July 30, 2023 • 28 mins
Brace yourselves as we embark on an artistic journey with Joe Souder, the creative pulse behind the Art Store in Syracuse, New York. Join us as he peels back the canvas on the ever-evolving trends in the art world, especially in these tumultuous times. The pandemic has spun the color wheel and pushed people toward traditional media and art forms. Joe, with the heart of a true artist, encourages everyone to embrace the change and fearlessly experiment with new materials.
This episode isn't just about the art; it's about the energy and the community behind it. We explore the physical presence of the Art Store and how it has transformed into a vibrant hub for artists. You'll get a sense of the exhilarating feel of choosing art supplies by touch and quality, attending free workshops, and connecting with other artists. It's the nucleus of artistry in Syracuse and Central New York, a place where creativity thrives and ideas flow as freely as watercolours on a canvas.
It's not all paintbrushes and easels though. Joe talks about the Art Store's digital footprint and how social media, particularly TikTok, has become a gallery for artists to showcase their work and engage with a wider audience. The Art Store has become more than a local hub; it's a beacon for artists far and wide. How can you support and be a part of this artistic revolution? Tune in, and let's paint this picture together.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeff (00:06):
Welcome back to Art Supply Insiders.
My name is Jeff Marrow andtoday we're talking with Joe
Souder.
Joe is the creative coordinatorfor the Art Store.
Joe, welcome in.
Did I butcher your last name?
No, it was perfect.
Okay, and the Art Store.
Where exactly is that located?
Joe (00:25):
We are in Syracuse, new York.
If there's a geographic centerof the state of New York,
syracuse is right, smack in themiddle.
Jeff (00:34):
You know our audience might recall, back in September
we did an interview with SarahStedner, who was just an
incredible interview and awonderful podcast, and she
really is a great artist andcrafter, isn't she?
She's amazing, yeah, yeah she.
(00:55):
If you haven't heard that one,go back and see it.
It's ASI 44.
So, joe, tell me a little bitabout the Art Store.
How long has the store beenopened?
All of that?
Joe (01:09):
So in 2024, we will celebrate 50 years in business.
It's our 50th anniversary.
Yeah, we started 50 years ago.
Our owner, don his father,owned a hardware store in
Syracuse and Don said hey, dad,you know, could I bring in some
fine art supplies and have themin here?
(01:32):
And so there was a littlecorner of the hardware store
where there were some fine artsupplies and from there the rest
, of course, is very long 50years of history.
Wow, wow, yeah.
Jeff (01:45):
And how long have you been with the Art Store?
Joe (01:48):
I have been here since 2018 .
Jeff (01:51):
Oh my, so you so creative coordinator.
What does a creativecoordinator do?
Joe (01:57):
Well, I get to interface with all of our vendors, so if
it's something that we sell inour store, I've talked to the
people who sell it, sometimesthe people who make it.
I plan all of our classes withall of our teachers.
That's a whole that, honestly,could be a job in and of itself,
because it's so fun and Ilearned so much from them.
I got then, of course, likecoordinating all of their class
(02:20):
supplies, that they need all ofthe stuff for each of the
students, getting the classroomready for each thing, all of our
events we have amazing eventshere and then anything that has
anything to do with marketing orsocial media, our email blasts,
all of our sales, all thatcomes right through me, that's
you.
Jeff (02:41):
You've got a heck of a job .
So let's talk a little bitabout the Art Store.
So the Art Store sells fine artand craft supplies?
Yeah, absolutely.
And now I'm going to jump in.
I'm kind of jumping ahead.
It's something I was going toask you a little while ago is
you know, the consumer isconstantly evolving.
(03:04):
What do you guys see asconsumer trends?
What seems to be popular thesedays, either on the fine art
side or on the craft side?
Joe (03:15):
You know what, honestly, since the pandemic, we've really
seen sort of a return totraditional media.
