Archives of the Art Dog Blog from MacPherson's

Make October INKTOBER! Ink it up, brighten, highlight, and make it POP with the fun, colorful trending fluorescent colors by FW INKS – fluorescent pink, yellow, blue, green, red and orange. FW Inks are permanent and lightfast acrylic paints that are fluid and perfect for mixed media projects, fine art work, craft and hobby works. Paint on wood, plastic, metal, non-fire ceramics, glass, paper, canvas, stone, shells and much more. Discover the endless possibilities with FW inks. The 1 oz, Bottles are priced at $7.99/bottle and a little bit goes a long way.

Check out Daler-Rowney sponsored artist, Collin Chan, who creates artworks with Daler-Rowney FW Ink. Pictured below, Collin used the very vibrant fluorescent yellow color.

The image below features FW Painted Rocks from an artist known as Love-is-Action-Movement. Her project spreads positive energy and thoughts through her painted Word Rocks. She says she absolutely loves the FW Fluorescent Inks to decorate the rocks which gives a watercolor-like wash using the gold taklon filaments of the NEW Robert Simmons Acrylic Brushes. The Acrylic Brushes work perfectly with the FW acrylic inks by painting with even fluid color with no brush marks.

Manuscript Pen Company has launched an exciting and captivating compendium of quality calligraphy items this year, which will lead beginners and the more advanced to truly master and enjoy the Art of Beautiful Writing.

Whether you want to treat friends and loved ones with an inspirational gift or try this rewarding craft yourself, the Masterclass set will provide you with all you need to start calligraphy in a modern and practical presentation case.

The tin storage case contains:

• Two Manuscript classic fountain pens
• Four nib options to explore thin and thick strokes
• 12 ink cartridges in assorted colors
• One ink converter which can be used in conjunction with Manuscript ink bottles for a longer supply of ink
• Concise calligraphy manual guiding the reader through three different scripts and calligraphy projects
• Practice pad and guidelines
• Two shut-off caps to protect the nibs when not in use.

Follow this link to the Masterclass set at Online Express (login to order).

We wish you an inspiring journey into the world of this enthralling art!

We invite you to discover more about Manuscript Pen Company who have been manufacturing nibs with the Leonardt brand since 1856. Watch their corporate video for a snapshot of their fascinating history.

Note to the video: Charles Stockbridge is the current Managing Director, whereas his father, Nick Stockbridge, is the company’s Chairman.

Check out https://www.calligraphy.co.uk/

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After nearly 18 years with MacPherson’s as one of our anchor account managers in Southern California, Sandy Goodstein is stepping down. In an environment of ever changing market conditions, traveling sales territories have encompassed larger and larger geographies. Sandy considered carefully the company’s offer of relocation outside the state of California and in the end chose to remain close to family and friends. We understand and appreciate all she has done to help our company grow and blossom over all these years. Many thanks Sandy and good luck in all your new ventures.

Octogenarian Dick Wiest, who has held an important sales post at MacPherson’s for over 21 years has retired. Previously Dick was general manager at Pacific Artist Materials southern California branch, then a sales rep at Leisurecrafts and Artcraft before joining us in 1995.

Belgium-based D’Ieteren which owns Safelite AutoGlass in the U.S. has taken a 41 percent stake in Moleskine as a first step to a full public takeover of the remaining publicly owned shares. If D’Ieteren gains the ownership, it intends to delist Moleskine from the Milan stock exchange. Moleskine’s revenues grew from $59.46 million USD (€53 million Euro) in 2010 to $143.6 million USD (€128 million Euro) in 2015. “Our wish is to delist Moleskine and support their ambitious plans to further develop a global aspirational lifestyle brand. “We are very happy to welcome Moleskine into the group,” says Roland D’Ieteren, chairman of the board of directors of D’Ieteren. “Moleskine represents our values perfectly and is a very promising company with strong growth potential and a highly talented management team.” Arrigo Berni, CEO of Moleskine, says “We are absolutely thrilled to join the D’Ieteren group.” Read more details here.

Justin Wraight has left toymaker Alex to become Chief Commercial Officer for a new company formed by London-based venture capital company BlueGem Capital Partners serving the needle arts market. BlueGem is a private investment fund specializing in branded consumer-facing businesses. The key brands in their portfolio are France based  DMC Group embroidery thread and London-based Wool and the Gang a DIY fashion brand.

