I've started a new group on Flickr - it's called My favourite art shop. Here are some of the photos I took in Cornelissen's on Wednesday which have now been uploaded to this group.
I created the group for other art shop nuts like me who'd like to be able to post photos of their favourite place to buy art materials and art supplies. It's a sort of cheerleading group for really good art shops. Mediocre shops don't get a look in!
Good art shops can be really hard to find and and my experience is that it's getting more difficult all the time to keep track of the good ones. However devotees will travel miles to visit a good art shop! Let's also not forget that patronising good local art shops will hopefully keep them from going under during the downturn.
The group will share visual information about the type of art store you like and what sort of art materials are available. Experienced art shop detectives can often tell from looking at pictures whether this is the sort of art shop they like the best. However I'm suggesting that it's also good to explain to people what they're looking at and a little about the type of art materials which are kept in stock.
The group is 'public - invitation only' with all submissions moderated for the moment. I've not quite got the hang of public groups yet as my other groups are private so I may well relax the moderation once it's underway.
The rules are very simple
DO
Do be helpful to other members of this group and provide some notes about your favourite art shop and what your photos show
DO NOT
1) post photos in this group unless you asked permission of the shop owner/manager before taking them
2) promote an art shop that you have any sort of commercial relationship with - eg as an owner, member of staff or an affiliate.My favourite art shop / Rules
If you've posted on Flickr about your favourite art shop and would like to share your photos in this group you can send me a message on Flickr (to makingamark2) to get an invite to join.
You can find the group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/favourite-artshop/
So - how about it? Would you like to share the your photos of good art shops and post about your pilgrimages to see the best?
PS There's no requirement to literally have one favourite art shop - and I fully intend to have at least three!
Note: This group is for personal use only and should NOT be used:
1) by art shop owners, art shop managers or affiliates of any art store to promote their store for commercial purposes.
2) BY artists to promote their artwork
- Making A Mark on Flickr
- Flickr: My favourite art shop or http://www.flickr.com/groups/favourite-artshop/
This is a good idea, I love art supply shops and I like to find good ones when I visit other towns. Sadly it seems as though my own local art supply shop is cutting back on real art supplies and concentrating on crafts. I asked if that was the case and was promised it wasn't, but the truth was evident in the new layout - paints and supports limited to a small area at the back of the shop and large areas devoted to knitting, card making and basic stationery.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad considering that we used to have a real, old-fashioned art shop full of all kinds of goodies, but it closed a few years ago. I am now forced to buy everything online unless I travel to bigger cities.
Hmm, can I post a pic of Jackson's web page? ;) They are my favourite: good range, best prices on my usual brands, quality items, and knowledgeable staff. They do have a shop somewhere around Farringdon I think... but I've never been.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have no doubt the London art shop I detest most will appear in the group anyway. C'est la vie.
I love Cornelissens in London and know you know it well.
ReplyDeleteIt's that old fashioned feel with those lovely drawers in the wall behind the counter, those jars of pure pigment are so beautiful and it's an Aladdin's cave of treasures!
Toronto, ON, Canada has great art supply stores and the best Japanese paper supplier in North America (Japanese Paper Place). Hiromi in LA is pretty good, but smaller. Independents in Toronto are Above Ground Art Supplies and Woolfitt's. Curry's is also good. All 3 have knowledgeable staff. De Serres, on the other hand, . . . let's not go there. On a recent around-USA trip, we found several good places: Pearl's, Utrecht, and the sport-field size main distribution centre of Dick Blick Art Supplies. Heaven!
ReplyDelete