Archives of the Art Dog Blog from MacPherson's

We are sorry to announce that MacPherson’s Purchasing manager Kathy Johnson will be leaving early next year to pursue a new career direction in sales. Kathy has been a valuable contributor to MacPherson’s for over eight years as our Purchasing Manager. Kathy has a lot of friends within the company and the industry, and we’ll miss her very much. A search is underway to find a suitable candidate. Interested parties should forward their resume to resumes@macphersonart.com.

MacPherson’s southern California sales representative Jeff Reed has decided to leave the company at the end of 2011.  Replacing Jeff will be his son Justin who comes to us with over ten years retail art materials experience.

Lynn Pearl, long time ColArt USA team member and recently manager of their trade programs has left the company.

News from West-coast manufacturer’s reps the Eastman Group… Michael Miller will be joining the sales team as Julianne Miller transitions into motherhood.  Michael has a Bachelor in Fine Art from University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Art in Graphic Design from East Tennessee State University.

ANW/Crestwood, the owner of The Paper Company, CreativityWorks, and TPC Studios, has merged its operations with Making Memories. Over the next several months, the shipping, purchasing, and financial operations of Making Memories, located in Salt Lake City, will be integrated into ANW’s operation in Lincoln Park, NJ. The parent company of the combined organization will be known as ANW/CreativityWorks.

Congratulations to Walter Foster Publishing, celebrating its 90th year in business! Ninety years ago, Walter T. Foster—a well-known artist, instructor, and collector—began producing self-help art instruction books from his home in Laguna Beach, California. He originally wrote, illustrated, printed, bound, packaged, shipped, and distributed them himself. Although Walter passed away in 1981 at the age of 90, his legacy continues in a growing product line.

Chartpak’s director of education Sasha DeMarino has left the company to pursue a new and similar opportunity within the computer software industry.

GOLDEN has received  the Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA) with the Business Conservation Award for its continued efforts in making a positive difference related to environmental protection, preservation and education in the County.  The Award, new this year, was given to GOLDEN for its participation in the County’s Household Hazardous Waste Day collection efforts for the last several years, which has been successful in keeping thousands of gallons of paint from landfill disposal.

Ed Flax

After forty-five years at Martin/F. Weber Co., in Philadelphia Ed Flax has decided to retire to pursue new opportunities within the industry. Wishing you all the best, Ed, and thanks for your many years of commitment, wisdom and excellence.

Check out this Wynwood Walls Press/Videos featuring Montana:

Strathmore Artist Papers™ announces the introduction of new online tools that allow retailers to create their own promotional materials.  This program reflects Strathmore’s commitment to offering a full range of retail merchandising tools that maximize retail performance through visual impact, consumer education, and effective product selection & presentation.

The series of professionally produced poster signs features different works of art created on Strathmore fine art paper. Choose from Acrylic, Bristol-Smooth, Bristol-Vellum, Canvas, Charcoal, Drawing, Newsprint, Pastel, Sketch and Watercolor images in 18” x 24” or 24” x 32” size.

Templates for the Strathmore poster signs can be downloaded from the Retailer Tools section of their website at www.strathmoreartist.com. Customize each sign by adding  your own message and send to your local quick printer for professional quality signs at an affordable price.

Contact your MacPherson’s sales representative for more information on the Strathmore online point-of-sale program.

For artists who have a vision for going beyond the ordinary, GOLDEN introduces a 22ml limited edition set of Uncommon Blues featuring three blues from the Heavy Body line, each with unique qualities: Anthraquinone Blue, Smalt Hue and Cerulean Blue Deep. Available for Winter B-T-S only, this set of three fantastic blues is sure to pique the curiosity of artists looking for the fundamentals of blue, while seeking ways to differentiate themselves with something uncommon.

During the promotion, the Uncommon Blues set will be available at a low introductory retail price of $9.99, representing a 26% savings for consumers over open stock.  Standard and promotional discounts off this introductory list price apply.

Designed to generate interest in the full range of blues offered by GOLDEN, the set will include an informational piece of literature and will be supported by a series of pages on the GOLDEN Web site highlighting all the blues in the GOLDEN line.

