GOLDEN Participation at NAMTA Was a Great Success! For those of you who were able to attend the show in Pittsburgh, Golden appreciated you stopping by their booth! They enjoyed catching up with each of you and walking you through the Marketing initiatives they’ll be focusing on with the launch of QoR® Watercolor. The overall reception of the new product line was quite strong and they’re incredibly pleased with the positive response and support they’ve received! QoR began shipping on Monday, May 12 to all early adopters, and with orders for well over 100 Set-Ups making their way out the door, QoR Watercolor will soon be available to artists all over the country. For more information about QoR, visit…

The 2014 MacPherson’s Dealer Workshop is a few short weeks away and if the planning is any indication it will be the best ever. The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina on Wednesday, June 11th and Thursday, June 12th. Things kick off Tuesday afternoon with 7 inspirational and idea packed demos from: Pebeo Speedball Golden Canson/Milan Kuretake Daler Rowney Gamblin Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon, June 11th & 12th, the fun really begins with Round Robin & Table-Top Presentations and incredible promotions from the industry’s top brand names: Round Robins ColArt Montana Daler Rowney Sanford Prismacolor Strathmore Golden Art Alternatives Speedball Pentel Chartpak Wrapped Daniel…

An amazing bit of San Francisco psychedelic history surfaced recently with the 1967-ish photograph shown below of Jefferson Airplane in front of the Flax sign at their then iconic Kearny Street location. Craig Flax led the company’s investigation on a trail that included a recycled record store, a famous rock critic and finally Starship band members Jack Cassidy, Paul Kantner and Grace Slick.   They suggested that it was very likely shot by noted album cover photographer Jim Smircich. Read the entire fascinating story here. Steve Steinberg’s legendary New York Central art store was the inspiration and subject of a recent poem in the New York Times. We are all wishing you the best Steve! Click here for the complete article.…

Golden Artist Colors Launches QoR™ Modern Watercolor The First New Thing to Happen to Watercolor in 150 Years Golden Artist Colors has had the privilege and delight of collaborating with artists to make the highest quality professional Acrylic and Oil colors. Today that same collaborative process has produced a new, thoroughly modern Watercolor called QoR. QoR’s exclusive binder provides more color in every brushstroke, while retaining the best qualities of traditional watercolors. QoR offers a strength, range and versatility unmatched in the history of watercolors. The unique formulation accentuates the luminosity and brilliance of each pigment even after drying, while providing the subtlety, transparency and flow of a great watercolor. QoR (pronounced core) is an allusion to color as the center of watercolor…

iAMart, the 29 member strong art industry retailer group has just undergone an internal reorganization. Executive director Marilyn Hajjar has left and a newly created committee headed by Victor Davis of Spokane Art Supply will be the liaison with the group’s vendors. Maintaining effective, personal and mutually beneficial relationships will be the primary focus. iAMart member Beth Bergman of Wet Paint adds, ” iAMart was fortunate to have had Marilyn’s years of experience and wishes her the very best in her future endeavors.” If you are interested in more information about iAMart please contact either Patti Herdell who is the President of the organization (pherdell@scartsupply.com), Victor Davis  (Victor@iamart.org)  or Steve Aufhauser (steve@continentalart.com). As for Marilyn,…

POW! WOW! Hawaii is a mass gathering of the top Urban Artists from around the globe over Valentine’s Day week each year.  Now in its fourth consecutive year, the event has grown from a handful of artists coming together to paint several canvases, to 100 artists coming to transform Honolulu’s industrial Kaka’ako district into a wonderland of 60+ large scale murals.  The week of painting is complimented by gallery shows, a pop-up shop, music and art lectures, and ends with a huge night market and block party event with amazing murals both new and from years past completing the urban backdrop, attended by several thousand people.  This years event was sponsored by Montana Cans. Participation for…

ColArt has announced they have withdrawn the Winsor & Newton Artist’s Water Colour Sable brushes from their spring promo due to the ongoing ban on sable hair the the US Department of Fish and Wildlife. Last year without notice they asked Sable brush importers for new documentation regarding the harvesting of Sable hair and until the new information is submitted and approved by them. Winsor & Newton and all other manufacturer’s will no longer be importing Kolinsky Sable brushes. For a complete explanation of what is going on, and a pretty good prognosis of the timeline and resolution, read a summary written by Global Art’s Tom Dix Here. MacPherson’s SoCal salesperson extraordinaire Sandy Goodstein gave us all a scare when she…

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…

A note from Marilyn Hajjar on the passing of Lou Simeone,  iAMart president, long time industry leader and owner at Merion Art: It is with great sadness that I have to tell you all that dear Lou passed away on December 4th, 2013, free from pain and with his dear wife Shelly and their daughter by his side. Lou’s business partner Ed Gamberg is struggling with this loss and managing without his friend and business partner of over 42 years. The last two years have been difficult for Lou, he had gradually lost ground, and the last few months have been a struggle for him to be in the store and participate. I…

With great sadness we report the passing of Bill Sethre founder of Allards Fine Art Supply  of Fresno, CA. He died October 30th, peacefully at home at the age of 86. Bill was a retail marketing and merchandising genius way ahead of his time.  He is survived by his wife Colleen; three daughters, Sheryl Johns, Lisa Heard and Tracy Spawn; three sons-in-law, Gary, Greg and Jeff; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.  Remembrances may be made to Saint Agnes Hospice, 6729 N. Willow, #103, Fresno Ca. 93710; or the Fresno Dixieland Society. PO Box 16399, Fresno Ca. 93755-6399 The Herald News of Monterey Bay California reports that John Wiseman will be closing…

