Here are a few additional videos from Pow! Wow! Hawaii to share with your store’s followers in addition to a link to Ikea USA’s Street Art Campaign featuring the incomparable Montana Black:
Looking to offer more options in watercolor paper, particularly traditional European mould-made four deckle edged rag paper? What could be a more perfect option, coming from the oldest paper mill in Europe celebrating 750 years of papermaking, than Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper. The paper is sized both internally and externally using a non-animal based sizing, making it both ideally absorbent and odorless.
Artistico is available in Traditional White, a warm white surface and Extra White, a bright white made without the use of optical brighteners. In addition to the three traditional surfaces – Hot Press, Cold Press and Rough – Artistico Extra White is also available in a velvety surface called Soft Press. Artistico is available in 90 lb, 140 lb, and 300 lb weights. Artistico features a watermark “FABRIANO+ARTISTICO” on the short side. Not only will this premium paper satisfy the most demanding professional artists, it is also priced to appeal to all of us.
Links to the various listing of the Artistico Watercolor Paper at Online Express (OEX):
Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper Assortment and Merchandiser
Traditional White Artistico Blocks
Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Pentel of America, the company is proud to announce that its current Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Chotaro “Joe” Koumi is taking over as president of the company, effective immediately. Mr. Koumi will also be in charge of Pentel of America’s manufacturing facility in Mexico.
Date Correction MacPherson’s Spring Buyers Guide: The colorful and amazing MacPherson’s Spring Buyers Guide runs now until 4/30/15. We got the effective date right on the cover and at the bottom of the right hand page of every double page spread from page 3 to 47. We did make one mistake for which we need to issue this caution. In the green panel on the index page we state: SB PRICING EFFECTIVE DATES: Now through May 24th 2015. That is not correct and alas our incredible pricing will come to an end for orders placed after April 30, 2015.
Three Artist & Craftsman(A&C) locations around NYC are joining together with Bryant Park Corporation in NYC to sponsor a massive art program that will run during the Spring/Summer outside of the NY Public Library, which is a popular tourist attraction visited by millions of people every summer. A&C will organize classes and provide product donations from cooperative supplier partners to help support the program. Read more here
The 2015 NAMTA Board of Directors election is over and congratulations go out to the winners. Their term begins at the close of Art Materials World in Denver and runs for three years. The new retailer Board Members are Lise King of King’s Framing & Art Gallery, in Corbeil, Canada, and Tony Mines of Art Creations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jeremy Franklin of A Franklin & Associates is the new Independent Rep Board Member and Maureen Labro-Guidetti of Savoir-Faire will serve her first term as a supplier Board member.
Maureen-Labro-Guidetti
Jeremy Franklin
Tony Mines
Lise King
Kristen Sciasia
CC Lowell’s of Worcester, MA owner Kristen Sciascia has been in the news lately. She was interviewed for a business podcast entitled Dissecting Success in which she talks about her unique approach to running a small business, her transition from employee to owner, how to compete against big box stores, and the advantages of using a distributor supplier. Have a listen Dissecting Success In addition to the podcast, below is an article from Worcester Magazine: Two Minutes with…Kristen Sciascia:
Cumberland Pencil Company’s (Derwent) long time marketing manager Leah Lister has recently left the company to form her own marketing consultancy. A successor has not yet been named.
Flax in the San Francisco Bay Area has taken top honors for the 2015 “Best Arts & Crafts Store” on the popular A List City Voter web site. Flax, San Francisco was voted #1 and Flax San Mateo #3. Congratulations to all!
Have your Acrylic Gel Medium sales exploded recently? Ours have. We can’t keep Liquitex and Golden in stock due to a viral craft video by HEYKayli that shows how to easily transfer a laser printed (copier) image on to wood. Before checking it out be sure your stock of Gel Medium(Art Alternatives Clear Gesso works great too!), Mod Podge, unfinished Art Alternatives or Ampersand cradle panels and supplies are well stocked and while you are at it why not create an end-cap with all the relevant materials & examples?
Scott Fraser, Daler Rowney’s west coast account manager has resigned from the company to pursue new opportunities. Daler is seeking a qualified candidate to manage the western region as part of the U.S Sales and Marketing team. Please send all resume submissions to Laura Peterman, and copy Lurent Duthoit
Michael Hammer’s rep organization, Sampro has been making changes. Recently, Lex Hade resigned having decided to rededicate herself back to her studio painting. Christine Spinelli has been promoted to Director of Marketing. Jess Gondolfo join the Pound Ridge, NY office on May 1st as Director of Customer Service. In addition, Marisa Masotti has recently joined the company in a customer service role.
