DecoArt, Inc. It’s the most shudder-ful time of the year! With Halloween just around the corner, DecoArt has a range of products that will make your customers shudder with delight. Treat your customers to DecoArt’s Americana Decor Outdoor Living paint to make this selling season truly spooktacular. Durable and weather-resistant, this paint does not require sanding, priming, or sealing. Outside spaces are being decorated as elaborately as interior rooms, especially during a holiday season. The addition of the DecoArt Outdoor Living line to your store makes it easy and affordable for all customers to transform any piece from daunting to happy haunting. It’s permanent and durable adhesion to concrete,…
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Reminder: Golden B-T-S Promotional Period
A reminder from GOLDEN Artist Colors that the last date for additional promotional advertising is September 30, 2018! Please revert to the maximum 30% off beginning October 1st.
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Paperwork People Actually Want
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s This holiday season gift your customers with basic instructions for simple activities and projects for all ages. These Activity Sheets are especially helpful for aunts, uncles and grandparents who may be seeing their young family members for the only time this year. Plenty of easy DIY projects can be found online; all you have to do is assemble the desired items in-store in an easily shoppable layout, highlight that you have a FREE activity sheet, and provide an example of a finished project for reference. For the Holiday Season, going a little crafty is ok! Make sure to include your social media handles, website,…
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Our New WMS is Going Live Oct. 8
WMS goes live in Reno as of October 8th, 2018! We are excited for this new chapter and technological milestone in our company’s history. As you may know, last year we made the decision to upgrade our Warehouse Management System (WMS). This is the largest technology investment in MacPherson’s history. WMS is the “brains” of our distribution centers that tracks inventory locations and determines how orders are processed and how freight is shipped. We are working with the leader in warehouse software platforms, Manhattan Associates, and our team has devoted hundreds of hours to configuring and testing the system to ensure successful implementation. This innovation strengthens our commitment to service…
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Retailer’s Choice: Next “Demo Days” Feature
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s Last month we introduced a new feature called Demo Days, which outlines instructions and materials needed to create an in store demonstration or workshop. Regular in-store activities help to foster a sense of community and make your store a destination spot for artists and hobbyists alike. Allowing your customers to participate in a hands-on activity that educates them on products and lets them leave your store with an item they are confident they can recreate. We’ve put together a list of demo ideas for 4th Quarter. Let us know which activity inspires you and we’ll outline how to do the most requested one in…
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Best Practices: Plan Ahead For Holiday Merchandising
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s The holiday season brings in customers beyond the everyday shopper, which is an exciting opportunity to connect and encourage repeat business from these “non-regulars” throughout the year. In reality, it is also the season where empowering customers to help themselves will keep sale opportunities moving through your retail space in a healthy flow. Early October is a great time to set-up a a semi-permanent featured items table or end-cap up in store to rotate through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the December holidays. Your regular customers may notice something new – and your new customers will see fun products at great prices. October Ah, Halloween, the…
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Calling All Staff
You may have noticed an uptick in posts these last few weeks. With support from your Account Managers and Category Managers, our Creative Services team is revamping and revitalizing Art Dog Blog! In addition to industry news and resources you’ve come to expect, some of the features we are introducing include Who’s Who, an opportunity to feature a member of your staff who is doing an incredible job, Best Practices, where we explore trends, merchandising hacks, demo ideas, and other in-store strategies and of course the Art Dog of the Month. Make sure to share Art Dog with all members of your team, because there is something for everyone. Have…
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Art Dog Of The Month: Q
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s We are pleased to feature a member of the Mac Fam for this month’s Art Dog! Q is Merchandise Manager Cathy Denny’s beloved pup. Possibly a Rottweiler of some kind, Q was in a high kill animal shelter earlier this year when Cathy and her husband discovered him. Q likes to sit in on team meetings, partake in distracting .GIFs (very silly mini-videos that loop constantly) and hang out under our desks.
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Wicked Halloween Assortments
Halloween is just around the corner, so don’t forget to check out this assortment of key Halloween items and seasonal goodies, perfect for a prominent display or end cap. Thumb Through Your Fall Buyer’s Guide The Fall 2018 Buyer’s Guide is full of inspirational resources for the coming fall (check MacPhersonArt.com for a link to the current Buyer’s Guide and promotions). Try a fun fall demo so customers can see how easy it is to use some of these products, like the marbled pumpkin featured on page 61. Click here for a refresher of how to transform a pumpkin into festive decor – no carving required!
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Who’s Who: MacPherson’s Jeanine “JD” Davids Celebrates 30 Years
Introducing Who’s Who, a feature that showcases a member of our industry community who is doing an incredible job. If you would like to nominate someone for a Who’s Who feature, please email us at artdogblog (@) macphersonart.com with their name, position, company and a short description of why you would like to nominate them. Category Manager Jeanine Davids just celebrated her 30th anniversary with MacPherson’s. Jeanine is known around the office for her expertise, off the cuff sense of humor and willingness to innovate. We had to cap our talk at an hour, but we could have gone on all day! Jeanine started out as an assistant to the…
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Colossal Creativity: Bring Art Into Your Store
Catherine Monahon, MacPherson’s Copywriter Staff member Abby Langley (they/them) creates larger than life sculptures of everyday art supplies for displays at Creative Coldsnow stores in Kansas City, MO and Overland Park, KS. Their recent creations include an XXXXL Posca marker and a gargantuan Gamblin paint tube; they got the idea for the larger than life sculptures at a staff meeting. “We were trying to think of ways to merchandise and advertise the new POSCA markers,” Abby recalled. “I was looking a marker one day and thought to myself, it would be fun to make a giant version.” Abby is a sculptor, having graduated with a BFA Kansas City Art Institute;…
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A Letter From Opus Art Supplies
David van Berckel, Opus Art Supplies Opus is an independently-owned local business, supplying the visual arts community with art materials, digital printing, picture frames, art education, community support, and more. Founded in 1974, they have grown from a single location framing company to seven stores throughout BC and a Canada-wide mail order service for online & phone orders. To our valued vendors, I have known so many of you for decades while I managed to turn a small framing production workshop in Vancouver into a sizeable and important art supply business over the past 50 years or so. But time continues taking a toll on my body and mind and…
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Sakura of America’s New Koi Creative Art Colors (CAC) Make a Splash!
