Archives of the Art Dog Blog from MacPherson's

It was a tough month all around for some huge lights in our small industry.

Bette Mosias  a leading art and craft supply industry pace setter and a true San Franciscan passes away on October 7th. Long time owner of the iconic Mendel’s Far out Fabrics on Haight Street in the heart of the city’s Haight Ashbury. The business, established by her father, has been a center of the creative spirit in “The Haight” and Bette was a driving force in this since 1979. Read more about Bette Mosias

Well respected art Material technical expert Mark Gottsegen passed away recently. He was 65 years old. Mark was the founder and director of AMIEN (amien.org), a highly valued online technical service for artists, a long time professor of art and materials education at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro, and the author of The Painter’s Handbook, regarded as the standard painting manual for the contemporary artist.

Jack Fullerton died in late September at the ripe old age of 91. He  was the CEO of Fullerton Sales in Southern California when MacPherson’s bought the Company in 1987. Fullerton’s speciality was the importing and wholesaling of engineering and drafting supplies and the acquisition introduced us to a lot of new Southern California retailers. Farewell old sport!

Barb & Dave Knapp

With sadness we report former MacPherson’s sales representative David Knapp passed away on October 16th after a long illness in Roseville, CA. He is survived by another MacPherson’s alum and sales representative Barbara Knapp. 

Retail art materials giant Harvey Flax passed away on October 4, 2013 at the age of 92. He is survived by Judy, his wife of 66 years and three daughters, Carol Flax (Fickbohm), Joan Flax (Clark) and Janis Flax (Perelman). Harvey was born in 1921 in Bayonne, New Jersey and moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1931. He attended Los Angeles High School, began his college education at UC Berkeley and received his BA in business from UCLA after serving in the army in the Pacific. Harvey was the proprietor of M. Flax Artist Supplies in Westwood Village for more than 50 years. He had a profound impact on the world of art supplies and was known and respected by the LA art, architecture and design communities. Harvey’s greatest interest was his family. An incredible presence, he will be profoundly missed by all. Read more here.

From Itoya’s Jin Takamura on the recent passing of industry pioneer Harvey Flax. Here are some thoughts that are both eloquent and could have been just easily written for Bette Mosias:

“One of the “characters” in our industry passed away this (past Friday)morning, and as we were remembering him in the office, we realized that as the greatest generation closes their chapter of our shared book, we are also losing our “characters”. These are the self made loud mouths who built their empires in all-new business arenas that are now smothered by accountants, attorneys and political correctness. These are the “characters” who put America on the global map, that defined and shaped our society and the significance our country holds today on the world stage. The people who invented and pioneered and persevered, and paved the road for all of us, we so wouldn’t have the rocky roads and the challenges they experienced. From their blood and sweat, we now comfortably gaze out and enjoy the glorious views from the solid platforms laid upon the foundations they dug. One by one, we bid goodnight, God’s speed and salute their contributions which all too often we take for granted everyday. May we take a moment to remember all the “characters” in our lives who have brought us to where we are today, and may we carry forward with their memory and be inspired to do likewise. And while we can emulate their beliefs, and can duplicate their actions, only original “characters” will have set the bar of what it means to be a true “character”…”

Mike Cappadocia the Director of Sales at  Pentel of America awarded Debbie Gies, National Sales Manager with a plaque, pin and gift, in recognition of her 30 years of contribution to the company. Well done Debbie!

Dana Rice

Dana Rice has been promoted to Golden’s Director of Marketing, She will be responsible for managing the company’s brands and global strategic marketing initiatives. In her new role she will be instrumental in supporting the Golden’s connection to the arts community and growing the educational resources. Congratulations Dana!

