Polishing the Crystal Ball:  Utilizing a Cashflow Chart - October 24, 2018
Working with Sales Representatives - September 26, 2018
Keeping a Customer is as Easy as That!Developing Great Employees -  August 29, 2018
Keeping a Customer is as Simple as That - August 1, 2018
Building the Team - June 6, 2018
Biggest Advantage of Small Business: Being A Small Business  - April 11, 2018
Being the Team - March 14 2018
Hiring the Right Employee - January 17, 2018

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♦ 101 Tips for Art Materials Retailers

Many of the industry’s most experienced and respected art material retailers have shared a little of their wisdom with NAMTA and you are the beneficiary. 101 Tips (that don’t include pricing) for Art Material Retailers will immerse you in page after page of advice from a group of experts who, collectively, have more than 500 years of experience selling art materials.  Login required

 

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♦ Art Materials Retailer Magazine

Fall 2018 Digital Issue

Published quarterly by Fahy-Williams Publishing since 1998, Art Materials Retailer Magazine addresses the issues facing the art supply industry and provides a forum for retailers and manufacturers to share information that can benefit everyone, along with interviews, retailing tips, NAMTA news, and loads of product information.

NAMTA Members - fill out this form to have Art Materials Retailer Magazine delivered to you by mail.

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♦ Artist & Art Materials Studies



The 2018 Retailer Study

NAMTA’s 2018 Retail Study, the second piece of the association’s tri-annual Artist and Art Materials Survey, is now downloadable here.  The 36-page report is free to NAMTA members.Conducted by The Olinger Group of New Orleans, the study is the fourth report of art materials retailer research (previously studies were done in 2009, 2012, 2015) designed to identify and monitor current and future trends in the art industry. Both US (153) and Canadian (15) art materials retailers participated in the study, which was conducted between February 15 and March 9 of this year.

The 2018 Artist & Art Materials Study

FREE for NAMTA Members

Non-Members - $500 - Purchase

NAMTA’s 2018, tri-annual Artist & Art Materials Study is another of NAMTA’s great member benefits and represents the fourth in a series of valuable survey data about the Art Materials business and its customers. The Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2017 for NAMTA by The Olinger Group of New Orleans.

The NAMTA study was based on an online survey of 7,090 professional artists, student artists, and art hobbyists.  This very large sample size yields a very low margin of error of ± 1.1%.  Every survey involves some degree of error – that is, some difference between the survey result and the actual population result if every member of the relevant population were measured.  A margin of error ± 1.1% means that we are 95% confident that the survey result is within only ± 1.1% of the true population value.  This extremely high degree of precision ensures that the survey-based estimates presented in this report are accurate and trustworthy.
 
Because the population was sampled by inviting respondents to self-select to participate, we are unsure which sources participants came to the survey from.  But considering the large number and variety of participant sources, there should be no particular bias toward respondents from any one particular sample source. - The Olinger Group

The 2018 Artist & Art Materials Study is packaged in 3 reports:

• Tables and Trending
• Artists & Art Materials Survey Report
• Artists & Art Materials Survey Comments

All three reports are FREE to download for NAMTA members.

Non-member price is $500 - use this form to purchase, or email [email protected].
  



Studies - 2009, 2012, and 2015

2015 Market Summary is the ONLY summary available of the trends, size and growth of the art materials market in the USA and Canada.

2015 Artist Study gives the results of a December 2014 survey of more than 6,000 artists in the USA and Canada, including artworks created, art materials, content use, social media, spending by product category and retail channel, feedback for retailers, demographics, and returning to art. Report includes data from all three study years (2009, 2012, 2015), and professional, student, and recreational artists.

2015 Retail Study gives the results of a 2015 survey of 150 art materials retailers in the USA and Canada: core financial metrics, growth trends, product trends, marketing and business best practices, challenges, and feedback for suppliers. The report includes data from 2009, 2012, and 2015.

10 Business Tools
From the 2012 Artist & Art Material Survey, includes retailer financial benchmarks, retailer marketing adviser, online retailer areas for improvement, product growth trends, along with product development insights. 

Managing People  
Volume I - A must-read for retail employers.
Topics include placing an ad for a job opening, the application, the Interview and the selection process of new employees, plus employee handbooks, policies and procedures reviews, incentives, and staff education. Examples of interview forms included. Login required

Advertising and Marketing  
Volume 2 - Create a marketing plan and shape your brand, determine how much you should be investing in advertising and marketing, set up an annual advertising and marketing calendar to maximize your return on that investment, determine strengths and weaknesses of traditional media, effectively manage digital advertising/marketing channels available - plus worksheets and tips from experienced art material retailers. Login required

Volume 3 - Merchandising has traditionally been about the process used to conduct retail sales. What products do you sell, how to present them to your customers and at what price. While art materials retailers have traditionally engaged in the task of retail merchandising in a physical location, the internet has now made it possible to apply these same basic principles online in a virtual store. Merchandising – has been written specifically for art materials retailers. Whether a novice in the business or a veteran retailer looking to explore the changing dynamics of art materials sales, you’ll learn more about how this important facet of retailing can be managed in both brick-and-mortar and/or online environments.Target marketing, selecting vendors, shipping issues and costs, planograms, inventory control, managing your product mix, pricing strategies, working with sales reps and so much more are addressed in this manual. Login required

Business Plan   
Volume 4 - This book has been created to be continually utilized. Your business plan is not a one-time exercise. 

While the first time that you create your Business Plan will likely be the most intense, re-reading and tweaking it annually is necessary to keep it relevant and useful. Each year there are likely to be changes to the retail landscape: new niches of retail open up; competition moves in and out of your trade area; art trends change. NAMTA members click here to read this new Retail Operations Manual.

 

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♦ MITRA

 

Take a look at  MITRA, a website about Materials Information and Technical Resources for Artists - and all who are interested.

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♦ Mentoring

The NAMTA Mentor Program is designed to assist NAMTA Members* who are in the planning stages of opening an art materials business, or have recently opened their new business and in need of some guidance. Once you have completed the request form, NAMTA will work to pair you with a member who is experienced in the industry and willing to share their knowledge with you. 

Interested in being a mentor?  Click here for more info and forms.

Members Only

Newsletters
Art Advocacy NEWS is emailed quarterly with stories and information about advocating for the arts. 

Art Advocacy Website
Along with NAMTA.org, NAMTA also offers a site NAMTAartadvocacy.org with facts, information and tools about and for Art Advocacy for everyone.