Opus Art Supplies is celebrating 40 years serving the visual arts community in Vancouver, BC. From humble roots as a wholesale framing company in Vancouver, Opus has grown to include 6 retail locations, a national mail order service and an online store. As the times have changed, Opus as a business has followed suit. Watch Opus: 40 Years for an inspiring look at their journey.
httpv://youtu.be/mTdJpfvfKdo
We’re thrilled to announce that our amazing New England-based account manager Pat Armstrong and his wife Katie, are the proud parents of a baby girl. Bridget Mary Armstrong was born on January 21st. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 15 oz.
Congratulations to Olivia and Judd Meininger on the birth of their son Tennessee Henry. Young Tennessee represents the 6th generation of this venerable Denver family and weighed in at a very healthy 8 lbs 4oz.
ColArt has named Christian Thieme their global Chief Financial Officer based in their London headquarters replacing veteran group controller Neil Robson. In related company news Ilka Lohaus, ColArt’s Chief Marketing Officer has left the company to pursue other opportunities as did Hervé Rouvre, group financial director, based in LeMans, France.
Kathy Christian, former owner of Art Media, Retired from Dick Blick as manager of their Beaverton OR, store on 1-18-2014.
Leadership changes at Canson. Effective in late March, Jim Allery, will step down as CEO and President of Canson North America at which time a new CEO is expected to arrive and assume the responsibilities of the role. Additionally Jacques Joly the company’s international Annonay, France based Managing Director has left the company. A successor has not yet been named.
The private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has acquired Chicago area Polyform Products, maker of Sculpey.
The #1 U.S. direct marketer of wigs, hairpieces and hair extensions has a new CEO and board member. Michael Ippolito, former CEO of Utrecht(now Blick) has taken the reins of Specialty Commerce Direct (SCD) the parent company of wig.com.
“The Science and Spiritual Resonance of Paint”… What a great title for an article on Gamblin artists paints in the National Endowment for the Arts magazine from last month! Well technically it was the subtitle, the real title being “Painting the town Napthol Red” . Check out the full article: Painting the Town Napthol Red – one might say that Gamblin is a bonafide national treasure!
POW! WOW! Hawaii – Bringing Murals and Music to the Islands Centered around a week-long event in Hawaii, POW! WOW! has grown into a global network of artists and organizes gallery shows, lecture series, schools for art and music, mural projects, a large creative space named Lana Lane Studios, concerts, and live art installations across the globe. The central event takes place during Valentine’s Day week in February in the Kaka’ako district of Honolulu, and brings over a hundred international and local artist together to create murals using Montana Cans, as we as other forms of art. For more information, check out the POW! WOW! website.
Ever wonder what ColArt’s London headquarters is all about? Well it’s pretty cool. Check out this video produced by their interior space architect that showcases the design and philosophy of creating a creative workspace:
httpv://youtu.be/fDOZ-baDf0g
Luke Randall of Endeavors in Fredericton, Canada passed along that one the local politicians he admires most, Elizabeth Weir, is a big fan of our unique sketching fountain pen – the Art Alternatives Pen & Ink Sketch Pen. Luke reports she was a former party leader in his province, New Brunswick. She travels the world monitoring elections and has pens of every brand and stripe. In Ms. Weir’s own words, “it is now my new favourite pen – the fine line fountain. Can’t believe the price.” Here is a photo she snapped on the job in Misuq, Libya!
Archiver’s, the scrapbook retail chain in Minnetonka, MN has decide to close all its 33 remaining stores amid what they describe as a “changing market”. They opened in 1999 and at their peak they had 44 stores.
Cass Art, one of Britain’s leading art supplies retailers has raised £3.2m($5.25 million) to help fund the opening of up to 15 more stores over the next five years. Cass Art, which has six branches in London, has secured backing from the Business Growth Fund, an investment house set up by five leading British banks.
The Color Wheel Company of Corvalis Oregon was recently featured in their local news outlet. Check out the whole story: Artist Color Wheel
The Craft & Hobby Association(CHA) Announces 2014 Hall Of Fame that includes includes Eric Dickenson, Michaels Stores, Inc.; Pricilla Hauser, Society of Decorative Painters; and Julie Stephani, Stephani Ink. The 2014 inductees were honored at the CHA Foundation Gala on Sunday, January 12th at the CHA 2014 Conference & Trade Show in Anaheim, California.
KASHINK, is an amazing urban artist we met recently in Miami in December at the Wynwood Walls Art Week. She had been invited to paint several walls in Wynwood, as part of the show “Women on the walls”. Here is a video of her year long, globe spanning outdoor art project celebrating acceptance of gay marriage. Her paint of choice? MONTANA BLACK of course!
httpv://vimeo.com/81253949
Not that Justin Bieber beats KASHINK, but in case you’re a fan, check out the pop bad boy’s spray paint of choice. Bieber uses MONTANA BLACK! He showed his can skills at the premier for the movie Believe – check out the full story and pics here: Bieber Graffiti Fever!
