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…
-
-
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…
-
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…
-
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”…
-
Super(natural) Merchandising: Window Display Or Portal To Another World?
Last month, we showcased budget-friendly strategies for eye-catching window displays, with a focus on creating a unique experience and a call for submissions from retailers who are proud of their windows. The holidays offer opportunity for an extra dose of creativity, and it helps to have enthusiastic staff who take initiative. We are pleased to share a creative window just in time for Halloween: this Stranger Things display grabbed attention last year at JWS Art Supplies, in Great Barrington, MA, a quaint tourist town near the Berkshires. JWS has a reputation for having fun window displays that allows them to get extra creative when their favorite holiday comes around, bending…
-
Venerable Vintages: The Ghosts of Products Past
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Introducing Venerable Vintages, a monthly feature of archaic art supplies. Anything from art industry ephemera to unlikely heirlooms; Venerable Vintages is a chance to indulge in the art supply nerd in all of us. To submit a collection or special item, send images and descriptions to us at artdogblog (@) macphersonart.com. Many of us have a soft spot for vintage labels, first edition products or timeless typography from “back in the day.” The classic designs, often done by hand and screen printed onto the package, are in harmony with the contents. Aging art supplies are more than rusty compasses or dried out paint pans – they…
-
Paperwork People Actually Want
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s This holiday season gift your customers with basic instructions for simple activities and projects for all ages. These Activity Sheets are especially helpful for aunts, uncles and grandparents who may be seeing their young family members for the only time this year. Plenty of easy DIY projects can be found online; all you have to do is assemble the desired items in-store in an easily shoppable layout, highlight that you have a FREE activity sheet, and provide an example of a finished project for reference. For the Holiday Season, going a little crafty is ok! Make sure to include your social media handles, website,…
-
Retailer’s Choice: Next “Demo Days” Feature
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s Last month we introduced a new feature called Demo Days, which outlines instructions and materials needed to create an in store demonstration or workshop. Regular in-store activities help to foster a sense of community and make your store a destination spot for artists and hobbyists alike. Allowing your customers to participate in a hands-on activity that educates them on products and lets them leave your store with an item they are confident they can recreate. We’ve put together a list of demo ideas for 4th Quarter. Let us know which activity inspires you and we’ll outline how to do the most requested one in…
-
Best Practices: Plan Ahead For Holiday Merchandising
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s The holiday season brings in customers beyond the everyday shopper, which is an exciting opportunity to connect and encourage repeat business from these “non-regulars” throughout the year. In reality, it is also the season where empowering customers to help themselves will keep sale opportunities moving through your retail space in a healthy flow. Early October is a great time to set-up a a semi-permanent featured items table or end-cap up in store to rotate through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the December holidays. Your regular customers may notice something new – and your new customers will see fun products at great prices. October Ah, Halloween, the…
-
Wicked Halloween Assortments
Halloween is just around the corner, so don’t forget to check out this assortment of key Halloween items and seasonal goodies, perfect for a prominent display or end cap. Thumb Through Your Fall Buyer’s Guide The Fall 2018 Buyer’s Guide is full of inspirational resources for the coming fall (check MacPhersonArt.com for a link to the current Buyer’s Guide and promotions). Try a fun fall demo so customers can see how easy it is to use some of these products, like the marbled pumpkin featured on page 61. Click here for a refresher of how to transform a pumpkin into festive decor – no carving required!
-
Inktober For Everyone!