Congratulations to Posner’s of Tuscon who is celebrating their 100th anniversary. They got their start in 1913, after Philip Solomon Posner, a Russian immigrant and sign painter, moved to Tucson with his family and opened his first of several stores catering to artists and sign painters. The store was sold to Dick Brown in 1977. With only one employee who isn’t related to Brown, Posner’s continues to be a family owned and operated business. Dick, who co-owns the store with his wife, Emily, has two daughters and two grandsons working in the store. Recently and after 40 years on the same location, Posner’s moved to E. University Blvd. “We couldn’t have landed in a better spot that suited us as well” said Emily.  According to the Arizona Daily Star, Posner’s carries more than a half million products from erasers to paints to specialty papers and foam board. Read the entire article here Arizona Star

Posner’s at its downtown location, 233 E. Congress St., in 1926

Montana Can’s esteemed artist Risk One & Obey’s Shepard Fairey created some amazing art work at last years Art Basel/Wynwood Walls in Miami. Captured here by Buckshot Prints and Montana Cans is a quick video celebrating their mastery

As part of a huge Michaels Stores restructuring dubbed Vision 20/20 Senior VP –Strategic Sourcing Wilson Zhu  will be leaving Michaels to join Gymboree another Bain portfolio company in mid-November.  Michaels plans to combine the Sourcing and Category Management organizations under the leadership of Philo Pappas to enhance the company’s ability to capture trends, find exciting new products, and ensure speed to market.

R&F Handmade Paints marks its 25th Anniversary with a new website and video documenting how it all started. This video features R&F founder and president, Richard Frumess. Richard began making a relatively obscure medium, encaustic paint, in the early 1980’s. With his curiosity, the love of materials, and sheer stubbornness, Richard has created a company that has served artists for over 25 years. Check out their new web site rfpaints.com and view the new video  “Color with Intent”

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Actor David Arquette appears on NBC’s Today Show to talk about his new project: helping troubled teens turn their lives around on a new reality show. Things get a little wild when Kathy Lee and Hoda pick up cans of Montana GOLD and BLACK to test out their own graffiti skills on the set!

Click here to check out the Surprising results

Colorest Art Battle: Twelve aerosol artists and art collectives from all over the Redbank NJ region were  invited to take part in the annual Jersey Shore Aerosol Art Battle Against Hunger, a family-friendly afternoon of juried, live-paint graffiti art to benefit the Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean. Hosted by Colorest and sponsored by Montana Cans and Crescent the event was a huge success. Read the whole story here: Redbank Taggers for Hunger

Check out a music video featutring our very own Montana artist Risk One

Prismacolor Back-to-School Merchandising Contest Winners announced!

Over the back-to-school selling period Prismacolor ran a merchandising contest designed to drive incremental off-shelf sales of key Prismacolor items while fostering creativity and generating excitement amongst retailers across the country. Congratulations to the winners!

1st Place – Jerrys Artarama – Deerfield Beach, FL

2nd Place – Dick Blick – Berkeley, CA

3rd Place – Art Supplies Ink – Aptos, CA

Prismacolor goes to New York Fashion Week!

Prismacolor recently announced a very exciting partnership with NY-based fashion label, Ruffian! Hear how Prismacolor helps designers Brian and Claude take their designs from sketches in a sketchbook to runway ready!

Prismacolor NEW 44 Premier Art Marker Color Charts now available!

Prismacolor Premier Brush-Fine DoubleEnded Markers Colors

Prismacolor Premier Chisel-Fine DoubleEnded Markers New Colors

Although temperatures are still hitting 90 degrees in parts of the nation, it’s getting darker earlier. Soon enough Daylight Savings ends in most states (Sunday, November 3rd @ 2:00 am) and we’ll be reminiscing about the warm, sunny days of summer.

So what to do with that extra hour? How about a stroll through the lighting department? Take a look at the floor models. Are they out dated? Are you stocking the best selling SKUs? Is this department a destination?

In conjunction with Daylight Savings, Daylight Co. is introducing “ The Best of the Best “ Drop Ship Assortment which features top-selling lamps and display models at an unbeatable price. From now until 12/31/2013 The Best of the Best assortment is 64% off + FREE FREIGHT (Regular discount 59.5%).  Included in the drop ship are three floor models billed at 50/50% off (included in the NET price) to help refresh outdated inventory. Now is your opportunity to brighten up the lighting department with contemporary, color correcting, energy efficient lighting products.

