Resource Library
Key: 
= Members Only
= Members Only
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Re-Investing in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future
Author: President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
President's Committee for the Arts and Humanities Releases Arts Education Study Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools In his 2008 Arts Policy Campaign platform, President Barack Obama argued for reinvesting in American arts education and reinvigorating the American hallmarks of creativity and innovation. Taking on this challenge, the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) spent the last 18 months conducting an in-depth review of the current challenges and opportunities facing arts education.
May 2011
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CPSC - Public Complaint Database
Author: Fred Mills-Winkler, SGS Consumer Testing
On March 11, 2011, The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a Consumer Product Complaint Database. The purpose of the database is to allow consumers to register product complaints and claims. The Commission then processes and evaluates the claims, notifies importers and manufacturers of such complaints, receives the necessary responses, makes final decisions and posts the complaints online for public access.
March 2011 -
Art Material Regulations and Your Business
Author: Jon Lloyd
Updates Include: - Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) - Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruling on the use of the word 'non-toxic' - Lacey Act - Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) - California Green Chemicals Initiative - Washington's Children's Safe Product Act - OEHHA proposition 65 - Toy Safety Directive - Reach
September 2011
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Marketing Goes to the Dogs
Author: India Hart Wood
Welcome to the Big Ideas inaugural column for the NAMTA e-Newsletter! Use these ideas to grow your business or inspire your own big ideas. What better way to start the series off than with a dog portrait party created by Tim Jennen at Wet Paint Artists’ Materials & Framing in Minneapolis MN.
October 2011 -
April in Paris (in Milwaukee!)
Author: India Hart Wood
Ah, Paris in April – flowers in bloom, Edith Piaf on the stereo, the smell of fresh-baked croissants in the air, and artists everywhere. Now, picture that in your art supply store and you will get a sense of Nora Hackenberg’s annual April in Paris event at Artist and Display in Milwaukee. Add French art materials, French-themed make-and-takes, and perhaps a Toulouse-Lautrec impersonator and you’re ready to pull off a major marketing success.
November 2011 -
A Business with Legs…Three of Them!
Author: India Hart Wood
Three legs on a human might be awkward but they work well for a store or a stool. San Clemente Art Supply won the 2010 NAMTA Business Innovation Award for retailers with their multi-legged business model that included art supplies, framing, and classes. These legs have helped them weather this recessionary period, supporting 10% sales growth from 2010 to 2011.
December 2011
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Marketing & Merchandising Books
Author: David, Horak, Kocsis, Koenig and Weidner
Tips and ideas for selecting titles, merchandising, keeping selection fresh, identifying trends, inventory control, how and why the chains do it, getting the most from sales reps and more.
April 2006 -
Use Your Marketing Plan to Achieve Your 2012 Business Goals
Author: Tina Stevens
We are about to start on a new year and we’ll need our 2012 marketing plans in place. I hope you have already started planning, but if not, take some time now. Those of you with retail stores need to develop both your overall business objectives (grow sales10%, expand product lines, improve profitability, etc.) and your marketing calendar for store promotions (sale on easels, a holiday promotion, free offer, etc.). There is plenty of overlap between them, and the best place to start creating your marketing plan is with your business objectives.
December 2011 -
Writing and Using Press Releases
Author: Rachel Gray
One of the best forms of promotion your company can receive is media exposure–and the best part of media attention is that it’s free! You should prepare a press release whenever you have newsworthy information to share with the media, such as a new hire, new product or alliance, or noteworthy community activity.
January 2011
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Visual Merchandising 101
Author: Kizer & Bender
Visual Merchandising—the fine art of presentation and display—is one of the most important pieces in running a retail store, yet it is often one of the most neglected. Visual Merchandising is an art, but it is also a science with specific, easy to implement formulas to help you sell more merchandise. Here are the basics you’ll find used in the savviest retail stores...
January 2003
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2011 Membership Satisfaction Survey Results
Author: Reggie Hall
September 2011 -
Artists and Art Materials USA 2009 - Active Artists Section
Author: Hart Business Research
The artist section provides an in-depth profile of active artists, with most data broken down by professional artists, students, and active recreational artists. Data includes number of active artists, spending, growth areas, feedback for retailers, types and numbers of artworks created, materials used, materials of increasing interest, proficiency, brand loyalty, motivations, art-related activities, learning, use of the Internet and computers for art, importance of elementary school art teachers, artists’ other creative activities, demographics, and comparisons with government data and past reports.
October 2009 -
Artists and Art Materials USA 2009 - Art Materials Retailers Section
Author: Hart Business Research
The retailer section provides comprehensive data on art materials retailers, both storefronts and online. Data includes retail market size, number of retailers, sales per retailer, growth, sales and growth by product category, profitability, staff numbers and benefits, inventory, sales floor size, margins, discounting, use of loans, marketing best practices, Web site best practices, business management best practices, challenges, types of customers and growth areas, number of suppliers, purchasing from distributors versus suppliers, ordering methods, retailer suggestions for suppliers and sales reps, and suggestions for retailer growth.