Everybody, while we were sortof paused, the world took a
great big breath and we paused,we all got very bored, and so it
seems like anyone who ever intheir life picked up a
watercolor brush or was curiousto pick up a watercolor brush,
(03:39):
picked it back up, or picked itup for the first time, maybe
people who just they just neverhad the time to do something
creative, they did it.
People returned to things likeknitting and crochet.
We also all, while we werebored, we got on TikTok and
there's entire channels onTikTok.
Instagram, youtube all of thesocial media is dedicated to
(04:03):
just watching people paint andwatching people crochet and
learning these techniques thatyou think of traditional art
supplies or traditional craftforms or whatever, like there
was really a return to that.
I think people got a lot ofcomfort from it and they found
out wow, this really is fun.
And so since the pandemic,we've just seen more of it and
(04:25):
everybody putting kind of anon-traditional spin on
traditional media.
So I have people who usewatercolor paint and they use it
on a printing press, they'reusing it with gel plates or
they're taking their littleminiature plastic soldiers and
they're painting it with fineart oils and mixing different
(04:52):
solvents and differentaggregates in with their oil
paints to get these interestingtextures on toy soldiers.
It's absolutely fascinating tosee that everything it just got
bigger.
Jeff (05:04):
You know, all of us hated the pandemic.
But I think, in some weird way,when we come out of it on the
other side, it's like you saidpeople are trying new and
different things, aren't they?
Joe (05:20):
Yeah, and you know what.
Honestly, if you're in peoplewho are in art school, right,
you take art history and youlearn about what was going on
the art of the 30s in Europe,what was happening then, and
many artists who were in placesthat were occupied by Nazi
Germany, they were painting inbasements, they were painting in
(05:40):
the dark.
So when you look at a lot ofthe works from that time, they
look like they were painted in abasement or in secret, you know
.
And so that's sort of what welearned like all of this was
happening, this art.
It never got suppressed, it wasjust happening underground, in
secret.
And so, like, look at thesedark canvases and dark textures.
I honestly think someday, 20years, 30 years from now, they
(06:03):
will teach art of the 20s thesame way we learn now art of the
1930s.
Like we all came out of thepandemic and everyone started
painting If they weren't already, everybody started painting.
And then 2020 itself 2021, theworld was on fire and all sorts
of social change and crazythings were happening.
(06:23):
All of that is now immortalizedin an artistic form in
someone's painting, in someone'sdrawing, in someone's
illustration.
I really do think that we'reliving in history right now.
Jeff (06:37):
Wow, I've never thought of it that way, but I think you're
right, and one of the thingsthat I hear you saying to our
fine artists and crafters isdon't hold back, try new things.
Try new things, yeah, and trynew materials.
For instance, I've seen thatmaking cards, card making on the
(07:00):
craft side, has kind of morphedon over into the fine art side.
Oh yeah, because watercolorsare right.
Joe (07:08):
Watercolors are acrylic paints on non-traditional
surfaces.
We've seen I've also seen ahuge return to fine writing
instruments like fine writingdip pens and fountain pens.
We've had a huge demand here inour store kind of replenish our
stock of fine pens and we nowwe're about to grand re-open an
(07:31):
entire room, a writing, a finewriting room, with nice,
beautiful pens and beautifulinks and then of course, all the
papers and stationery andeverything that goes with it.
Jeff (07:42):
That's an area into itself .
We've never discussed that onArtSupply Insiders and it might
be a good idea to talk tosomebody that gets into the fine
art of using these pens withcalligraphy and all of this
other kind of stuff.
Joe (08:00):
People are falling in love with writing all over again.
They really are Withhandwriting, penmanship and just
putting pen to paper andwriting, whether it's a thank
you card, a love letter,anything Like.
We're really seeing sort of areturn to that time.
That's great.
Jeff (08:18):
Now I'm sure you guys have a website, so can you give our
audience your website?
Joe (08:23):
Yeah, it's the Art Store, so the Art Store, the Art Store
CNY.
So the Art Store Central NewYork.
Think of it that way CNYTheartstorecnycom.
Jeff (08:35):
So that's T-H-E-A-R-T-S-T-O-R-E.
