. Vendor partners included Daniel Smith, Golden, Strathmore, Jacquard, Savoir-Faire, Liquitex and Marabu. The event was a great opportunity to engage with repeat customers as well as passersby who had never even been in the store. Outdoor Booths + Downtown Foot…
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The Art Bar at Kittles Art Supply
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Like most of us in the art supply business, John Kittle wears many hats. He is the owner, manager, lead art teacher, and lead framer at Kittles Art Supply in Show Low, Arizona, nestled in the White Mountains in a tightly knit rural community. Like many mom and pop shops, moms, pops and other family members help the business survive and thrive. Running a business in a sparsely populated area presents its own set of challenges; John points out his three core business strategies: selling art supplies, offering classes (including a summer camp) and running a custom frame shop. Catering to a small community means seizing…
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Artisan Expo: The Positive Impact of Workshops
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s In September, Account Manager Mia Fesmire and Brand Marketing Manager Ariana Faustini represented MacPherson’s exclusive brands at a three-day art supply extravaganza in Santa Fe known as Artisan Expo. The bi-yearly consumer show is sponsored by Artisan Santa Fe, a retailer with locations in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Artisan Santa Fe founded Artisan Expo in 2000, and the event has grown over the years to become the largest art materials and instructional event in the world! They host over 100 half-day and full-day workshops led by expert instructors, as well as a vendor trade show where over 80 vendors cater to artists who travel from…
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Happy Halloween from MacPherson’s!
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherosn’s If MacPherson’s has a favorite holiday, it may or may not be the one that involves dressing up, decorating, turning the world upside down and tapping into our imaginative, artsy sides. While delivering creativity is what we do on the clock, we embrace (and express) creativity outside of work too—in fact, for many of us it is the fuel that keeps us going! Halloween is a chance for us to show off this creative spark. Costume Contests We kicked off the day of Halloween with a costume contest. The winners in Emeryville: Jeanine Davids as The Butcher, Ariana Faustini as an American Eagle and Christine Sanchez…
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Introducing Strathmore Mixed Media Postcards
Strathmore Artist Papers Picture yourself going to your mailbox each day and shuffling through your pile of papers. What do you typically see? Bills, coupons, ads, statements…yawn. Now imagine yourself shuffling through your mail and behold a beautiful, handmade postcard with a personalized message on the back. That’s enough to make your day. Who doesn’t love getting real, handmade mail? Artists can send their art in postcard format with our new Mixed Media Postcards. They’re perfect for the upcoming holiday season. Made with our 400 Series Mixed Media paper, these heavyweight 184 lb (300gsm) postcards have a vellum drawing finish and are sized to handle wet media applications. They’re great…
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Four Mixing Sets by Williamsburg Oils
Eight 11 ml tubes of color plus a 37 ml tube of Titanium White make each of these four sets perfect for trying new colors or an entirely new palette from which you can mix a new range of colors. Williamsburg has one of the most extensive selection of oil colors available anywhere, and these sets can help you narrow down options and begin personalizing your palette. Four 8-Color Mixing Sets by Williamsburg Oils from Golden Artist Colors on Vimeo.
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New Videos from GOLDEN
GOLDEN Artist Colors, Inc. We recently added two new videos to our Video Library that we think your customers will be interested in. Videos are quick and easy content to share on Facebook and a great way to boost your organic reach. Please visit our YouTube or Vimeo page to check them out! GOLDEN Acrylic Sets : Exploration & Experimentation from Golden Artist Colors on Vimeo. GOLDEN Acrylic Sets: Exploration & Experimentation GOLDEN Acrylic Sets are a great way to go from being overwhelmed by the array of colors and mediums available to becoming oriented to the capabilities of different acrylic products. Join Kevin Greeland for a quick look…
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Art Dog Of The Month: Cody
Introducing this month’s Art Dog, Cody—a spunky people-loving pup from North Hollywood, CA. He is just about three and was rescued from the East Valley Shelter in LA by his humans Jenia and Chris Hauser of Carter Sexton Art Supplies. Jenia gives us the scoop on his hairdo, what he loves and his deepest, darkest fears… “Cody’s hair color change was a BIG surprise to his mom and his brother Zack. They went out of town for a weekend in July and came home to a blue dog with a mohawk. Chris Hauser’s creative genius in action. Needless to say they haven’t gone out of town since. Cody loves people;…
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Ready, Set, Go: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday & Giving Tuesday
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager & Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Mark your calendars! While you’re focusing on sales and promotions for the winter holidays, keep these three retail-related holidays on your radar. We’ve put together key links, hashtags and merchandising ideas so that you can easily integrate Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday into your promotions next month. Black Friday, November 23rd Black Friday is the informal name for the day following Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November. Traditionally recognized as the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the United States, Black Friday is an opportunity to reach a wide audience with deep discounts. While this “holiday”…
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MacPherson’s Organizational Updates
We are excited to announce a few organizational updates! Please visit our announcements page to read the full letter from our CEO & President, Dave Schofield. John Stephens has transitioned to Director of Marketing, focusing on brand management, category management, creative services and digital experience teams. Neil McIntyre has been promoted to Director of Account Management and he’ll be joining our Senior Leadership Team. He will continue his management of the national field and inside sales teams, in addition to assuming leadership of our customer service team. Jeff Scholz, MacPherson’s Director of IT, will now serve as a member of our Senior Leadership Team. Jessica Krainert, our EDI Specialist, will…
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Fall in Love with Matte Metallics from DecoArt
This autumn, pump(kin) up your displays and end caps with DecoArt’s Americana Decor Matte Metallics! As a durable, opaque coverage paint, Americana Decor Matte Metallics deliver a chic, subtle sheen that your customers will *fall* in love with for their seasonal DIY decor. Curing to a hard finish, this one-of-a-kind formula offers excellent adhesion to a variety of surfaces such as, wood, glass, and metal. It’s multi-surface capabilities and subtle luster make it the perfect product for year-round use. Gather all 14 traditional and jewel-tone colors to harvest even more creativity in your customers and make your store truly shine! Stop and smell the rose gold and find Matte Metallic…
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Canson Colorline Fine Art Paper
Canson© is excited to introduce the Colorline® portfolio with new colors and formats. Colorline paper from France has dual-sided texture for drawing, colored pencil, pen, marker and mixed media. The brilliant spectrum of colors and weights fit every professional or student, providing an excellent value. We have thirty-two beautiful hues with assortments of 25 colors in 150gsm and heavier stock 300gsm with two sizes 19.5”x25.5” sheets and 8.5”x11” sheets and packs. Our partner brand Daler-Rowney recently discontinued colored art paper Canford in North America due to a mill closure. Customers will be able to purchase Canford while supplies last, we recommend replacing with Colorline as paper craft continues a strong…
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Holiday Set Promotions from GOLDEN
GOLDEN Artist Colors, Inc. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the Holiday Set Promotions from GOLDEN. The gift of paint is the perfect holiday present for artists. With this in mind, MacPherson and GOLDEN are offering a 60% discount on these and other select sets for the 2018 Holiday Season. QoR mini Watercolor 12 half pan set Williamsburg 11 ml Landscape Set GOLDEN Acrylic Explorer 14 Set Limited MAP Policy Adjustment (US Only) 40% off September 17 through December 31, 2018. Refer to the MacPherson Buyer’s Guide for further details or see your MacPherson Sales Representative with any questions.