October 2009 -
Artists and Art Materials USA 2009 - Art Materials Suppliers Section
Author: Hart Business Research
This section provides comprehensive data on art materials suppliers, including number of suppliers by type, sales per supplier, sales by product category and customer type, growth areas, number and types of customers, supplier suggestions for retailers, manufacturing practices, ordering technology, discounting, sales incentives, use of sales representatives and catalogs, profitability, business challenges, best practices, and suggestions for supplier growth.
October 2009 -
Artists and Art Materials USA 2009 - Artist Materials Wish List
Author: Hart Business Research
These lists are verbatim responses to the 2009 artist survey question #27, “Is there a category of art materials you wish were better? (Please describe any improvements or changes you’d like to see.)” Suppliers should review this list for possible product ideas and improvements.
October 2009 -
Artists and Art Materials USA 2009 - Executive Summary
Author: Hart Business Research
Historically the art materials industry has focused on traditional art materials product categories, but artists now spend only half their art-related budget on these; the other half is spent on classes and workshops, books and magazines, framing, and non-traditional materials. This report forecasts a growing future for art materials businesses that can provide the full range of what artists need alongside the quality, knowledge, and service these businesses are known for.
October 2009
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Wanted: Super Sales Skills in a Brave New World
Author: David Pyle
NAMTA Sales Training Web Feature Series
September 2011 -
The Art of the Close
Author: David Pyle
NAMTA Sales Training Web Feature Series
December 2011 -
The Absolutely, Positively Most Valuable Sales Skill(s) Ever!
Author: David Pyle
NAMTA Sales Training Web Feature Series
October 2011 -
The Case of the Fly in the Case; Or, Boosting Sales Skills FAST
Author: David Pyle
NAMTA Sales Training Web Feature Series
November 2011
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Bibliography
For most people the most trusted endorsements of a product or service come from friends and associates. Having someone you know, someone who shares your experiences and concerns tell you that a product or service works...that it’s good...well, you can take comfort in that. That’s why you can trust the recommendations in NAMTA’s Art Materials Resource Bibliography – almost every item is recommended by a NAMTA member. Every day customers, staff and associates ask NAMTA members for information on a wide range of art material products, services and techniques. And, of course, you’re always looking for dependable resources upon which you can rely to train and educate your staff and customers. This guide contains a collection of books, DVDs and websites where you can find trusted information about the art materials. Every recommendation has the data you need to locate and/or purchase it. This is also a “living document” and is certainly not intended to be final word on art material resources. Certainly you have some favorite art material resources and we welcome your sending them to NAMTA for inclusion in this guide - info@namta.org.
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2012 Business Innovation Awards
NAMTA’s annual Business Innovation Awards program, conducted in partnership with Hart Business Research, provides a wonderful opportunity to recognize the great ideas, creativity and outside-the-box thinking by you and your staff. Retailer winner for 2012 is Aaron Brothers and supplier winner is C&T Publishing
May 2012 -
Key Findings - Artists & Art Materials 2012
Author: India Hart Wood
May 2012 -
Five Great Art Materials Websites and Why They are Effective
Author: Tina Stevens
In today’s online marketplace, our websites are critical to our business success. We utilize websites constantly, whether we are doing research for our company, shopping online, or checking out the best place to buy art materials. What makes a website grab your customers’ attention, keep them engaged, and entice them to come back? We will start this presentation with an overview of best practices in website design and development based on consumer demands, industry standards, and growing technological capabilities. From there, we will move through a fast-paced presentation highlighting some of the best websites of NAMTA members and the reasons why they rate at the top. The evaluations will be more than design and content based; we will look at how members are incorporating new technology, ecommerce, social media. and mobile marketing. This seminar will demonstrate the best web standards using real world examples.
May 2012 -
Ten Can't Resist Sales Tools that Work
Author: David Pyle
Newsflash!...As many as 40 percent of customers remain open to persuasion once they enter a store! How do you boost your sales with those customers? This lively session looks at proven sales boosters. From reading your customers to asking the right questions to motivational tools and training - this program will give you revenue-driving tools specific to art and creative products. In addition to the ten can't-resist tools, there will be time for energetic dialog and idea exchange - so, bring your own proven sales boosters!
May 2012
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Artists & Art Materials 2012 Need for Better Supplies
This was an open field from the Artists & Art Materials 2012 Study. More than 1,200 artists commented on acrylics, brushes, canvas, colored pencils, framing, markers, paper, pastels, pens, printmaking, stretcher bars, watercolors, and much else. The best way to use these comments is to search them in Excel.
June 2012 -
Artists & Art Materials 2012 Art Materials to Try 6-12-12
Author: India Hart Wood
This was an open field in the Artists & Art Materials 2012 Study. More than 3,000 artists commented. The best way to use these comments is to search them in Excel.
June 2012