It was a tough month all around for some huge lights in our small industry. Bette Mosias  a leading art and craft supply industry pace setter and a true San Franciscan passes away on October 7th. Long time owner of the iconic Mendel’s Far out Fabrics on Haight Street in the heart of the city’s Haight Ashbury. The business, established by her father, has been a center of the creative spirit in “The Haight” and Bette was a driving force in this since 1979. Read more about Bette Mosias Well respected art Material technical expert Mark Gottsegen passed away recently. He was 65 years old. Mark was the founder and director…

On the weekend of October 12th, the Estria Battle (Prism Urban Art Festival – a large-scale urban art and cultural event), was held in Oakland, CA.  There were several art and educational events leading up to the festival – including a youth conference where mural painting techniques were taught to high school groups, an urban art print show at 1AM Gallery in San Francisco, and a slide show night where several artists and organizations each presented slides while they gave a personal narrative about their cause/artwork.  The festival/graffiti battle itself was a huge success, attracting several thousand people throughout the day, and featured 16 international graffiti artists battling it out on giant canvas…

The Estria Foundation hosts two weeks of cultural curated art events for the community of Oakland, CA and beyond. The Prism: Urban Art and Culture Festival encompasses a series of public events.  This festival will feature an array of activities beginning on September 28 and running through October 12th. These events entail visual art, music, dance, symposia and sustainable culture practices in an effort to emphasize arts programming for the community. Concurrent with Prism’s event schedule, October 12th will highlight the return of The Estria Battle at Life is Living (click here for details), an all day arts event at the historic Defremery Park hosted in partnership with Youth Speaks, and sponsored in part by Montana Cans and Art Alternatives. This is a free, family-friendly…

High Flow Acrylics Work Great in Refillable Markers! New High Flow Acrylics from GOLDEN began shipping June 18! New High Flow Acrylic colors from GOLDEN work great in markers. Artists can mix their choice of colors with any size and style of empty marker available. Whether artists just want an easier way to sign their artwork, or want to explore totally new ways to make marks, the combination of 49 High Flow colors and the wide variety of empty markers available today offers endless creative options. Learn more by watching this new YouTube video: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OureJ9-SzwM&feature=c4-overview&list=UU7Q21sJbaAVOIylhu3E7row Several dealers are already on board and have placed orders through MacPherson’s, so now’s the time to get your order in! Buying opportunities for assortments…

Looking for ways to make Urban Art tools relevant to mainstream creative makers and consumers? Check out this cool blog post for ideas on using Montana Markers to create hip home decor wall pieces. Brittany Makes Blog What is there not to love about all things “Made in America”, but especially when it’s our very own General Pencil of Jersey City, NJ? General’s factory and employees were recently featured in PARADE MAGAZINE (Sunday, September 1, 2013) With a National readership of 60 million across the USA, the story and photos in PARADE MAGAZINE showcases, General Pencil Company  in a special Labor Day “MADE IN USA” Issue.  Check out this very heart warming video: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfWvQpjGDZk&list=TL7BURoO5Ct3Q…

Kathy Brennan of Preston Art in Louisville, KY reports their Spray Day event on August 3rd was a huge success. The public was invited to try out spray paints and paint markers including Montana Gold and the Montana Markers. There was even a family who came all the way  from Cincinnati to participate.  According to Kathy, “the event lowered the average age of customer for the day enormously.  One of our delivery vans was painted with Montana Gold.  We had a boost in sales that day, and a boost in spray paint since.” Congratulations to all! Michaels and Aaron Bros announced their vendor partners of the year awards this month in Dallas. Michael’s…

Baby time in the industry! Welcome to the world Emma Jean, new born to Elizabeth and Seth Martin of Hyatt’s.  Emma Jean  is also the first grandchild for Greg and Lynn Hyatt.  She was born on May 9th at 6:14 p.m. in Amherst, NY and was 7 lbs. 9 oz. And a hearty and healthy shout out to Jill and Lionel Flax on the birth of their son William Alexander at 8 lbs. 4 oz., on July 11th. Congratulations, too, to William’s grandfather industry pioneer Leonard Flax. Anniversary celebrations are in the air! Back in 1938 Herman Flax opened up shop in downtown San Francisco. Though initially the store’s back room was also the family’s bedroom,…

Artists are asking for creative products that are functional, made well, and solve common problems.  New Wave was formed two years ago to provide such products.  Brothers Keith and Kyle O’Brien utilized their father’s idea for a better designed artist palette, which contains a patent pending 3 point design that hugs the body, and ran with it.  In less than two years professional artists from around the world, such as Everett Raymond Kinstler, Alexey Steele, and George Gallo, embraced New Wave Artist Palettes, and customers began asking for more products. Unfortunately the amazing New Wave Wooden Artist Palettes are not yet available through MacPherson’s due to the high production costs for such a well made and beautifully handcrafted range, but the good news is…

After the calm of a thunderstorm, under the roots of an upturned tree, the first graphite was uncovered by shepherds and used to mark their sheep. 300 years later pencil making in Cumbria, England was thriving as a cottage industry. The Cumberland Pencil Company created its first pencil in Keswick in 1832 and today twenty miles away from that spot the new Derwent factory, opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth in 2008, is still makes the best twenty degrees of graphite pencils in the world. httpv://youtu.be/SukMJCv_lSA 20 shades of grey – Derwent Graphic, the world’s widest range of graphic pencils Derwent Graphic is where good drawing starts. An essential part of…