Welcome to the world Roena Bell Preston, born on September 2 to Kyle and Andrew Preston! Congratulations to the proud grandparents Kathy Brennan & Don Preston of Preston Art in Louisville, KY.

New faces at Michaels – Lisa dePerio has stepped into the role of Business Unit General Manager – General Crafts, Jacques Coulliette is joining the company on October 3 as VP – Product Development and Design, and Robin Fisher will join Michaels on October 3 as VP – Trend. All three will be reporting to Idalia Farrajota

Derwent Pencil has entered into an exclusive distribution and logistics agreement with MacPherson’s to supply the North American art, education and craft channels. Derwent General Manager Simon Wells expressed his delight and excitement by saying “This new partnership will allow us to promote and develop our treasured heritage drawing and sketching brand”.  Mike Stranders, Marketing VP at Derwent’s parent company ACCO underscored their commitment to this new partnership by stating “We are very much looking forward to working closely with the team at MacPherson’s to introduce high quality Derwent fine arts products to more US consumers and ultimately grow Derwent’s brand share in the US market.” International Sales Director, Jacqueline Williams underscored Derwent’s commitment in saying “We plan to aggressively grow  the North American market through connected consumer marketing and strong retailer relationships.”

This new agreement will go into effect on January 1st, 2017 at which time MacPherson’s will become the exclusive distributor of Derwent brand products in the art, education and craft channel. Until that time, ColArt Americas will remain in their role as a direct distributor.

Mike Stranders, Jackie Williams & Simon Wells

Britain’s St Cuthberts Paper Mill has been acquired by F.I.L.A of Italy  (Canson, Daler-Rowney, Dixon/Ticonderoga, Maimeri & Lyra) based in Milan and listed on the STAR segment of the Milan Stock Exchange. Alan Walker, SCM’s Managing Director, commented: “We welcome F.I.L.A. as the new owners of this highly successful business. The long traditions of quality and service will continue into the future to an expanded audience all over the world. My team has worked hard and deserve the opportunity to join F.I.L.A. whose leadership credentials are demonstrated on a global basis.”

St Cuthberts Paper Mill

We are sorry to announce that Raven Iacono, Category Manager Drawing/Pens & Markers, will be leaving MacPherson’s on September 23rd to pursue a great career opportunity with Papyrus. Raven has made many significant contributions towards our Key Results and will not only be missed by our team but also by many in the vendor community. We are actively looking for a new Category Manager. Ideally, a dynamic team player who can develop and implement strategies to both drive sales and aggressively grow their categories. Anyone interested in exploring this career opportunity should review the job posting and send their resume to our HR Department at hr@macphersonart.com.

Canson’s Art Education leader Ed Brickler has resigned and will be leaving the company in a few weeks to seek new opportunities.

In October in New York City, Bob Buchsbaum, CEO of Blick Art Materials (Highland Park, IL) will be honored with the Business Community for the Arts (BCA) prestigious Leadership Award. This award recognizes an individual for his/her extraordinary vision, leadership, and commitment to supporting the arts and for encouraging other businesses to follow his/her lead.

Jeff Liefeld has joined the Mooney Sales & Marketing team and will have the responsibility for sales in the state of Oregon. Jeff was a store manager for both Art Media and Blick Artist Materials in Portland, OR and has over 20 years of experience in art materials.

George Bussinger Sr., longtime NAMTA member, passed away on August 24 at age 89. Mr. Bussinger started his career as a clerk for Bert L. Daily, one of the founding members of NAMTA.  He was a WWII Navy Veteran, a graduate of the University of Dayton, and president and part-owner of Ken McCallister Art Supplies. Mr. Bussinger was the father of George Bussinger, formerly of McCallisters Art Supplies, and President of NAMTA, 2003-04.

Paint Strong Orlando began a few days after the Pulse Nightclub tragedy when art supply store Sam Flax announced that its Orlando location would donate art supplies to anyone wanting to create an original work honoring the victims. Paint Strong Orlando will feature nearly 300 works that will travel to venues over the next several months, and eventually auctioned off with proceeds donated to help Pulse victims and their families.

For generations, artists have chosen and trusted the Derwent® brand for art materials around the world. With a proud history dating back to 1832, Derwent’s innovation comes from a deep understanding of artists. Derwent appreciates that their needs and aspirations may change over their artistic life, and with this in mind has produced a range of art materials that span from the first colouring pencil to the highest professional quality products ­– the majority of which are made in their British manufacturing plant in The Lake District, Cumbria, in the UK.