Looking for more information on ordering daylight? Contact your MacPherson’s sales representative.

Premium Artist Drawing Materials by Viarco Since -1907

Viarco is a family owned business located near Porto in northern Portugal. They have developed unique and proprietary blends of graphite, carbon and binders to produce some of the highest quality sketching materials available to artists today.

AS SEEN AT NAMTA!

Based on the success of individual ArtGraf products, a contemporary, and functional, P.O.P display (GL500AST / GL500DSP ) was developed to house all the Viarco products in a convenient  14.5”  footprint.  Featured in the Holiday Buyer’s Guide (pg. 53)  at 62.5 % off.

Contents  within the assortment :

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!

Included with the purchase of the P.O.P  is the FREE consumer “Try Me Station” # GL500TRY -retail value of- $60.00.

The attractive, compact “TRY ME STATION” contains full sized samples of :

Watercolor Graphite 20 gram Tin (GL500220) –  paintable and ready to use with a wet brush, artists are able to create a wide range of graphite grays . The graphite binds to paper and is erasable.

Carbon Pencil (GL50048/2) – These pencils feature a rich, matte, black lead providing an ultra smooth and consistent stroke.

Water Soluble Carbon Disc (GL503335) – A unique disc of intense black carbon that can be used dry or with water soluble techniques

Graphite Stick (GL500102) – A unique blend of graphite and binders that allow the stick to be used dry for drawing or with water soluble techniques.

An Escoda Prado 1462 -8 Synthetic Sable Round brush, water cup, popular Fluid 140lb CP W/C paper and the portable, lightweight station complete this modern display. An additional cutout is included to house an XL 250 GM WS Graphite stick (GL500250) if desired.

As the holidays approach a great “gifts under” end-cap item is the easy to wrap Watercolor Graphite Set (GL500201) $59.95 .  A handsome collection of water-soluble graphite that can be used wet or dry. Each set includes one Watercolor Graphite 20g tin, one Graphite stick and one Escoda Series 1468-4 Prado Tame synthetic pocket travel brush. Featured in the Holiday Buyer’s Guide (pg. 53) at 58% off.

Looking for more information on ordering Global Art Material’s? Contact your MacPherson’s representative for instructions.

Here’s a video that will show you why artists are so excited about ArtGraf:

On the weekend of October 12th, the Estria Battle (Prism Urban Art Festival – a large-scale urban art and cultural event), was held in Oakland, CA.  There were several art and educational events leading up to the festival – including a youth conference where mural painting techniques were taught to high school groups, an urban art print show at 1AM Gallery in San Francisco, and a slide show night where several artists and organizations each presented slides while they gave a personal narrative about their cause/artwork.  The festival/graffiti battle itself was a huge success, attracting several thousand people throughout the day, and featured 16 international graffiti artists battling it out on giant canvas walls, 6 high school groups for the youth battle, a black book battle open to anyone, 3 live entertainment stages, a skate park, a bike park, a petting (with reptiles!) zoo, interactive art activities for all, and of course, food and product vendors.  It was a family-friendly event and people of all ages attended.

This event has been growing over the past 5 years or so, and has been sponsored by MTN exclusively in the past.

We are thrilled that this year, the opportunity opened up to MacPherson’s, and together our own Montana Cans and Art Alternatives won the exclusive sponsorship!  It was a great sight to see Montana GOLD and Montana Acrylic Markers in the hands of all the artists that day, painting on huge canvas walls constructed out of Art Alternatives canvas topped with beautiful brand banners.

If you are interested to learn more about the Estria Foundation and the events/ projects they run (which will also be sponsored by Montana and Art Alternatives over the next year), you can visit the website: Estria Foundation

1st Place Winner Vyal

2nd Place Dytch66

Derwent Charcoal pencils & Compressed charcoal + Charcoal set

Charcoal is one of the oldest drawing tools; a natural classic made from carbonised wood. Whatever your drawing style Derwent has a charcoal product to suit you.