C is in Charlie, n is in Nancy,y is in Yo-Yo.
That's right.
Joe (08:48):
Yeah, theartstorecnycom.
Jeff (08:51):
Gotcha.
When they go to that website,what are they going to see?
Are they going to see all theproducts you stock?
Do you offer videos on there,tips, that kind of stuff?
Yeah, it's sold in our store.
Joe (09:05):
It's on our website 25,000 different items.
We have them all painstakinglyarranged in a beautiful order
that makes sense, and we'reconstantly updating the website,
because we're always bringingsomething new into the store and
we're always going to berearranging things around here.
I think we're maybe that's anartist thing too.
(09:27):
We get bored and then suddenlywe're like you know, wouldn't
Canvas look really beautifulover there in that corner
instead of here?
Let's move it, let's see what.
Oh well, what if we movebrushes?
Why don't we do that?
And somehow that carries overto our digital platform too,
because we seem to do the samething on the website.
We're always making it a littlebit more efficient or look a
little bit more beautiful.
Jeff (09:47):
Well, I just pulled up your website right now and it's
beautiful.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, my goodness gracious, it'sgot all of these.
The first picture I see are allof these surfaces like jesso
board and clay board and scratchand pastel and aqua.
This is really good, andthere's your pens and so forth.
(10:09):
So, folks out there, you reallyneed to go and check out their
website If you're looking for areally good source for art and
craft supplies.
Which kind of leads me to mynext question is how do you see
the role of brick and mortar artsupply store evolving with the
ever increasing online shopping,where people have kind of
(10:33):
gotten away from going to brickand mortar?
How do you see brick and mortaris moving forward?
Joe (10:38):
I mean honestly.
I think our store website istestament to the fact that, yes,
we're a brick and mortar store,but we're also a digital
shopping space, our onlinepresence, just like we have our
in person presence.
I have people who live only acouple blocks away and they're
constantly placing orders.
You know, free shipping as longas it's over $35.
(11:01):
And they're just too busycreating or too busy painting,
too busy doing whatever it isthat they're doing, to come in.
And then we have people, toothat we've found a lady who
found us through.
She buys some of our finewriting inks that I was talking
about.
She and her husband drove herefrom Connecticut because they
(11:21):
wanted to see in person thestore where she's been shopping
online to get all thesebeautiful inks.
And, you know, while she washere, she wanted to see what
else we have the thing about abrick and mortar place.
What we've really turned thisinto is an interactive space
where artists can engage withtheir craft and connect with
(11:42):
other like-minded individuals.
So we do that with workshops,we have constant free
demonstrations, we have eventsand really it kind of transforms
our store into a hub ofcreativity and knowledge sharing
.
So that is something that, ofcourse, we can all go on Reddit
and we can all find there's somany online forums, but nothing
(12:05):
beats in person.
You know, shopping down thedown the brush aisle and you and
you see another local artistalso shopping and striking up a
conversation, and then thesalesperson comes over and the
three of them all start talkingabout different ways to wash a
brush or different ways to use abrush and different media that
you can use that brush with.
It's so much of a, I guess,like a social place, not that
(12:32):
the digital world can't give you, that, can't provide
information, but it's a wholeother experience to do it in
person.
And also there's people, I think, who constantly just really
want hands on, the ability tophysically assess something's
texture, something's color orsomething's quality before they
(12:52):
make a purchase.
And I saw an interestingarticle about Gen Z, the young
people that are kind of comingup now, college age and a little
older and a little younger, andthat they are all more likely
to make a purchase in person.
They prefer shopping in a brickand mortar store to doing it
online, which sort of bucks thetrend of generations Y and X
(13:16):
that came before them, who nowwe're all shopping on Amazon as
much you know, as much as we can.
We hate going to a mall, hategoing to a store or whatever.
No, these kids, they prefer togo and speak to a salesperson
who has knowledge about an itemand then make an informed
decision.
That way, they may also goonline and do their own research
, but they prefer to purchasesomething that they can look at,
(13:39):
feel or try out, even Such agood thought.