Quality, craftsmanship and innovation are key cornerstones of the Derwent brand. This is achieved by setting stringent quality control in the production of all products across a wide array of art categories. Perfecting the art of pencil manufacturing in the Lake District over generations, Derwent’s wide range of pencils is synonymous with quality and craftsmanship. Artistry is threaded through the core of every Derwent product, delivering world-class artists’ materials at every stage of the creative journey.

Derwent is excited to announce that 2017 will see the rollout of the new brand strategy which gives a clear segmentation of the ranges, supporting Derwent’s vision of bringing to market art materials at every stage of the creative journey. Derwent’s new marketing communications will also carry the strapline ‘Drawn to Perfection,’ which captures the essence of the historic brand and its commitment to the creation of innovative high quality art materials.

The involvement and collaboration of artists is fundamental to Derwent, featuring work from international artists on its full range of products, as well as representing consumers’ opinions in focus groups thereby reaffirming their long-standing commitment to the art and hobbyist community. Recently, a new selection of Artists pencils was launched, as a result of numerous requests from artists who needed a range of white and black pencils which could offer a spectrum of hues and tones. In summary, Derwent seeks to give consumers, above all else, a highly personalized experience which meets their individual artistic requirements.

Paper marbling has a fascinating history. No one agrees on where or when the art form actually originated. Indeed, marbling seems to have at least two separate histories: one in East Asia starting in the 11^th century (the “sumigashi” tradition) and one in Central Asia starting in the 15^th century (the “ebru” tradition). In 17^th century Europe, marbling quickly established itself as a standard book art, and its secrets were closely guarded for centuries. Because each print is unique, marbling was even used as a measure to prevent forgery of official documents and signatures!

Great for the holidays!

These days, the art of marbling is used for so much more than just books and paper. While paper marbling hasn’t lost its romanticism, artists are branching out to clothes, shoes, scarves, hats, wrapping paper, even lampshades! Jacquard is a pioneer in this expansion, offering multi-surface Marbling Colors that are exceptionally permanent (and soft!) on fabric. The new Jacquard Marbling set is in stock at both MacPherson’s DC’s and ready to ship!

Item Number: JAC9609

Check out Jacquard’s YouTube channel here to learn how to marble wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes, fabric and much more. Each design is as unique as a fingerprint!

More than a traditional oil-based marker, the Pébéo 4ARTIST MARKER is the ultimate contemporary painting tool for all artists! Available in four tip sizes, the range includes 18 highly pigmented, vivid colors and exceptional metallics. They offer a scratch-free application and a homogeneous, paint-like finish with high fidelity from wet to dry. Just like oil paints, these fast-drying permanent colors can be reworked when dry to obtain shades, glazes, gradients and fading effects. The tips can also be saturated with color to create splatter and drip effects. Use them on a variety of surfaces including the Pébéo Liquid Art Panels, canvas, wood, plastic, and metal, for a wide array of applications, such as drawing, writing, outlining, filling in large areas and more. Applied over dry acrylic or oil paint, such as the Vitrail, Fantasy Prisme, Fantasy Moon or Ceramic liquid oil paint lines, the 4Artist Markers allows for stunning and unique effects. They are the perfect complement to the Mixed Media by Pebeo concept!

In this video, see the 4ARTIST MARKER colors overlaid and splashed on a background prepared with Studio Acrylics Colors to create a dynamic and colorful artwork!

To see a Mixed Media by Pébéo application in action follow this link; you will find out how to apply 4ARTIST MARKER colors underneath and over the Gédéo Glazing Resin to create a stunning illusion of depth.

MacPherson’s is bringing in a new line of superior writing instruments called Zebra Pen. In stock soon! 

The Zebra Pen brand is as unique as the products we sell. Legend has it that Mr. Ishikawa, founder of Zebra Co. Ltd. wanted a company name that would be memorable and also appropriate for their export business to other countries. He opened an English/Japanese dictionary and stopped at “Zebra.”

Upon further research, Mr. Ishikawa found that zebras are gentle animals with a strong family herding instinct. This was an important attribute, since he wanted to build a business in which employees and customers were all part of a family-like culture.

