With great sadness we report the tragic passing of one of our industry’s best. Debbie Hart, owner of the Artworks Art & Frame in Excelsior, MN was killed in a car crash on Tuesday April 9th. We send our most sincere condolences and prayers to her family. For a news account visit the Lake Minnetonka Patch’s web site or see here tribute page on Facebook. Here is a tribute to Debbie in the latest issue of the Art Material Retailer Magazine as she celebrated 40 years in business. Art Materials Retailer Artist & Craftsman Supply, headquartered in Portland, Maine, announced its 19th store location in the Harlem area of New York city. The 8,000 square foot…

In celebration of its 75th Anniversary, Prismacolor will offer a limited edition set of the 50 most popular Premier colored pencil colors. Each pencil will feature a “75 Years” imprint and the set will also include an instructional DVD, two bonus blender markers, and various other informational brochures with tips and techniques. Perfect for the Prismacolor enthusiast and a wonderful gift idea, this set will be available in October.  Please contact your MacPherson’s sales representative for more information. Prismacolor expert, Diana Garrett demonstrates an interesting technique using Prismacolor Soft Core Colored Pencils and Plexiglass: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXAcrEqpwC8

Here is a tribute to Beth Bergman from The Grand Avenue web site, in celebration of her induction into the Art Materials Hall of fame at the NAMTA Convention next week in Minneapolis:   Beth Bergman will be recognized for her leadership in business, arts advocacy, and the art materials industry when the International Art Materials Association inducts her into its Hall of Fame. The honor takes place at the association’s annual conference and trade show, Art Materials World, which is held this year in Minneapolis, May 1–3. Bergman owns and operates Wet Paint artists’ supplies on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue. She has grown the business over 29 years to become one of the most known and…

At this year’s NAMTA show, Howard Kaufman will be presented with the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  He is the founder and President of Princeton Brush Company.  With over forty years of industry experience, Howard’s career began as a sales rep for Chartpak in NYC, LI and Northern NJ.  A native New Yorker, he is still referred to as Howie Chartpak by old time customers.  After working his way up the corporate ladder for the first twenty years, Howard left his job as General Manager of Grumbacher to begin Princeton Brush in the basement of his home in 1992. Though nobody needed or wanted another brush line, Princeton was very competitive from the outset…

MacPherson’s will be closing its Elgin Facility in June 2014 following the expiration of our lease. By our conversion to two DCs, in Reno and Atlanta, we can achieve substantial facilities savings while simplifying and reducing our large inventory investment. We have carefully planned this change so that our Midwest and North Eastern customers will not be disadvantaged. We have made this decision with strong reservations given the effective and experienced team we have in Elgin. Our Elgin employees will be encouraged to relocate to a larger facility in Atlanta that we expect to occupy next Spring. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to write or call, franks@macphersonart.com  (510) 761-5690   Frank Stapleton  

Blick Art Materials has acquired Utrecht Art Supplies, the 45-store art supply retailer from Topspin Partners LBO. Bob Buchsbaum, Chief Executive Officer of Blick, said of the transaction: “The acquisition of Utrecht gives us a tremendous, well-established brand and greater geographic reach for our brick and mortar channel. We are very excited to welcome Utrecht employees and customers to the Blick team.”  Topspin Partners LBO Managing Director Steve Lebowitz was equally pleased with the transaction, stating, “We are glad to have achieved a successful exit for our investors and are proud of the business that Utrecht’s employees have helped to build.  We are confident that Utrecht will be in good hands as part of the Blick family.”   Check out this fun promo video from Forstall’s in Birmingham:…