Jeff (13:46):
Our industry is very tactile.
Exactly, it's literally.
You want to feel that brush,that watercolor brush, and is it
going to have a sharp edge toit?
Is it going to hold water?
And many times you can go intothese stores and you can try
brushes with water and you canask people and oftentimes there
(14:07):
are manufacturers there,Sometimes you can talk to them
directly, correct?
Joe (14:11):
Any brush in our store.
You can try out any paint ifyou want to take it into the you
try it room, give it a whirl,see what happens.
And yes, just over the weekendFriday, saturday we had the nice
people from Da Vinci brush werein town and so we had a whole
lecture and workshop on thedifferent, the different brushes
(14:32):
for watercolour and for oil.
And you could just see thatthere was nowhere to park I
think for a block in anydirection.
Our parking lot was full, thestreet was all parked with cars.
Everybody was engaging with theDaVinci people and asking
questions, learning whole newthings.
And this date in age two wherewe're all about saving money, if
(14:53):
you can find a brush that's areal workhorse that can do two
or three things for you.
Davinci brushes definitely dothat.
Jeff (15:03):
So we just interviewed Greg Daniels from DaVinci Brush
just a couple of weeks ago.
Joe (15:10):
Oh, did you.
Jeff (15:11):
Yeah, that is a really good brush and one of the things
that, as a community, we needto support brick and mortars,
because the brick and mortarsare going away worldwide and we
need to be able to go places totouch the paint, to play with
(15:32):
the brush, to look at differentthings.
That's important, isn't it?
It's so important.
Joe (15:37):
I think also there's just a lot of again.
You can get so many benefitsfrom online or from a digital
platform.
Right, and I won't knock it,because of course, we have our
store website.
We have tangible experientialelements that only a physical
space can provide.
Gosh, like the, it's really,it's shopping and it's
(15:59):
entertainment, you know, andbeing part of a community, and
that's for a website toaccomplish.
Jeff (16:06):
I love that visual.
It's shopping and entertainment, because you go to an art store
and pretty much you just smilethe entire time.
You're there with everything tolook at.
So I know you guys are very,very involved in your community.
How do you guys work with thecommunity and how do you serve
(16:27):
them?
Joe (16:27):
There's that saying we are the weirdos, mister, definitely.
I think, above all else, we arethe place for the weird kids,
the art kids, the creative kids,and when I say kids I mean kids
of all ages, if you're eight,if you're 108, everybody gathers
here to network.
You know, we try to be thenucleus of the art and artist
(16:50):
community of not just Syracusebut Central New York, the Finger
Lakes region.
And it's so neat because I cango to a gallery show, whether
it's here in town or if I driveto Seneca Falls or whatever, to
see one of our artists, you know, putting their works up and
I'll look at the work and belike, oh, that's what you're
doing with all that quinoacrudone opera, or that's what
(17:14):
you.
That's why you needed all thosecatalyst blades from Princeton
Like now I see what you've beenhooked to.
Oh, that's funny and I don't.
Again, being part of acommunity, that's something that
I benefit from.
But I do like to think that ourcustomers enjoy it too that
they can come in and we takethem right to what they need to
(17:35):
answer their questions about howto use, how to use what with
what, how to varnish what, howto get whatever it is ready for,
whether it's exhibition, ifit's for their senior workshop,
if it's for one of their artclasses.
We're right next to SyracuseUniversity and I can't say
enough about their artdepartment.
We're also right down the roadfrom Uneductal Community College
(17:58):
and again, can't say enoughgood things about their art
department.
All such dedicated professorsand passionate students at both
of those schools.
But we have our kids in town too, who leave Syracuse to go to,
whether it's SCAD or Parsons inNew York.
Wherever they're going to, theylike to stock up here before
they leave because they don'tknow what they'll find.
(18:20):
And it's really, really awful,I think, to get to school, get
your materials list and thenhave to hunt online or go place
to place and hope that you canfind what you're looking for.
