Who’s Who is 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. Historically our Buyer’s Guide has had one designated project manager, or “quarterback,” as our CEO Dave Schofield would say. Six years ago Corinne Smith took the reigns, infusing the cover design with her curiosity, hands-on approach and love of craft. In addition to the covers,…
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This Just In: Check The Calendar
As you may already be aware, the Winter Back-To-School Buyer’s Guide is here! Folded inside the front cover you’ll find a resource that will keep you brainstorming, demoing and connecting with customers throughout 2019: the Customer Engagement Calendar. It is peppered with the mainstay Holidays, niche art-related celebrations, Days of The Year and themed months. Let’s take a look at January and get the creative juices flowing. National Handwriting Day January has three major themes: hobby, papercrafting and handwriting. We suggest choosing one theme to focus on throughout the month, based on what is popular with your customers. Depending on…
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Art & Soul Grand Opening
Art & Soul, an art supply store in Sebastopol, CA recently moved to a spacious new location complete with ample parking and plenty of floor space. Co-owners Margaret Conner and Sabina Fried closed up shop for a break during relocation and re-opened a few weeks ago for a ribbon-cutting ceremony complete with interactive activities and a sale. The new space is airy and light, with plenty of room for the wide range of supplies they carry. With the smoke from the disastrous Camp Fire about 150 miles northeast impacting the town, one would expect a spotty turnout; however families and…
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Art Dog of the Month: Zeus
The God of Thunder is a little camera shy… Zeus is the chief pup of Forstall Art Center in Birmingham, Alabama. He was rescued about 13 years ago when he was around two years old. He has modeled for the store’s PR materials with great success (see the handsome snapshot of a 4th of July advertisement). He used to work full time in the store but has now gone to part time work, greeting customers in the afternoon and patrolling the store. Zeus has made a lot of friends with customers over the years, artsy locals who bring him treats,…
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Celebrations At The Atlanta Distribution Center
Our Distribution Center in Atlanta had a lot to celebrate this month. The AM shift and PM shift overlapped for a special Thanksgiving dinner: The team also threw a baby shower for Selam Mamo, a Shift Order Selector. She is due on December 27th!
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The Wet Paint Way: 4 Strategies for Successful Marketing
Wet Paint is an independently owned store in St. Paul, MN that is well known for their social media and marketing verve. They organize regular in-store events, classes, weekly newsletters, an interactive website, regular social media postings via Instagram, Facebook, a bit of Twitter and Google+ content as well as a blog on WordPress and videos via YouTube. They also maintain a steady flow of print materials. In short, they do a lot. This dynamic, multi-platform strategy is made possible by the dedicated Social Media and Marketing team: Kristina Fjellmen and Chris Nolt. Kristina and Chris are both working artists…
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Venerable Vintages: The Compass
Venerable Vintages is a chance to indulge in the art supply nerd in all of us. To submit a special item connect with us at artdogblog (@) macphersonart.com. This month’s Venerable Vintages is a collection of drawing instrument ephemera from MacPherson’s Emeryville office. The collection features a compass set beside various patented compass, divider and ruling pen designs from an Alteneder & Son’s pricing booklet published in 1871. The compass has a long interdisciplinary history, with science and art at the heart of its purpose. A tool for mathematics, architecture, engineering, geography and the arts, the compass (or “divider”) dates…
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Riley Street San Rafael Celebrates 11 Years
Riley Street Art Supply has locations in San Rafael and Santa Rosa, CA; this month they celebrated 50 years of being in business, with the San Rafael store turning 11 this past June. Both stores celebrated with a two day sale where everything was at least 30% off, and the San Rafael store partnered with vendors to set up outdoor booths with various Make-and-Take activities and demonstrations. Vendor partners included Daniel Smith, Golden, Strathmore, Jacquard, Savoir-Faire, Liquitex and Marabu. The event was a great opportunity to engage with repeat customers as well as passersby who had never even been in the…
