Once you are a part of the MacPherson’s team, whether or not you’ve dabbled in the arts before working here, the creative spark rubs off on you. It’s inevitable, with so many art supplies around! In celebration of our creative endeavors on and off the clock, we wanted to share some of our creative holiday traditions with you. Gratitude Place Cards “Every year for as long as I can remember I’ve created place cards for every guest with the question “What are you thankful for?” written with a space to answer. When guests arrive or before dinner is served, everyone is given time to write. Before we eat, we go…
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Products By Personality: Customer Gift Guide
Cassie Brehmer, MacPherson’s Account Manager & Catherine Monahon, MacPherson’s Copywriter The classic question this time of year: “My cousin/sister-in-law/friend/neighbor is an artist, what should I get them?” Gifters may not be familiar with the supplies and mediums their giftee prefers; providing an endcap or featured table in the form of a “Gift Guide” helps point customers in the right direction—without needing a staff member to walk them through the entire world of art supplies in three minutes. In an effort to encourage and inspire, we’ve created a selection of products for five creative personalities your customers might be shopping for: The Dedicated Artist, The DIY Crafter, The Young Creative, The…
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Happy Halloween from MacPherson’s!
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherosn’s If MacPherson’s has a favorite holiday, it may or may not be the one that involves dressing up, decorating, turning the world upside down and tapping into our imaginative, artsy sides. While delivering creativity is what we do on the clock, we embrace (and express) creativity outside of work too—in fact, for many of us it is the fuel that keeps us going! Halloween is a chance for us to show off this creative spark. Costume Contests We kicked off the day of Halloween with a costume contest. The winners in Emeryville: Jeanine Davids as The Butcher, Ariana Faustini as an American Eagle and Christine Sanchez…
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Ready, Set, Go: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday & Giving Tuesday
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager & Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Mark your calendars! While you’re focusing on sales and promotions for the winter holidays, keep these three retail-related holidays on your radar. We’ve put together key links, hashtags and merchandising ideas so that you can easily integrate Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday into your promotions next month. Black Friday, November 23rd Black Friday is the informal name for the day following Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November. Traditionally recognized as the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the United States, Black Friday is an opportunity to reach a wide audience with deep discounts. While this “holiday”…
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Super(natural) Merchandising: Window Display Or Portal To Another World?
Last month, we showcased budget-friendly strategies for eye-catching window displays, with a focus on creating a unique experience and a call for submissions from retailers who are proud of their windows. The holidays offer opportunity for an extra dose of creativity, and it helps to have enthusiastic staff who take initiative. We are pleased to share a creative window just in time for Halloween: this Stranger Things display grabbed attention last year at JWS Art Supplies, in Great Barrington, MA, a quaint tourist town near the Berkshires. JWS has a reputation for having fun window displays that allows them to get extra creative when their favorite holiday comes around, bending…
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Inspire & Spook With DecoArt Outdoor Living Paint
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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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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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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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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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…