The Golden online color mixing was very cool…Visit the beta version of the online color mixer here: Color Mixer
Princeton Catalyst is a “Big Wow”! Catalyst was one of the big hits of the show and most stated they see lots of applications for the colorful paddle tools and innovative brushes; especially for painting large or thick. The tools are made of a special dishwasher safe rubberized material and the brushes are the first of synthetic hair with flag ends for holding and controlling paints. Princeton’s Catalyst display looks amazing and NAMTA customers ordered like crazy. Some retailers with growing cake supply business, will likely bring in the Catalyst as it is perfectly suited to moving frosting around artistically. Assortments will begin shipping in early June and open stock will follow in late June.
A glitch was discovered recently in the new Princeton Sensu “iPad” brush which has indefinitely pushed back this tool’s ETA.
Lots of Amazon.com reps were seen at the show talking to vendors about selling to them directly.
Did you know that there are 16 new colors for Gamblin’s Alkyd Fast Matte line? They are on there way into the MacPherson’s DCs!
We booked tons of Art Alternatives orders, especially for the following:
• New Premium Cotton canvas & cradled Wood Panels.
• New choices in the value priced AA Acrylic colors in pints and 1/2 gallons.
• New Premium Drafting compasses (many customers were surprised to find out that the compasses were made in Germany!)
Several retailers from across the USA and Canada were impressed with the Urban Art seminar that Scott Present and Lisa Slauson presented during the show’s educational day.
Artist SEVER’s marker on the Munny Doll helped convince many buyers to take full displays of both Montana Acrylic Markers and the Montana “Black” Markers (finally arriving in June!). Congratulations to Kerry Kemp of Art Outfitters who won the 18″ tall work of art below at our Beer Bash drawing.
Letraset Flex Markers were shown to a great buyer reaction, and we learned that dealers want a floor display like ProMarker. The Flex will eventually be available in 200 colors, and once that “critical mass” is attained, a floorstand like ProMarker will be made available. There’s more info on Flex at the Letraset Micro Web Site.
httpv://youtu.be/l5JuPpmvCj4
STABILO POP’s continue to fuel “cash wrap” fun and impulse sales. Filled to the brim with STABILO’s best sellers and well-loved favorites, this pre-packed assortment + display is a no-brainer when it comes to easy add-on sales for BTS and Holiday!
Other Big hits:
MABEF’s new mini field easels, MBM-27M ($134.95) and MBM-29M ($114.95) were welcomed by those seeking a more compact and convenient portable field easel. The new double-sided display easel MBM-46 ($699.95) and the new accessory stands MBM-45 ($189.95) and MBM-47 ($269.95) also delighted attendees with their clever design.
Lefranc & Bourgeois showed the amazing Gilding collection and display. Is the art of creative gilding going to be a new Art & Craft store hot spot? Here are the details on the intro offer: 
We heard that Artograph’s new Light Pad Revolution is a winner with several retailers who want us to stock it in all the sizes.
Just when you thought the choice in spray paint brands was enough, along comes Liquitex with a revolutionary formula that is certain to create its own new market with a slew of new creative possibilities for acrylic artist. We were astonished at the positive reaction for the 100 color line that is compatible with Liquitex Acrylic paints and has an almost undetectable smell.
ColArt was handing out the flash drive with their NAMTA promos – instead of the usual (and costly) NAMTA show book, the custom logo’d flashdrives cost far less and can be reused. Great idea! Dealers who still need the hard-copies and order forms can print them quite easily when they get home.
Speaking of ColArt, their Derwent “Back to back” tower POP displays were great.
Copic spinner towers were on display which gave retailers a real sense for how these impressive merchandisers can “wow” consumers in the store.
Equally impactful were the Moleskine full spinner displays.
Pebeo Gedeo Resins and fantasy were among the biggest hits of the show, as were the Pebeo paints.
httpv://youtu.be/tSWCQOA7cj0
R&F Encaustic center continues to gain ground. The impressive packaging and display, which includes Ampersand’s Encaustic boards, is a real eye-catcher.
