As many of you might know by now, we have a few videos posted at YouTube. Non-art supply industry types stumble on them from time to time, and a few even leave comments. We received a comment the other day about our Art Alternatives Canvas factory tour that we are proud to share: If you would like to see what all the fuss is about, check out the video for yourself:

The holiday shopping season has arrived and you know what that calls for – fun, colorful, and attractive store displays! Need a little holiday help with POS materials for our fine European brands (E’Brands)? Various handy brochures, signage, color charts, posters, window clings and such are available to you at no charge from MacPherson’s. For a full-color guide to what is available for each brand and how to get it so you can spruce up your store, please see pages 1A – 8A of the European Brands catalog.  Don’t have one of these amazing catalogs? Just ask your MacPherson’s sales rep for a copy.  Generic copies of the catalog are…

Craig Schottenstein reports… “ColArt’s Winter Back-to-School promotion will help your paint brushes and dollar$ go a further with the 60% discount on open stock and 60/10% discount on drop ship assortments on all these large-volume tube color ranges: Artist Oil Colour 200ml Galeria Acrylic 200ml Liquitex BASICS 250ml The entire Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour range (37ml & 200ml), including all the mediums and brushes, is also being featured at 60% off on open stock and 60/10% on drop ship assortments! Save on Liquitex Professional Acrylic Inks & all 18 Liquitex Large Painting Knives: these lines are being offered at 60% off for WBTS. What’s New for Winter? Derwent’s new ONYX Super Dark…

New Online Video for Digital Mixed Media The new Digital Mixed Media product line from GOLDEN is gaining a lot of interest from both retailers and artists. In support of this innovative line, GOLDEN is pleased to announce the launch of new online video. This concise, easy-to-use tool walks viewers through the process of preparing a specialty paper with GOLDEN Digital Ground for ink-jet printing in just five easy steps. Tips for user success are also featured in the piece. To access the online video, go to Digital Ground Video. Don’t forget to also visit www.mixmoremedia.com for additional product information. New Product – Silverpoint / Drawing Ground There is a…

Dan Canny writes… •    “Our Consumer Specialists will wind down their scheduled appearances beginning in early December. We plan to begin publishing their appearance schedules in The Art Dog Blog during 2009. Please email Dan.Canny@Sanford.com with any recommendations you have as to ways we can notify the local dealers in advance of their appearances. It is our goal to have the local dealers aware of the upcoming appearances and able to implement promotions targeted towards the people attending the workshops/seminars conducted by Diana and Shelley. •    Prismacolor will introduce a new line of Soft Pastels during the 1st quarter of 2009. You will see them advertised in the MacPherson’s Spring Buyer’s…

David has a big personality and his job is saying grace over you guessed it, David Art Center(Art & Drafting Supplies -Custom Framing-Art Restorations) in beautiful Metairie, LA. His owners are Fernando and Adriana Giordano. David depicted here hamming it up with his favorite brush and beret can’t wait to get back to his soft bed in the frame workshop.

We have received an unprecedented number of price increases from the suppliers. As a service to our retailers, the MacPherson’s buying team  compiled a summary of all increases received so far.  This is the second round and as you can see, the increases are huge. If you are looking for item by item detail, please go to MacPhersonart.com> Online Express > Macitem Report and look in the left-hand column. Faber            Eff 1/1/2009 Average Increase = 10% C-Thru Ruler    Eff 1/1/2009 Average Increase = 15% Copic            Eff 2/2/09 Average Increase = 9% Crescent        Eff 2/15/09 Average Increase = 5% Dixon             Eff 2/15/09 Average Increase = 10%…

Moleskine style journals are still a huge category and probably always will be. At MacPherson’s we introduced Pen & Ink Sketch Fountain Pen and Journal line to spotlight the growing niche within the Moleskine category of artists writing and drawing their creative ideas. It has been a runaway success. Now we are introducing our latest line extension, this one targeted to artists who want a journal for sketches and drawings. Aptly and practically titled Sketch & Draw, the pages within these sketch books eagerly receive pen, pencil and light washes. Encourage your customers to follow their every whim – they offer ample tooth for laying down graphite, charcoal, pastel, colored…

Check it out! Big congratulations go out to Mark Ball at Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster, CA who earlier in October held a giant 3-day sale. To keep artistic customers engaged, he sponsored a Collaborative Art Project event. The point of the project was to create a mural that would be installed on the roof of the store when complete. Here’s how the project worked: 1) The store’s manager developed the overall plan. There was a design created that had to be drawn out. 2) Each participant was given a 14×14 stretched canvas with a sketch of the design of their portion of the mural. Novices could paint a “background”,…