Today, Zebra Pen offers an extensive line of writing instruments including ballpoint pens, highlighters, mechanical pencils, gel pens – and are always thinking of new and innovative writing instruments to add to their growing herd of product. Zebra Pen is known for many things – from their innovation in ink technology to their partnerships with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Kids In Need Foundation.

Steel

For the serious communicators in mind, Zebra has created a sturdy, well designed line that won’t break the bank. Zebra’s Steel line offers a collection of remarkable writing instruments that are a significant upgrade from everyday plastic pens. Including ballpoint, gel, mechanical pencils, highlighters, and even fountain pens – Zebra’s Steel is popular for good reason. It includes the F-301, America’s #1 selling stainless steel pen which manages to be both lightweight and durable. Steel is is numbered from the 3 Series for everyday writing, the high quality 4 Series and top of the line 7 Series with the F-701 and M-701.

Z-Grip

Zebra’s Z-Grip brand of pens is where simple, effective style meets high performance writing. You’ll be reaching for them every day. Z-Grip offers reliable performance at a fantastic value. Z-Grip has a broad portfolio of products including its most popular Z-Grip Retractable Ballpoint and Mechanical Pencil as well as many products with special features such as low viscosity ink in Z-Grip Plus and Z-Grip Flight or check safe ink in the Z-Grip Gel and Z-Grip Max Gel! All Z-Grip products feature smooth flowing ink for effortless writing as well as a latex free comfort grip.

Sarasa

Do you love gel pens, but hate smears and smudges? Zebra Pen’s got the right pen for you! Sarasa Rapid Dry Ink (RDI) Gel Retractable is perfect for every day writing and coloring. Zebra’s ink innovations lab perfected the Sarasa ink formula that eliminates smearing, drying in less than a second on most surfaces! For the millions of people that are left handed – this is the pen for you. Feeling creative? Sarasa comes in 14 vibrant colors – all bold, beautiful and smear free. For coloring or taking notes, Sarasa’s colorful collection is perfect for anyone.

The Sarasa brand recently welcomed the new addition of Sarasa Porous Fine Liner Pens. The Sarasa Porous line includes 12 vibrant, water resistant AP non-toxic colors with an 8mm plastic point with a metal pipe for more precision while coloring.

Find out more about Sarasa:  http://www.zebrapen.com/product-category/brand/sarasa/

Cadoozles

Cadoozles Zebra #2 Mechanical Pencils may look like your old wood cased stand by, but they are so much better! Enjoy the classic pencil look and hexagonal barrel feel that’s also HB #2, refillable and never needs sharpening! To top it off, their fun, shorter length makes them cute and collectible! Available in black or yellow barrels.

The Cadoozles brand also includes Cadoozles Starters which are the new generation of mechanical pencils. With Starters, kids can discover a new world of writing, drawing, and coloring. The 2.0 thick lead can hold up to the pressures of beginning writers and features a triangular barrel to promote proper grip. With 12 vibrant AP non-toxic colors and a standard #2 lead, your imagination will run wild!

Find out more about Cadoozles and Cadoozles Starters here:

Z-Mulsion

The next generation of oil based ink, emulsion ink can be found in Zebra’s Z-Mulsion products. Emulsion ink delivers and ultra-smooth writing experience with a silky smooth ink laydown that won’t skip – best of ballpoint and gel ink combined in one awesome writing tool. From the fan favorite Z-Mulsion EX to the stainless steel Z-Mulsion LX, Z-Mulsion pens glide across your writing surface, delivering effortless bold lines every time.

Find out more about Z-Mulsion Here:

Visit the Zebra Pen website at http://www.zebrapen.com or http://www.learnwithzoos.com/ for more content and inspiration using Zebra Pen brands and be sure to meet Zen, Zebra’s brand icon at the link below where he will give you a little more information regarding Zebra Pen brands and products!

Find Zen in Your Pen

Whether you are looking for pencils for beginning writers, or looking for a pen that combines style and performance, Zebra Pen has got it all. From our Steel offering to the colorful world of Sarasa, Zebra Pen’s products will not disappoint. Zebra continues to be a leader in ink innovation and is always adding new products to their already extensive line of writing instruments. Choose a pen or pencil that’s right for you.

Find Zen in your Pen. Zebra Pen.

Products will be arriving within the next 30 days in both MacPherson’s DCs. For more information about openstock and an array of affordable merchandisers contact your MacPherson’s representative. Zebra at OEX

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