Kyle Richardson reports that his team is officially established as a corporation in the State of Massachusetts, named Royal Talens North America, Inc. Their new warehouse is located in the art and education hub of Northampton, Massachusetts. The new home is a 33,000 square foot warehouse and office space and is just about ready to begin shipping out our products, “with love from the Netherlands”. See the attached announcement for further details: RTNA Announcement 11.2015

Steve Steinberg, third-generation owner of New York Central Art Supply in Manhattan, passed away on November 15th from complications due to Parkinson’s disease in his 80th year. Steve was known for his infectious energy, thriving on connecting people and projects in life and in work, and bringing the best art supplies to NYC’s Village community that included many famous artists. He was a witty and funny bon vivant, but also a true man of the people with a huge and caring heart. Steve became the third-generation owner of New York Central Art Supply and was elected to the NAMTA Hall of Fame. He believed there is a place for the independent art supplier who…

Williamsburg Oils Launches New Website Golden Artist Colors recently announced the launch of a newly designed www.WilliamsburgOils.com website. The new website will feature an enhanced design, including improved layout and graphics that will allow for easier navigation within the site. The site is now equipped with a direct link to the revised Store Finder, which allows customers to more easily locate retail stores close to them that sell Williamsburg products. While on the Store Locator page, visitors can also browse the expansive product offering of the GOLDEN Acrylics and QoR® Watercolor brands at their local retail locations. The new www.WilliamsburgOils.com site offers artists a variety of additional features, including a…

Paul Bradshaw recently joined Pacon as their National Sales Director, Strathmore Artist Papers.  Paul spent the majority of his career with Appleton Coated, where he began as the Market Manager of Coated Publishing Papers and rose to the position of Senior Vice President, Publishing Papers.  After Appleton Coated, Paul was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the FutureMark Paper. Newell Rubbermaid announced recently its intention to acquire Elmer’s Products, Inc.® from Berwind Corporation, a family-owned investment management company. The acquisition is expected to close by year-end. According to a National Retail Foundation (NRF) survey retailers are in for a big holiday seasons that will continue to be influenced by all things digital.…

KINSHO premium photo albums are not only hitting the shelves, but hitting social media channels as well!  Follow KINSHO on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest @kinshodesigns.  And don’t forget to visit the KINSHO Website!

Check out this CNN interview clip with Mike Rowe as he interviews LA Street Artist, Plastic Jesus in action with stencils and Montana GOLD creating his latest work! CNN & Plastic Jesus

With sadness we report the passing of Linda Thompson, wife of Seattle, WA based independent manufacturer’s sales representative David Thompson. Linda waged a valiant struggle with cancer. She and Dave had been happily married for 45-1/2 years! The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) announced on August 19 that Chief Executive Officer and President Andrej Suskavcevic has decided with the Board of Directors to resign his position effective immediately.  The Board has appointed Mark Hill as interim CEO and President. Hill has been in the creative industry for over 20 years, holding senior management positions with industry leaders, Plaid Enterprises, Creativity Inc., New Image Group and most recently the Thomas Kinkade…

Effective October 1, 2015 Thomas Bräutigam will be stepping down after seven years as ColArt’s CEO. His successor is Dennis van Schie, who comes from Sony Mobile Communications, where he has been the Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer since 2012. He has also been a member of the ColArt Board since March 2015 Ink Master to Feature Montana Cans! The next episode of Spike TV‘s hot tattoo reality show, Ink Master, will feature a flash challenge where contestants will throw down their best custom paint jobs using Montana GOLD spray paint and ACRYLIC Markers to paint three Dodge Challengers!  The episode airs Tuesday, September 1st at 10pm on Spike TV. …

  Virginia (Ginny) Biondi, co-founder of University Art Center in Redwood City, CA and art material industry pioneer passed away peacefully in her home on July 24th. She was 91. Ginny was born in the Bronx, NY on May 1, 1924. For a woman of her time, she had a successful and varied business career: first as one of the first women to work at the American Stock Exchange in New York, to co-owning a lingerie shop with her sister, Laurie, in Yonkers, and then to co-owning University Art Center here in the Bay Area and Sacramento.  Ginny is survived by her 4 children Daniel Biondi (Vivian), Frank Biondi (Mari), Cornelia Pendleton…

Upcycling is the gold rush of junk; giving trash a second life and making a fortune for thousands of Americans. Whether its designer labels crafting couture from cast offs or savvy stay at home moms making millions on Etsy, there’s big money to be made. In FYI channel’s “TRASHFORMERS,” four designers, who are on the forefront of the upcycling movement, are given the biggest challenge of their lives as they are tasked with transforming a school bus, airplane and ferris wheel from junk to high end, high value products…in only three days! But turning trash into cash isn’t going to be easy. Parts are in short supply and the designers…

