Strathmore Artist Papers Picture yourself going to your mailbox each day and shuffling through your pile of papers. What do you typically see? Bills, coupons, ads, statements…yawn. Now imagine yourself shuffling through your mail and behold a beautiful, handmade postcard with a personalized message on the back. That’s enough to make your day. Who doesn’t love getting real, handmade mail? Artists can send their art in postcard format with our new Mixed Media Postcards. They’re perfect for the upcoming holiday season. Made with our 400 Series Mixed Media paper, these heavyweight 184 lb (300gsm) postcards have a vellum drawing finish and are sized to handle wet media applications. They’re great…
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Venerable Vintages: The Ghosts of Products Past
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Introducing Venerable Vintages, a monthly feature of archaic art supplies. Anything from art industry ephemera to unlikely heirlooms; Venerable Vintages is a chance to indulge in the art supply nerd in all of us. To submit a collection or special item, send images and descriptions to us at artdogblog (@) macphersonart.com. Many of us have a soft spot for vintage labels, first edition products or timeless typography from “back in the day.” The classic designs, often done by hand and screen printed onto the package, are in harmony with the contents. Aging art supplies are more than rusty compasses or dried out paint pans – they…
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Paperwork People Actually Want
Cassie Brehmer, Midwest Account Manager, MacPherson’s This holiday season gift your customers with basic instructions for simple activities and projects for all ages. These Activity Sheets are especially helpful for aunts, uncles and grandparents who may be seeing their young family members for the only time this year. Plenty of easy DIY projects can be found online; all you have to do is assemble the desired items in-store in an easily shoppable layout, highlight that you have a FREE activity sheet, and provide an example of a finished project for reference. For the Holiday Season, going a little crafty is ok! Make sure to include your social media handles, website,…
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Halloween and Cosplay Go Hand in Hand: Creative End Caps For People Who Love Dressing Up
Catherine Monahon, Copywriter, MacPherson’s Halloween is a great time to introduce customers to the wild, varied, inclusive world that is Cosplay. CosPlay is the practice of dressing up as a fictional character–any fictional character–and it is not just popular during Halloween. Customers’ imaginations are already in gear for creating witty, spooky, realistic or outlandish costumes, so this is a great time to introduce another costume-related art form. Peak the interest of that special group who secretly wishes Halloween happened more than once a year and engage with a community of cosplayers you may have never known about. The Cosplay Community The word Cosplay is combination costume and play, and it…
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Demo Days: Stenciled Tea Towel with Derwent Inktense Pencils
Cassie Brehmer, Account Manager, MacPherson’s I recently did a demo at Mangelsen’s in Omaha, Nebraska during their annual art fair using Derwent Inktense on Flour Sack towels. This demo is easy to replicate with any stencil of your choice, the project can take on any theme imaginable. We laid out several stencils on a demo table, the chicken was the most popular—maybe because of the rustic, homey feel—perfect for the tea towels, and let customers’ imaginations run wild You know your customers best, so feel free to get creative with what materials you use; this demo can also be done on canvas tote bags, handkerchiefs, center piece runners and other…
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Legion: Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress
Making possibilities a reality is why Stonehenge Aqua came to be. Watercolor is all about possibilities. Because it’s not just about beautiful paint. There’s another factor: a wonderfully, whimsical element – water. Together, they allow for form and flow, chaos and connection, beauty and structure. Stonehenge Aqua is as finely crafted as it is affordable. Performing way beyond its price point, it has been tested to its limits and as it turns out, it has no limits. Wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry, it has a wonderful crispness that anchors beautiful work across every task and technique. With Stonehenge Aqua, blending is effortless, lifting is no longer a chore. It welcomes masking…
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Slice® Cutting Tools: Precise, Ergonomic, Safe
Cutting tools are in every art kit. But do they live up to artists’ needs? Do they create clean, detailed cuts, time after time? Do they provide excellent control and maneuverability? Are they ergonomic for prolonged and repetitive use? Are they safe? If your toolbox features Slice products like the Ceramic Precision Cutter, Ceramic Safety Cutter, and Ceramic Pocket Cutter, the answer to all these questions is yes. If It’s Slice, It’s Safer Slice safety blades last over 11 times longer than metal blades. The finger-friendly® grind, which may feel dull, makes clean cuts through a variety of materials, but the edge is safe to the touch. The Ceramic Precision…
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Krink
Krink recently partnered with Draft & Draw, a monthly meet-up in NYC for illustrators, calligraphers and doodlers that features a creative professional who shares their story. This meet-up featured artist and designer Ricardo Gonzalez (@itsaliving) and Krink supplied one of his favorite markers, the K-42 Paint Marker. Attendees used a range of K-42 colors on the paper-covered tables and got to take home Krink swag in a custom glass.
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Jacquard Alcohol Inks: A Versatile Tool in the Creative Arsenal
When Jacquard launched Piñata Colors in 2002, alcohol inks were virtually unheard of. Since then, alcohol inks have become extremely popular, especially among artists working on hard surfaces like tile, metal, YUPO, Clayboard, glass, plastic, stone, leather, polymer clay, etc. Recently, Piñata has also become a staple among resin artists for creating “petri” artwork. The process is simple: Piñata Colors are dripped onto the surface of the mixed resin after the mold is poured, and as each drop sinks, the resin hardens. The result when the cast is removed from the mold is a magnificent, psychedelic world of blooming color—what artist Josie Lewis calls a “petrified rainbow.” Whenever a “new”…
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KRINK
Krink has many creative uses outside of the street art and graffiti community. Our paint and ink markers are suitable for beginners to experts, ranging from the mixed media painter working on canvas to the lettering artist seeking bold, clean lines to the avid doodler customizing their sneakers. Check out artists using Krink below! K-60 Paint Marker Kami (@kami_htzk) uses the K-60 Paint Marker in this painting. With the the right amount of pressure, he can control the flow of paint with the squeeze bottle. Kami is based in Tokyo and works collaboratively with his wife, Sasu, under the name Hitotzuki. They are best known for their flowing paintings and large-scale…
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Jacquard’s YouCAN wins Creative Tool Award at Creativeworld 2018!
Jacquard is proud to announce that the YouCAN Refillable Air Powered Spray Can won 2nd Place in the Creative Impulse “International Innovation Award for Creative Tool of the Year” at the 2018 Creativeworld tradeshow! From the Creativeworld Press Release: “The Creative Impulse Award is a trend barometer that reflects the great innovative power of the DIY sector. This year, a new record was set for the number of entries with 74 products. A jury of top experts from the trade, industry and media met to assess, test, discuss and evaluate in detail all entries for the four categories.” Jacquard was also featured prominently in the “Trends” exhibition at Creativeworld with:…