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s In 2009, illustrator Jake Parker set out to challenge himself for the month of October: create a work of art in pen and ink each day, and share it online. He dubbed it with the catchy name “Inktober” and got to work. Nearly ten years later, tens of thousands of artists are a part of the Inktober community. 31 drawings in 31 days, all under the hashtag “#inktober,” the artwork spans from fantastical to realistic, lettering to abstract. As long as it’s ink, it qualifies. Each day of #Inktober has a corresponding prompt to tackle creative blocks; see the list here for inspiration. Inktober in Your…
-
Come To My Window: Create Innovative, Inviting Budget-Friendly Window Displays
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s While the upcoming holidays are a great incentive to create expressive, themed window displays, we think any time is a good time to step up your display game. Our Emeryville office is just down the street from a bustling quirky-chic shopping destination in Berkeley, CA. While our designers were hunting for inspiration this summer, they couldn’t help but notice the impact of window displays in this creative retail hub. Nearby stores whose window displays we love include Papercraft, Athropologie, and a local toy/art supply store that specializes in the weird and wacky. We discovered a handful of resources from the creative geniuses at Anthropologie; click here…
-
Halloween and Cosplay Go Hand in Hand: Creative End Caps For People Who Love Dressing Up
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Halloween is a great time to introduce customers to the wild, varied, inclusive world that is Cosplay. CosPlay is the practice of dressing up as a fictional character–any fictional character–and it is not just popular during Halloween. Customers’ imaginations are already in gear for creating witty, spooky, realistic or outlandish costumes, so this is a great time to introduce another costume-related art form. Peak the interest of that special group who secretly wishes Halloween happened more than once a year and engage with a community of cosplayers you may have never known about. The Cosplay Community The word Cosplay is combination costume and play, and it…
-
Demo Days: Stenciled Tea Towel with Derwent Inktense Pencils
Cassie Brehmer, Account Manager, MacPherson’s I recently did a demo at Mangelsen’s in Omaha, Nebraska during their annual art fair using Derwent Inktense on Flour Sack towels. This demo is easy to replicate with any stencil of your choice, the project can take on any theme imaginable. We laid out several stencils on a demo table, the chicken was the most popular—maybe because of the rustic, homey feel—perfect for the tea towels, and let customers’ imaginations run wild You know your customers best, so feel free to get creative with what materials you use; this demo can also be done on canvas tote bags, handkerchiefs, center piece runners and other…
-
MacPherson’s YouTube: Hands-On Demos, Resources & Shareable Content
We are excited to announce the launching of a MacPherson’s YouTube account! It is currently populated with videos from each of our vendors’ hands-on experiences at this year’s Dealer Workshop. In collaboration with our vendor partners and the Artist’s Network, we produced a series of instructive and inspiring videos showcasing this season’s new products. Most importantly, you can learn about the products and discover ways to replicate the experience for in-store demos, events and creative displays. Create in-store connections with your customers and inspire your employees. Check out the videos and remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can stay current when we post videos in the…
-
Fun and Easy DIY Card-Making From Strathmore
Sara Prentice, Social Media Marketing Manager, Strathmore Artist Papers DIY Cards Greeting card season is just around the corner and these card-making techniques are a great way to inspire customers to buy all the materials needed to make their own personalized greetings well before the holidays hit! A seasoned artist or a beginner can enjoy these approachable cards. Perfect for the upcoming holidays, they can be easily customized for any occasion. Trend Trifecta: Watercolor, Mixed Media and the Handmade Movement Watercolor and Mixed Media remain hot topics. More people than ever are trying to learn about these mediums and show their creations on Instagram, Pinterest and other social channels. Anything…
-
Minimizing Support Induced Discoloration (SID)
Information Worth Sharing: New Video From Golden, Perfect For Painters Golden Artist Colors Support Induced Discoloration (SID), what is it? and how to minimize it. from Golden Artist Colors on Vimeo. Proper preparation can change everything. Set your staff up for success when chatting with customers and ensure that your community gets the best results when painting, from start to finish. Golden’s new video demos step-by-step how to minimize Support Induced Discoloration (SID). SID occurs when contaminants are drawn into paints and mediums as they dry – it is most noticeable with light colors, gel mediums and glazes. This video demos how to prepare a canvas or board with…
-
In-Store Paint Pouring Demo
by Mia Fesmire, MacPherson’s Account Manager in Southern California Summer is a great time to showcase the pouring trend – unstructured time lends itself to spontaneous art, and it is a project that works indoors or outdoors for kids and adults alike. We recommend merchandising several options of acrylics and pouring mediums to fit every budget in one location in your store. Check out videos on YouTube, which are easily shareable on your social media accounts, and don’t forget to provide finished examples next to the merchandise so interested customers can easily identify what they need. Paint Pouring Demo Materials you need: Surface: Primed Wood Panels, Canvas Panels, 3D objects…