Gerard O’Mahony, Canson/Hamelin’s USA CEO will be leaving the company and returning to the UK for personal reasons. He has taken a similar position at a UK based greeting card company called Carte Blanche Greetings, LTD The structure of Canson North America will change a bit going forward. Sonja Stewart, the longtime controller has moved up to CEO and will be bringing on a Commercial Director whose responsibilities will include market and brand development, sales, as well as strategy development.   In related news, effective Dec 31, 2015 Canson North America will no longer be distributing Royal Talens.  Ronald Benning, the Holland based Royal Talens CEO will be responsible for creating a seamless path forward for this…

Dear Copic Retailer, I know that there is concern about the lack of Copic product coming from us right now. I wish to offer you an explanation and to do that I will do my best to try and clearly outline the situation at hand. The problem, albeit a good problem to have, is that the demand for Copic continues to grow at a rapid rate. Most of you are experiencing this on your own and reporting back to us growth rates well into the double digits. III has been growing steadily, however, over the past 6-8 months we have seen some dramatic increases in demand. I would like to…

Kevin Lavin, formerly General Manager of daVinci Art in NYC, has joined JJC Industries LLC wholesaler of DANIEL SMITH products in the new role as North American Accounts and New Business Development.  Kevin’s years of retailing expertise, his ability to see the big picture and his passion for the growth and success of the art materials industry overall, makes him the perfect fit for this new position. Well respected Don Nederhand, technical advisor for 22 years for Royal Talens, passed away last week. He was 65 years old.   At Michaels, Eileen Miller was promoted to Vice President, General Manager – Frames Division reporting to Idalia Farrajota. Ami Hutchings was recently promoted to…

Our very own Frank Stapleton was honored at the NAMTA Show in Denver with the association’s highest award, the Art Material Hall of Fame. He has been President of MacPherson’s since 1978. In his time, he has moved MacPherson’s forward into a nationwide company that is consistently first in offering the best and most innovative products and services to a core of customers who represent the best creative supply retailers in the United States. Frank has shaped MacPherson’s to be a constant and evolving value-added resource for art & craft material retailers.  The employee owned company’s mission is for each team member as an owner of MacPherson’s to contribute to it’s customers…

Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Pentel of America, the company is proud to announce that its current Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Chotaro “Joe” Koumi is taking over as president of the company, effective immediately.  Mr. Koumi will also be in charge of Pentel of America’s manufacturing facility in Mexico. Date Correction MacPherson’s Spring Buyers Guide:  The colorful and amazing MacPherson’s Spring Buyers Guide runs now until 4/30/15. We got the effective date right on the cover and at the bottom of the right hand page of every double page spread from page 3 to 47.  We did make one mistake for which we need to issue this caution. In the green panel on the index…

Krink is a known leader in Urban Arts, the fastest growing category within the art supply industry. Krink produces unique products that appeal to an ever-expanding audience worldwide. All Krink products are handmade in the USA. For more information please visit krink.com. Krink is now available through MacPherson’s! The K-60 (KK60…) is the top-selling marker followed closely by the K-7 1(KK71…) and K-42 (KK42…). These markers are the best way to start with the Krink brand and are available in two low-cost displays. The KKR7160(pictured) and KKR42 are low-cost and compact. They both contain Krink’s top-selling markers in the most popular colors. Click on item #s to go to online ordering screen. Must be logged into MacPhersonArt.com.

NAMTA Art Materials World 2015 is Just a Few Weeks Away! Visit GOLDEN in booth #522, say hello and see some exciting new items! While at the show you’ll get a first-hand look at GOLDEN’s new High Flow Drawing Set, High Flow Mop Set and two new A-Z Acrylics Sets. Booth visitors will have a chance to belly up to the paint bar and have some fun socializing and exploring materials with Working Artist Program Director, Patti Brady! There will be plenty of selfie opportunities to share with your store staff, friends and families back home, showing them what a great time you’re having in Colorado! And since we don’t want the fun to…

Gamblin Torrit Grey is in stock and available to order now from MacPherson’s.  Retail partners receive one tube of Torrit Grey for every three tubes of Gamblin paint ordered. Just add item# GB992670 to your order with the appropriate quantity. Using Torrit Grey to Drive Sales Don’t miss the opportunity to promote Torrit Grey through your Facebook, Instagram, e-mail and web communications. Torrit Grey is a great reason for oil painters to come into your store and stock-up on paints, brushes, canvas and other materials.  Gamblin suggests offering a tube of Torrit Grey as a free-with-purchase item for all Gamblin purchases of $25 or more. Watch Gamblin’s Instagram (@gamblincolors)and Facebook feeds for announcements that you can…

Last August I announced the news that our board of directors and I had begun to create a succession plan that would provide for a strong managerial foundation at MacPherson’s long beyond Stu Beattie’s and my retirements. Back then I shared that while I am in no hurry to slow down, it would be prudent to establish a roadmap for my gradual replacement. Stu’s departure in October of 2014 provided a unique opportunity to fill crucial aspects of his role with someone who has new and valuable talents and skills. We began a search late last year for a person who could fit this mostly financial and operational responsibility, and had…