They will be sold in case pack quantities only – 6 sets to a case pack. The case pack includes a clip strip for easy merchandising. Act quickly – these sets will only be available through January 27, 2012, or while supplies last.  The sets (#GD00P75-0) are in stock in the MacPherson’s warehouses now, so place your order promptly!  Please also remember that this is one of four Golden promotions we will be running throughout 2012, so stay tuned for details regarding future opportunities.

Winter B-T-S Reminder Promotional buying opportunities are available now through December 30 through your MacPherson’s Sales Representative. The winter B-T-S advertised promotional dates are 1/2/12 – 2/10/12.  Please check with your MacPhersonÆs Sales Representative for details regarding GOLDEN offerings in 2012.

GOLDEN Dealer Marketplace & Store Locator Don’t miss out on sales opportunities! If you haven’t already completed the GOLDEN Store Locator survey to accurately represent the product offering in your store, your listing will be underrepresented and customers may go elsewhere.  Please also remember that the Dealer Marketplace offers you access to a host of support materials, including product images, videos and forms.  Contact your MacPherson’s Sales Representative or GOLDEN Customer Service with any questions you may have.

Watch Migual Endara’s video which is a testament to the superior quality of the Sakura’s Pigma Micron pen – the most delicate 005 nib held through 3.2 million dots and the ink supply in one pen was enough to complete the entire piece of art that took a year to complete!

The video entitled “Hero” received over to 3 million views in 6 days!  Miguel’s stippling artwork was inspired by his dad and is composed entirely out of 3.2 million dots made with a single 005  Pigma Micron pen!  Both the video and the artwork were solely created and produced by Miguel Endara (not a paid advertisement for Sakura of America).

Looking for a hot, new product to share with your best and most creative customers? Today’s artists are constantly looking for new and exciting mediums to incorporate into their work.  The lines between fine and decorative art are becoming blurred as abstract, collage, dimensional inclusion, and protective laminates and coatings are being combined with traditional artist colors and mediums to create new and innovative forms of art.

Pebeo’s new Gedeo casting and glazing resins will appeal to artists who enjoy experimenting with new techniques.  Those who are already familiar with these types of mediums will appreciate Gedeo resin’s superior quality.

The New Products…

Crystal, Color, and Pearl Casting Resin (150ml / 300ml / 750ml): This two-part, low odor, transparent resin is ideal for molding, inclusions, coatings,  and laminates, and dries in just 24 hours to a shiny, hard, non-yellowing finish.  The casting resin is produced in a crystal clear as well as five convenient, premixed colors (150ml only), including Lapis Blue, Ruby Red, Amber, Topaz, and Jade.  Its strength and high transparency allow for a uniquely vitreous paste effect that replicates the look of actual glass.  The casting resin line also features a two-part pearl resin, available in White Pearl, Gold, and Vermeil. Available in 150ml bottles, this product can be used to create opaque castings, and can be mixed for marbleizing effects.

Glazing Resin (150ml): This two-part, transparent, low odor resin is used to create a clear, hard finish on paper, photos, cards, canvas, wood, cardboard, and more.  It is great for a multitude of projects, including multimedia work, collage, and scrapbooking. It may also be used for magnifying effects on canvas and other substrates, or to add dimension to flat surfaces.  When applied to flat surfaces, the resin miraculously levels itself out to form perfectly rounded edges!  Once dry, in just 24 hours, the resin forms a hard, non-yellowing, transparent coating.

Gloss+ Varnish (110ml): A solvent-based varnish used to give a brilliant gloss finish to all creations done with Gedeo resins.

Pebeo is a color company dedicated to producing quality products that inspire today’s artist to new heights of creativity.  Retailers will derive great benefits by adding these new, high-quality Pebeo products to their mix.  Your customers will thank you and keep coming back for more!

ORDER NOW! Initial Drop Ship Promotion as featured in MacPherson’s Spring Buyer’s Guide.

Assortment Item #POGedeo-Resin

Total MSRP – $1,432.35

Drop Ship Discount – 50/10% off MSRP ($644.56 Net)

Freight – Free freight on Displays

Promotional Drop Ship order period – January 23, through May 26, 2012

Delivery – Two to three weeks from date of order

Initial Open Stock Promotion

Promotional Open Stock Discount – 50% off MSRP

Order period – February 10, through May 26, 2012

Everyday Open Stock Discount – 40/10

Product demonstrations presented daily at CHA 2012 at Pebeo booth #2500 in Anaheim, California, beginning January 29th.