We have just published the latest New Items Report . You can check it out by clicking on this link: New Items Report No. 215. In the meantime, here’s a quick peek at some of the great new items. Pastel Sets from General Pencil Check out some great new packaging and sets from General’s featuring extra smooth, pure pigment compressed pastel sticks are ideal for fine art drawing. They can be used to create colorful, vibrant drawings or to add subtle color to charcoal or graphite drawings. They are oil-free, acid-free and can be blended with a paper wrapped stump or chamois. 4 new Pastel Set skus to choose from…

Looking for a unique gift set for your store this holiday season?  Look no further because RGM has created a line of painting knives with unique shapes to enhance your customer’s creativity! The set is packaged beautifully and contains four knives featuring innovative shapes and a special water-resistant mirror blade, they are great for use with all relief pastes such as mortar, gels, modeling pastes, and gesso. The specially shaped edges can also be used when painting with acrylics and oils to obtain “relief” effects with a variety of thicknesses and layers. Supplied with high-quality bubinga wood handles. The set includes New Age Painting Knife styles 3, 4, 9 and…

The Holidays are the photo taking and album giving season. The new Lucino is Kolo’s is latest album series that’s perfect for photos or presentations. The Lucino features an expandable post-bound construction and includes ten heavy-weight, top load pages with inserts that can accommodate up to an 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet. It can expand up to two inches and can hold up to 50 sheets. The cover’s double-board construction provides extra durability for protection, storage and travel. The Koloist Blog:  If you are looking for ideas to spruce up your album sales, check out the new blog created by Kolo. Its called the Koloist.com and it is terrific! They have…

Second Semester is within sight and Elmer’s will be offering an outstanding lineup of best-selling products in the MacPherson’s Winter BTS Buyer’s Guide. Look for extended discounts on  key products in the following categories: Bienfang Pads:  Raritan, Take Me Along, Nelson Bristol, Newsprint, Note Sketch and others X-ACTO Knives and Blades:  #1 Knife, Gripster and #11 Blades Conte Sketching and Drawing Products:  Conte Crayons and Sketching Pencils Elmer’s Adhesives:  Glue All, School Glue Elmer’s Project Display Boards:  1-Ply White and Colors Of special note (excuse the pun), please be sure to promote the Note Sketch spiral sketch book. This unique item is available in 2 formats, with the pages divided…

Did you know that two STABILO Boss highlighters are sold worldwide every second?  Since its introduction to the marketplace in 1971, the Boss has become well loved favorite by many, especially in the European market where it continues to stand as the undisputed market leader. The love for Boss has spawned a variety of unique, informative, and entertaining commercials from around the world. Some of them demonstrate how Boss helps inspire our intelligence, organizational skills, coolness, love life, and even our funkiness. It might even bring inanimate objects to life! Just for fun, check out the link below to a sampling of STABILO Boss commercials from around the world, dating…

Montana Cans was at it again! This time Montana Cans sponsored a muralist group from Central California called Forever Aerosol for a two day, live mural painting at the Treasure Island Music Festival on September 20th and 21st. The Treasure Island Music Festival was held in the middle of the beautiful San Francisco Bay on Treasure Island itself. Two days were filled with arts, food, drink, and music for over 20,000 attendees. Montana Cans was there in support of the arts, and worked to promote a better understanding of aerosol art. Members of Forever Aerosol painted 5 large wooden panels over 2 days, while concert goers sat watching, basking in…

We have received an unprecedented number of price increases from the suppliers. As a service to our retailers, the MacPherson’s buying team  compiled a summary of all increases received so far. If you are looking for item by item detail, please go to MacPhersonart.com > Online Express > Macitem Report and look in the left-hand column. ColArt Effective 2/15/09 Winsor & Newton: Stretched Canvas – avg 10% Canvas Boards – avg 10% Easels – 10% Artists’ Oil Colors – 3% Artists’ Oil Bar – 7% Winton Oil Color – 7% Artisan Water Mixable Oil Color – 7% Griffin Alkyd colors – 7% Artist Watercolors – 6% Cotman Watercolors – 6%…

Great news for art supply retailers who love using the internet to find products. MacPhersonArt.com’s latest, greatest new feature is a comprehensive, remodeled search engine. We’ve been working on it for over a year, and it is far easier and quicker to locate products you’re looking for. Next time your MacPherson’s Sales Contact visits, ask him or her to show it off! We continue to strive to be your most valuable resource. As our sales VP Steve Robinson puts it: “I think this is really a big break through and will set us apart from just about every other industry website”! To give you a quick overview, check out the…