Sanford’s new Sharpie Brush Marker was also a huge hit.
Now that Star products is back up and running, retailers are rejoining the ranks.
It seemed like this NAMTA was all about journals and sketchbooks. Let’s call it “Sketch Book Wars” with Canson, Strathmore, Stillman & Birn all asking dealers to focus on this hot category. Our guess is there will be room for all brands, because of the variety of papers and styles. The Canson Spinner rack and Stillman & Birn’s spinners and counter top displays made the assortments easier to for retailers to buy. You can just see how consumers will be educated in these new paper choices. Strathmore is a late arrival and, in our opinion, has captured a critical market with its Mixed Media Art Journals that have heavier papers than the competitors’. Plus, Strathmore has touched a unique market with their Toned Sketch papers – not available elsewhere! We heard loads of positive reaction and saw quite a few orders (the biggest test of all).
Last but not least in the sketch book wars, check out Rendr from Crescent which offers sketchbooks, paper and rolls with paper that does not bleed through. Here’s what product manager Mays Mayhew has to say:
httpv://youtu.be/_jrxcK5Agl8
Terraskin Stone paper was a winner, and we heard good comments about it. We would love retailer feedback to help us decide if this is a product MacPherson’s should carry.
Savoir-Faire’s new Eco display was very nice, and it offers a great price point on the books.
The Rhodia spinner towers are a great way to round out your store’s authority in journals and sketchbooks.
Faber-Castell’s Jumbo graphite and Aquarelle display were officially launched in Frankfurt so NAMTA was the USA’s retailers first chance to see and take advantage of these two innovative, affordable ranges in their own unique POP displays. Success!
We heard from several savvy retailers that Jacquard’s Lumiere 3D line was a “no brainer”.
Another cool product that made its debut at NAMTA is Chartpak’s Tritone pencil. Like Magic FX, these “fat” pencils have three complementary shades of the same color. Displays can be ordered for drop ship, item # KOFA33ASST.
Mary Wruck was thrilled to find out that C&T Publishing had won the Suppliers Innovation Award from NAMTA with her “The Artful Fiber Pack”, a perfect sampler for an introduction to Fiber Arts.
New Wave Art ergonomic and balanced Artist Palettes was noted at the What’s New in the hall as particularly cool and innovative. We would love retailer feedback to help us decide if this is a product MacPherson’s should carry.
Koala Tools Circle Ruler won one of the best new product awards. We would love retailer feedback to help us decide if this is a product MacPherson’s should carry.
Jackknife Easels made a big impression. Several of you said you are interested in MacPherson’s stocking this line. They’re available from iPad size up to larger display easels. Not exactly a new item, and we heard that deliveries were painful in the past when production was in USA. The Jackknife Easels are now made in Tijuana and inspected by owner. We would love retailer feedback to help us decide if this is a product MacPherson’s should carry.
A new company popped up called Earth Safe Finishes. They offer 22 pigment colors for artists to make their own paints and finishes. We would love retailer feedback to help us decide if this is a product MacPherson’s should carry.
Kidzaw, a new supplier of creative materials for kids showed a line of attention getting art kits that produce amazing results. We would love retailer feedback to help us decide if this is a product MacPherson’s should carry. Check out the youtube video:
httpv://youtu.be/w2K00zoM15c
We saw some great new Walter Foster and Quarry books. The best of the best were Urban Sketching, Artist’s Block Cured, Mixed Media Workshop and 100 Things every Artist Should Know. All are in stock or on their way!
This year’s NAMTA Show Awards:
Medium Booth: Princeton Art & Brush
Large Booth: Golden Artist Colors
New Exhibitor: Koala Tools
Best Packaging: Princeton Art & Brush for the Catalyst Brush Line
Best New Product: Crescent Cardboard for Rendr Paper
Best New Kids’ Product: Faber-Castell USA for Do Art Kits