So many of our away studentsthat go out of town they choose
instead to stock up here beforethey go and also just sponsoring
community events like murals.
(18:41):
We have murals popping up allover Syracuse and we've been
working with Golden and theirnew mural paint, which is
absolutely beautiful.
I don't know if you've seen itin action.
Yeah, it's ex exquisite.
And also, of course, montanaand Montana 94, the spray can
companies.
Both of those we've beenwatching as these murals pop all
(19:02):
over town watching that stuffget used.
We sponsored the kids activitytent at the Juneteenth Festival
Gosh.
Recently we did a littleexperience booth with some mixed
media at an art show down atthe Gear Factory, which is
another.
It's sort of a live in artistcommunity.
(19:24):
I don't want to call it acommune, but it kind of is.
It's a repurposed machine gunfactory from World War Two.
They've turned into apartmentsand artist studio lofts and it's
just so neat so we got to goparticipate in that.
Jeff (19:39):
Wow.
Now if let's say we've gotsomebody in the Midwest and they
have a question and they justcan't seem to find the answer,
do you guys accept phone callsfor questions and stuff?
Oh my gosh all the time.
Joe (19:57):
We phone calls, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messenger,
and we have our also, just ourregular.
If you go to our website,there's an email that actually
comes right to my email If yousubmit your questions there.
We answer questions for peopleall over, so please bring us
your questions Well.
Jeff (20:20):
I know crafters and artists.
We always have questions.
Oh yeah, I mean absolutelyalways.
So you know, have you had toadapt your store and reinvent
yourself after the pandemic?
Have you had to do things?
Joe (20:36):
different.
During the pandemic, we atfirst we closed, we here in New
York.
It hit early and it hit reallyhard and we sort of watched as
it got closer and closer andthen finally it was in our
county and so before thegovernor, before anyone could
shut us down, our leadershipcame one day and said you're
done, we're going to close uptonight and tomorrow.
(20:59):
Don't come to work, everybodystay home.
And a few days later, of course, then the state shutdown, made
it mandatory.
But our leadership, they didn'tlay us off, they paid us to
stay home.
And, wow, stayed home.
They were like you know, wedon't, we don't want anyone
losing their, their benefits,that's not going to happen,
we'll take care of you.
(21:20):
So we sat at home and a coupleweeks went by and then they said
you know what, come on in,because it's huge here.
If you see pictures of ourstore, it's absolutely massive.
So a handful of people we canreally work without ever seeing
each other or going within.
You know, 10, 12 feet of eachother.
So we socially distanced, wewore our masks, we were very
(21:41):
careful and we sort of, you know, we did curbside pickup.
I would send emails and say,hey, we've got some great deals
going on, and one thing kind ofled to the next and we had there
were orders that were placedbefore we went home that started
coming in, and so we startedputting up the new displays and
putting in new merchandise andthen suddenly we started
(22:02):
ordering more things.
And we ordered a few morethings.
We looked around and we're likeyou know, we've been putting
off painting the wall.
Why don't we paint the walls?
We painted the walls, then werearranged the store and then we
bought new gondolas and thenthe next thing you know we were
in.
We were up to our neck in acomplete renovation and so in
the months that we were closedup April and May we totally
(22:26):
gutted, repainted and re sort ofreinvented the entire retail
space.
So when we opened back up, itwas even airier than it had been
before, even better spaced out,even more wheelchair and
stroller accessible than wealready had been.
Everything was better.
We had an even better selection.
(22:48):
We had new merchandise that noone had ever seen and we
reopened to the public.
People were lined around theblock to wait to come in and
shop.
The day that we reopened ourdoors.
People were so happy to be backyou know, shopping in person
and they walked in and justwatching their eyes just bugging
out of their head at thechanges that had occurred in
(23:09):
just the few weeks that we'dbeen closed.
They were so impressed and, ofcourse, it's just that the
momentum has continued sincethen.
So we really took it as a timeto take a deep breath, take a
pause.
We all had a couple weeks offand then we rolled up our
sleeves and we just improved onwhat we've always done really
well, which is offer an amazingexperience and with an amazing
(23:30):
product.
