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…

Compact and portable Travel Easy Wooden Box Artist Sets are available in 4 mediums. The overall size is only 6″ x 10″ x 1-½”, but each set provides a complete set of materials in an easy to carry, quality box. RYRSET-A7000 is an acrylic painting set with 6 Essential Paints and a taklon brush, a drawing pencil with a sharpener and eraser, a palette and 5″ x 7″ acrylic pad. RYRSET-O7000 features 6 essential oil paints with a white bristle brush, a drawing pencil with a sharpener and eraser, 5” x 7” oil pad and an 8 well palette. RYRSET-W700 includes 6 watercolor paints with a natural hair brush, a…

Our fearless Art Supply Quirky Facts reporter at large, Peter Alba, has been asking some tough questions lately. While in Kensington Art Supply (Annette Wichman) in Calgary, Alberta and Art Media (Kathy Christian) in Beaverton, he discovered that both of these retailers keep a book of crazy funny things that customers say or ask for. We thought this would be a worthy ongoing feature of the Art Dog Blog. Peter thinks that there may be others of you fearless retailers of art tools who do the same. Why not email me with your own strange tales? Until then enjoy the accounts of our two featured retailers: Things Asked asked of…

Meet Scarlet, winner of this month’s Art Dawg contest. She is a world traveler and honorary goodwill ambassador for Mo’s Art Supply & Framing in Covington, LA. In this shot she is displaying her artistic side in fashion. In future entries watch out for this lady’s penchant for fashions of the world and seasonal tributes. Her owners are Simone and Curran Burke. Simone and Monique Perry are the owners of this jewel box of an art store. If you are ever in Covington, stop in, say hello and check out their innovations on store layout and merchandising.