@SakuraofAmerica’s new Koi® CAC (Creative Art Colors) Watercolors are compact kits packed with unique colors and effects for one of a kind projects. Koi CAC is available in 12 and 24 color kits. Each cake set includes 4 metallics and 8 fluorescents. Learn more by searching the hashtags #SakuraKoi or #SakuraKoiCAC, and click here to find them on OEX. Luxe Watercolors for Shimmer, Shine & Luminescence Koi CAC are pocket sized with essential accessories for painting on the go. Create unique washes and blends with the metallic, fluorescent, and pearlescent paints; explore a whole new spectrum of stunning effects by mixing these Creative Art Colors with your traditional watercolor set.…
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Inktober For Everyone!
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s In 2009, illustrator Jake Parker set out to challenge himself for the month of October: create a work of art in pen and ink each day, and share it online. He dubbed it with the catchy name “Inktober” and got to work. Nearly ten years later, tens of thousands of artists are a part of the Inktober community. 31 drawings in 31 days, all under the hashtag “#inktober,” the artwork spans from fantastical to realistic, lettering to abstract. As long as it’s ink, it qualifies. Each day of #Inktober has a corresponding prompt to tackle creative blocks; see the list here for inspiration. Inktober in Your…
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Come To My Window: Create Innovative, Inviting Budget-Friendly Window Displays
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s While the upcoming holidays are a great incentive to create expressive, themed window displays, we think any time is a good time to step up your display game. Our Emeryville office is just down the street from a bustling quirky-chic shopping destination in Berkeley, CA. While our designers were hunting for inspiration this summer, they couldn’t help but notice the impact of window displays in this creative retail hub. Nearby stores whose window displays we love include Papercraft, Athropologie, and a local toy/art supply store that specializes in the weird and wacky. We discovered a handful of resources from the creative geniuses at Anthropologie; click here…
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Halloween and Cosplay Go Hand in Hand: Creative End Caps For People Who Love Dressing Up
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Halloween is a great time to introduce customers to the wild, varied, inclusive world that is Cosplay. CosPlay is the practice of dressing up as a fictional character–any fictional character–and it is not just popular during Halloween. Customers’ imaginations are already in gear for creating witty, spooky, realistic or outlandish costumes, so this is a great time to introduce another costume-related art form. Peak the interest of that special group who secretly wishes Halloween happened more than once a year and engage with a community of cosplayers you may have never known about. The Cosplay Community The word Cosplay is combination costume and play, and it…
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Sennelier abstract paint Community Murals & BTS Promo
Sennelier Art Supplies Watch the versatility of Sennelier abstract paint in real time. In collaboration with Sennelier and Artpsan, multiple artists with very different techniques transform the blank city walls of the Salesforce building. ArtSpan is a non-profit “committed to cultivating a vibrant, accessible, and world-class art community in San Francisco and promoting the city’s unique creative energy locally and globally.” The result: more than 80 gallons of Sennelier abstract® paint and vibrant, captivating murals. Which one is your favorite?
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Information Worth Sharing: New Video From Golden, Perfect For Painters – Minimizing Support Induced Discoloration (SID)
Golden Artist Colors Support Induced Discoloration (SID), what is it? and how to minimize it. from Golden Artist Colors on Vimeo. Proper preparation can change everything. Set your staff up for success when chatting with customers and ensure that your community gets the best results when painting, from start to finish. Golden’s new video demos step-by-step how to minimize Support Induced Discoloration (SID). SID occurs when contaminants are drawn into paints and mediums as they dry – it is most noticeable with light colors, gel mediums and glazes. This video demos how to prepare a canvas or board with Gloss Medium to minimize SID before painting. Videos are quick…
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All Hands On Deck: Floods in Madison, WI Impact Wisconsin Craft Market
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Last month devastating floods in Madison, WI impacted Wisconsin Craft Market – employees walked in to discover several feet of water in the store and an overwhelming amount of damaged product. Their staff banded together for several days of drudgery, with family members and loved ones pitching in. Recapping the experience on their Facebook page, owner Paul Zarnikow expressed his gratitude for the team of friends and family who made reopening possible. “Not only did no one complain, the loud laughing and chattering usually heard went on like any other day. I’m lucky to have had these ladies as employees for so many years, luckier still…
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Ben Franklin Bonney Lake & Montana Cans
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Ben Franklin Crafts & Frame Shop Bonney Lake, Washington, collaborated with Montana Artist Devin Finley to transform the formerly drab graffiti walls of the local Skate Park in town into an outdoor gallery of street art! In collaboration with the community of Tehaleh and Montana Artist Devin Finley, Ben Franklin Bonney Lake’s goal was to get more people aware of the Montana spray paint in the community while improving a community space with art. Staff member Colleen coordinated the event with the community director of a local skate park. Over 50 people attended the event, which featured live painting by Devin, music, snacks and of course…