Jeff (23:32):
Well, there's no doubt that the art store is a premier
place to get fine art and craftsupplies.
How do you differentiateyourself from other stores that
sell fine art and craft supplies?
Joe (23:48):
You know we really are a part of the community here.
Everybody that works on oursales floor is a practicing
artist.
You know we're all workingartists.
In addition to working at theart store, almost everybody who
works here teaches classes, alsoincluding me.
And I think another piece ofthe puzzle that's integral to
(24:11):
this is our entire second flooris an art gallery dedicated to
local artists.
It doesn't mean you have to beborn and raised in Syracuse to
show your stuff up there.
We have people who've movedhere from Italy, from Hawaii,
their work you know sits rightnext to born and raised
Syracuseans.
(24:31):
We have members of the facultyfrom the art department at SU
that have been our featuredartist of the month.
Just so many ways that we canreally be part of the community
and you really do get adifferent level of service here
than you would at, you know, abig box retailer.
Jeff (24:53):
It sounds like your attention to detail is what
really makes the difference.
You treat each of us asindividual artists and you pay
attention to what our needs areExactly.
So this whole interview hasgone by so fast.
We're just about at the endhere.
Can you give us a little ideaof what the future looks like as
(25:17):
you enter your 50th year ofbusiness?
Joe (25:20):
I think, continuing to honor our past.
You know, and in many ways wealways say we're the friendly
neighborhood art store, we'reyour friendly neighborhood art
store.
You know, in many ways we'restill, I think we like to think
still like that little corner ofart supplies, that precious
jewel in the corner of ahardware store, but, of course,
(25:45):
embracing the innovation of thefuture.
We embrace the digital age andwe invest in our online
platforms, but for the store, itstill needs to continue to be
an interactive space whereartists can meet and experiment
and collaborate and even, like Isaid in our gallery, showcase
their work.
Jeff (26:03):
Well, as you were talking, I'm still browsing through your
website and I am so absolutelyimpressed as a fine artist or as
a crafter.
You literally have just abouteverything anybody could want.
I mean, it's just we're allover the place and I'm looking
(26:27):
and you've got plenty of ourbest practices and drawing your
inner voice and the ancient artof water marbling.
These things are all thingsthat our audience is looking for
.
So congratulations on such awonderful platform.
Joe (26:41):
Thank you.
We've worked really hard on it.
Jeff (26:43):
Well, Joe, as you grow and as you reinvent yourself,
please consider coming back andchatting with us.
This has been eye-opening.
And again, if they want to goto the website, give them the
website again.
Joe (26:59):
TheartstoreCNYcom.
Jeff (27:02):
TheartstoreCNYcom.
Joe, thank you so much again.
Is there anything I forgot toask you about?
If you want to follow?
Joe (27:11):
us on social media.
We love our.
You know we can be yourfriendly neighborhood art store
too, even if we're not in yourneighborhood.
You can follow us on Instagramor Facebook the Art Store CNY.
We're the same handle on allour social media platforms.
And keep an eye on TikTok,because you know we're on there
too.
Jeff (27:32):
All right, I have to ask you so I have to be at the end
of this TikTok what the heck isTikTok?
Joe (27:37):
Oh, it's a platform that shares a short form video,
although some of them seem to begetting longer and longer,
because now you can I think it'sup to seven minutes you're
allowed to be on there.
But for artists, especially toshow time lapse of their art or
just to demonstrate a quicktrick or a quick technique, it
is an absolutely invaluable tool.
Jeff (27:56):
Wow.
Well, this is the exact reasonwhy you need to talk with Joe at
the Art Store.
They are on the cutting edge ofwhat's happening.
Joe, thank you again for beingon the show today.
We really appreciate it.
Jeff, thank you so much.
Joe (28:11):
It was an honor to be asked .
Jeff (28:13):
You've been listening to the Art Supply Insiders.
Check back with us often as wetalk about the world of art and
craft supplies.