Charcoal Set for Mixed Media

This charcoal collection has been specially selected to include a comprehensive range of charcoal media: 1 dark Charcoal pencil for intense lines, 2 Tinted Charcoal pencils in Glowing Embers and White for some natural colour and highlights, 3 compressed Charcoal blocks for larger drawings, 2 strips of Natural Vine Charcoal for organic mark making, 1 Natural Chunky Willow Charcoal to make broad expressive strokes and 1 paper stump for effective blending. Item number WN2300675 retails for $19.99.

Charcoal Pencils

The freedom of charcoal with the control of a pencil. Available in 3 degrees with a wide core, it is a naturally water-soluble pencil. Charcoal particles are mixed with the finest clays and encased in wood to produce a rich, smooth textured pencil with all the beauty and character of traditional charcoal in a convenient, easy to use form. Item Number WN36301(Light), WN36302(Medium), & WN36303(Dark).

Compressed  Charcoal Blocks

Derwent’s robust compressed charcoal blocks give the freedom of creative expression. A solid square block of pure, reformed wood charcoal, it produces deep, dense tones with a completely different texture from graphite. It can be used on its edge for broad sweeping strokes or on the end for fine lines. Item numbers WN35997(Light), WN35998(Medium), & WN35999(Dark).

Product Specs:

The Mixed Charcoal Set is available on a blister card. Compressed blocks are available as open stock and Charcoal pencils are available in open stock, a tin of 6 and a blister of 4.

Now Available…GOLDEN High Flow Acrylics Demo in a Box!

Golden has heard a number of success stories about stores offering High Flow demonstrations as a way to get customers excited about the possibilities of this versatile, super low viscosity acrylic paint.

If you need a little help getting an easy, but effective demonstration set up, Golden has a new tool to assist you in that process. Introducing the High Flow Demo in a Box Kit (095-0)!

 This kit comes complete with:

o   Select 4 oz. High Flow Acrylic Colors

o   A 4 oz. Fluid Acrylic to illustrate the viscosity difference

o   Branded demonstration cards

o   An empty dauber-style refillable marker

o   Step-by-step guide on how to conduct the High Flow demonstration (includes talking points for each exercise)

You don’t have to stop there though! Make the demonstration even more robust by adding tools of your own, such as other unique styles of empty markers, dip pens or brushes.

From fine line detail work to broad strokes, High Flow Acrylic has an ink-like consistency that lends itself to a wide range of techniques and a wide range of artists. From calligraphers to illustrators to mixed media artists to fine artists, there’s an opportunity to engage and sell to all of them with High Flow Acrylics.

Introducing artists to High Flow Acrylics and refillable markers is easy. Once they’ve tried it, they’ll be excited and open to new possibilities for experimentation. Consider using the High Flow Demo in a Box as the starting point to set up a “Try It” station that provides artists with tools and substrates to let them discover while visiting your store.

The “Try It” station that was set up at GOLDEN included a variety of markers, a blank piece of illustration board with some black construction paper (which works great for fluorescent and iridescent colors) and some inspiration signage.

Not nearly as intimidating as a paintbrush, more fun than a pencil, the audience for High Flow and markers is practically limitless.

Other resources for High Flow Acrylics include:

High Flow Acrylics Introduction Video:

High Flow Acrylics Marker Video:

High Flow Support Items Available:

• High Flow Vertical Banner (Application content for placement by the High Flow rack)

• High Flow In-Aisle Callout Sign (Ideal for all complementary areas of the store)

• 24” High Flow Rack Top Magnet (Offers supporting graphics for the rack)

• High Flow Tear-Off Display (Additional take-away information)

• High Flow Color Charts (Hand-painted colors, great to hand out at events)

• High Flow Digital Marketing Toolkit (Email & social media content, images)

• High Flow Giant Inflatable Bottle (Hang from the ceiling to attract attention)

Ready to order the 095-0 High Flow Demo in a Box or any of the other support items listed above? Have other questions about High Flow? Give your MacPherson’s Sales Rep a call!