A note from ColArt West Coast Sales Person Steve Gallisdorfer; “As many of you have heard, I am headed out on a 12 week medical leave due to spine surgery. The arthritis in my spine is causing the vertebrae to change shape as they slowly degrade, and this is pinching several nerves where they exit my spine. So I will be missing NAMTA this year, as well as all other functions until early June. The good news is my surgeon expects me to make a full recovery and have no limitations or lingering pain after I am healed. Thank you for all the encouraging call and emails I have received. Your positive vibes do help me keep my spirits up!” Keep up with Steve’s recovery on Facebook.
Krink is a known leader in Urban Arts, the fastest growing category within the art supply industry. Krink produces unique products that appeal to an ever-expanding audience worldwide. All Krink products are handmade in the USA. For more information please visit krink.com.
Krink is now available through MacPherson’s!
The K-60 (KK60…) is the top-selling marker followed closely by the K-7 1(KK71…) and K-42 (KK42…). These markers are the best way to start with the Krink brand and are available in two low-cost displays. The KKR7160(pictured) and KKR42 are low-cost and compact. They both contain Krink’s top-selling markers in the most popular colors. Click on item #s to go to online ordering screen. Must be logged into MacPhersonArt.com.
Visit GOLDEN in booth #522, say hello and see some exciting new items!
While at the show you’ll get a first-hand look at GOLDEN’s new High Flow Drawing Set, High Flow Mop Set and two new A-Z Acrylics Sets. Booth visitors will have a chance to belly up to the paint bar and have some fun socializing and exploring materials with Working Artist Program Director, Patti Brady! There will be plenty of selfie opportunities to share with your store staff, friends and families back home, showing them what a great time you’re having in Colorado!
And since we don’t want the fun to stop there, GOLDEN is also inviting show attendees to enjoy a local craft beer on Wednesday, April 15 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm in their booth. After a busy day at the show, consider taking a few minutes to relax and unwind before heading to the President’s Reception at the Denver Art Museum!
GOLDEN Sales & Marketing Teams Experience Growth
GOLDEN is excited to welcome two individuals to their Sales & Marketing teams at GOLDEN.
Stephanie Wysluzaly
Stephanie Wysluzaly joins GOLDEN’s internal sales team as its new Sales Administrator. Stephanie is a graduate of Elmira College in NY, earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts with a concentration in Ceramics and Painting. She’s thrilled to be working for a leading manufacturer of materials that supports the arts and her passion. Stephanie comes to GOLDEN from a medical device manufacturer in nearby Utica, NY, where she served for 6 years as a Corporate Contract Administrator. In that role, she developed a keen and comprehensive skill set for data analysis by use of complex Excel functions and Access database query activities. This skill set will provide GOLDEN a much deeper capacity to proactively monitor, communicate, and address both positive and negative trends within our customer classifications and product families. The critical responsibilities in this new role include sales reporting, key account demand planning, retail support optimization and store audits/marketplace administration.
Jeff Conklin, who is not so new to GOLDEN, is joining the Marketing team as Junior Brand Manager for Williamsburg and will also be their Tradeshow Coordinator. Jeff has been with Golden Artist Colors for almost 18 years. He joined the company in 1997 working in the shipping department and eventually moved to the Quality Assurance Technician role in their lab, a role which he has fulfilled for the past 14 years. Interested in growing his skills, he is currently pursuing his MBA in Project Management through Capella University. In his new role as Junior Brand Manager for Williamsburg, he will be bridging Marketing with the Technical and Operations Departments internally. Externally focused, he will bring the product to the sales team, trade partners and our artist community. He will be responsible for executing a product marketing strategy, including developing, coordinating and driving market research, sales implementation, advertising, educational outreach and social media.
“Made in Paint” Exhibition at The SAGG at Golden Artist Colors
The Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts is pleased to announce its third annual art exhibition, ‘MADE IN PAINT’. The show will exhibit the works produced by 18 artists from around the world who were selected for the Golden Foundation Residency Program in 2014. For information about a Golden Residency or past “Made in Paint” exhibitions, go to www.goldenfoundation.org. For more information about the Sam & Adele Golden Gallery, go to www.thesagg.org.
If you have any questions about any of the above information, contact your MacPherson’s Account Manager.
Gamblin Artists Colors is proud to add Phthalo Blue to their line of relief inks. Phthalo Blue prints beautifully and balances out the color-mixing potential of Gamblin’s palette of relief inks. It is an excellent choice in primary color-mixing systems, along with Hansa Yellow Light and Quinacridone Red.