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(28:34):
oursupplyinsiderscom.
Now go out and create something.
Welcome back to Art Supply Insiders.
My name is Jeff Marrow andtoday we're talking with Joe
Souder.
Joe is the creative coordinatorfor the Art Store.
Joe, welcome in.
Did I butcher your last name?
No, it was perfect.
Okay, and the Art Store.
Where exactly is that located?
Joe (00:25):
We are in Syracuse, new York.
If there's a geographic centerof the state of New York,
syracuse is right, smack in themiddle.
Jeff (00:34):
You know our audience might recall, back in September
we did an interview with SarahStedner, who was just an
incredible interview and awonderful podcast, and she
really is a great artist andcrafter, isn't she?
She's amazing, yeah, yeah she.
(00:55):
If you haven't heard that one,go back and see it.
It's ASI 44.
So, joe, tell me a little bitabout the Art Store.
How long has the store beenopened?
All of that?
Joe (01:09):
So in 2024, we will celebrate 50 years in business.
It's our 50th anniversary.
Yeah, we started 50 years ago.
Our owner, don his father,owned a hardware store in
Syracuse and Don said hey, dad,you know, could I bring in some
fine art supplies and have themin here?
(01:32):
And so there was a littlecorner of the hardware store
where there were some fine artsupplies and from there the rest
, of course, is very long 50years of history.
Wow, wow, yeah.
Jeff (01:45):
And how long have you been with the Art Store?
Joe (01:48):
I have been here since 2018 .
Jeff (01:51):
Oh my, so you so creative coordinator.
What does a creativecoordinator do?
Joe (01:57):
Well, I get to interface with all of our vendors, so if
it's something that we sell inour store, I've talked to the
people who sell it, sometimesthe people who make it.
I plan all of our classes withall of our teachers.
That's a whole that, honestly,could be a job in and of itself,
because it's so fun and Ilearned so much from them.
I got then, of course, likecoordinating all of their class
(02:20):
supplies, that they need all ofthe stuff for each of the
students, getting the classroomready for each thing, all of our
events we have amazing eventshere and then anything that has
anything to do with marketing orsocial media, our email blasts,
all of our sales, all thatcomes right through me, that's
you.
Jeff (02:41):
You've got a heck of a job .
So let's talk a little bitabout the Art Store.
So the Art Store sells fine artand craft supplies?
Yeah, absolutely.
And now I'm going to jump in.
I'm kind of jumping ahead.
It's something I was going toask you a little while ago is
you know, the consumer isconstantly evolving.
(03:04):
What do you guys see asconsumer trends?
What seems to be popular thesedays, either on the fine art
side or on the craft side?
Joe (03:15):
You know what, honestly, since the pandemic, we've really
seen sort of a return totraditional media.
Everybody, while we were sortof paused, the world took a
great big breath and we paused,we all got very bored, and so it
seems like anyone who ever intheir life picked up a
watercolor brush or was curiousto pick up a watercolor brush,
(03:39):
picked it back up, or picked itup for the first time, maybe
people who just they just neverhad the time to do something
creative, they did it.
People returned to things likeknitting and crochet.
We also all, while we werebored, we got on TikTok and
there's entire channels onTikTok.
Instagram, youtube all of thesocial media is dedicated to
(04:03):
just watching people paint andwatching people crochet and
learning these techniques thatyou think of traditional art
supplies or traditional craftforms or whatever, like there
was really a return to that.
I think people got a lot ofcomfort from it and they found
out wow, this really is fun.
And so since the pandemic,we've just seen more of it and
(04:25):
everybody putting kind of anon-traditional spin on
traditional media.
So I have people who usewatercolor paint and they use it
on a printing press, they'reusing it with gel plates or
they're taking their littleminiature plastic soldiers and
they're painting it with fineart oils and mixing different
(04:52):
solvents and differentaggregates in with their oil
paints to get these interestingtextures on toy soldiers.
It's absolutely fascinating tosee that everything it just got
bigger.
Jeff (05:04):
You know, all of us hated the pandemic.
