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.
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.”
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.