Phthalo Blue Relief Ink will replace Ultramarine Blue on the Gamblin printmaking rack. New rack strips are available to order through your MacPherson’s Account Manager or by contacting Shannon or Kaitlin at Gamblin at 503-235-1945. Ultramarine Blue Relief Ink (is available through MacPherson’s Distribution Centers (while supplies last) but is no longer shipping from Gamblin Artists Colors.
Golden has provided the following Gel Transfer videos on their YouTube channel for art & craft retailers to take advantage of the viral trend for images transferred to wood. Use them on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media outlets to build connections and excitement with consumers! The viral video shows a brand other than Golden refering to it as “Acrylic Gel Medium” which has lead many stores to report they are wiping out of all gel medium brands.
Pastel Premier is a truly unique 100% Cotton/Archival Quality sanded pastel paper. It is double primed and coated with an aluminum oxide created for Pastel Premier to produce an ideal surface for pastel painting. A final seal coat makes this paper extremely durable and able to withstand almost any measure of scrubbing or reworking. The paper works with a wide range of media as an under painting and accepts as many as 25 layers of pastel.
Available in 3 colors/surfaces:
Pastel Premier is preferred not only by pastel painters, but is widely used with oil, acrylic and all dry media. No other surface has the characteristics found in Pastel Premier that work with such a wide range of media. In conjunction with the launch of Pastel Premier, Global Art will showcase the products in Pastel Journal Magazine. Also look for the road test article by Robert K. Carsten in The Artist Magazine.
Pastel Premier is available in 5 sizes . Pochettes (packets of unbound sheets), sheets and rolls:
For a complete list of prices, sizes and formats refer to the online MacPherson’s web catalog and March 2015 “What’s New”. “SI” pricing eff. 3/1/15 – 4/30/15.
Gamblin Torrit Grey is in stock and available to order now from MacPherson’s. Retail partners receive one tube of Torrit Grey for every three tubes of Gamblin paint ordered. Just add item# GB992670 to your order with the appropriate quantity.
Don’t miss the opportunity to promote Torrit Grey through your Facebook, Instagram, e-mail and web communications. Torrit Grey is a great reason for oil painters to come into your store and stock-up on paints, brushes, canvas and other materials. Gamblin suggests offering a tube of Torrit Grey as a free-with-purchase item for all Gamblin purchases of $25 or more.
Watch Gamblin’s Instagram (@gamblincolors)and Facebook feeds for announcements that you can share with your community of painters to let them know you’ve got Torrit Grey available in your store. You can easily create your own communications using the images and copy available on Gamblin’s retail portal. Click “Promotional Copy and Photography” and then click on the Torrit Grey link.
Each spring, Gamblin’s Master Paintmakers recycle the pigments captured by their Torrit Air Filtration System into a limited edition color: Gamblin Torrit Grey. Torrit Grey reflects Gamblin’s commitment to sustainability. Each batch is unique, ranging from warm dove grey to cool, bluish grey. With each year’s batch of Torrit Grey, Gamblin invites artists to participate in their Torrit Grey Painting Contest. The challenge: say what you want to say using only black, white and Torrit Grey. To see a gallery of last year’s Torrit Grey paintings, check out the albums on Gamblin’s Facebook page or on their website.
Last August I announced the news that our board of directors and I had begun to create a succession plan that would provide for a strong managerial foundation at MacPherson’s long beyond Stu Beattie’s and my retirements. Back then I shared that while I am in no hurry to slow down, it would be prudent to establish a roadmap for my gradual replacement. Stu’s departure in October of 2014 provided a unique opportunity to fill crucial aspects of his role with someone who has new and valuable talents and skills. We began a search late last year for a person who could fit this mostly financial and operational responsibility, and had the potential to ultimately fill a broader role within the organization.
Our goal is that this important hire will bring additional strategic skills to MacPherson’s as we put key parts of our overall company restructuring plan into place.
Rich Rusnack
I am pleased to announce that we have selected Rich Rusnack as MacPherson’s newest senior executive. His title will be President and he was selected from a strong field of candidates. Rich comes with impressive skills and experience, most recently with Standard Beverage Corporation, a $200m Kansas-based spirits wholesaler where he moved through the roles of CFO, COO, and most recently served as President. Previously, he was with the Leslie Rudd Investment Company where he managed the company’s national real estate portfolio, as well as two of its operating companies, Oakville Grocery and Dean & Deluca, West. After he works his way through an extensive company orientation that will include visiting with our far flung team and spending time at our distribution centers, Rich’s key responsibilities will begin with the areas of Finance, Accounting and IT.
Due to a previous commitment Rich will not be attending NAMTA in Denver with our team next month, but there will be lots of opportunities to get to know him at future events.
Sincerely,
Frank Stapleton, CEO