But I think, in some weird way,when we come out of it on the
other side, it's like you saidpeople are trying new and
different things, aren't they?
Joe (05:20):
Yeah, and you know what.
Honestly, if you're in peoplewho are in art school, right,
you take art history and youlearn about what was going on
the art of the 30s in Europe,what was happening then, and
many artists who were in placesthat were occupied by Nazi
Germany, they were painting inbasements, they were painting in
(05:40):
the dark.
So when you look at a lot ofthe works from that time, they
look like they were painted in abasement or in secret, you know
.
And so that's sort of what welearned like all of this was
happening, this art.
It never got suppressed, it wasjust happening underground, in
secret.
And so, like, look at thesedark canvases and dark textures.
I honestly think someday, 20years, 30 years from now, they
(06:03):
will teach art of the 20s thesame way we learn now art of the
1930s.
Like we all came out of thepandemic and everyone started
painting If they weren't already, everybody started painting.
And then 2020 itself 2021, theworld was on fire and all sorts
of social change and crazythings were happening.
(06:23):
All of that is now immortalizedin an artistic form in
someone's painting, in someone'sdrawing, in someone's
illustration.
I really do think that we'reliving in history right now.
Jeff (06:37):
Wow, I've never thought of it that way, but I think you're
right, and one of the thingsthat I hear you saying to our
fine artists and crafters isdon't hold back, try new things.
Try new things, yeah, and trynew materials.
For instance, I've seen thatmaking cards, card making on the
(07:00):
craft side, has kind of morphedon over into the fine art side.
Oh yeah, because watercolorsare right.
Joe (07:08):
Watercolors are acrylic paints on non-traditional
surfaces.
We've seen I've also seen ahuge return to fine writing
instruments like fine writingdip pens and fountain pens.
We've had a huge demand here inour store kind of replenish our
stock of fine pens and we nowwe're about to grand re-open an
(07:31):
entire room, a writing, a finewriting room, with nice,
beautiful pens and beautifulinks and then of course, all the
papers and stationery andeverything that goes with it.
Jeff (07:42):
That's an area into itself .
We've never discussed that onArtSupply Insiders and it might
be a good idea to talk tosomebody that gets into the fine
art of using these pens withcalligraphy and all of this
other kind of stuff.
Joe (08:00):
People are falling in love with writing all over again.
They really are Withhandwriting, penmanship and just
putting pen to paper andwriting, whether it's a thank
you card, a love letter,anything Like.
We're really seeing sort of areturn to that time.
That's great.
Jeff (08:18):
Now I'm sure you guys have a website, so can you give our
audience your website?
Joe (08:23):
Yeah, it's the Art Store, so the Art Store, the Art Store
CNY.
So the Art Store Central NewYork.
Think of it that way CNYTheartstorecnycom.
Jeff (08:35):
So that's T-H-E-A-R-T-S-T-O-R-E.
C is in Charlie, n is in Nancy,y is in Yo-Yo.
That's right.
Joe (08:48):
Yeah, theartstorecnycom.
Jeff (08:51):
Gotcha.
When they go to that website,what are they going to see?
Are they going to see all theproducts you stock?
Do you offer videos on there,tips, that kind of stuff?
Yeah, it's sold in our store.
Joe (09:05):
It's on our website 25,000 different items.
We have them all painstakinglyarranged in a beautiful order
that makes sense, and we'reconstantly updating the website,
because we're always bringingsomething new into the store and
we're always going to berearranging things around here.
I think we're maybe that's anartist thing too.
(09:27):
We get bored and then suddenlywe're like you know, wouldn't
Canvas look really beautifulover there in that corner
instead of here?
Let's move it, let's see what.
Oh well, what if we movebrushes?
Why don't we do that?
And somehow that carries overto our digital platform too,
because we seem to do the samething on the website.
We're always making it a littlebit more efficient or look a
little bit more beautiful.
Jeff (09:47):
Well, I just pulled up your website right now and it's
beautiful.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, my goodness gracious, it'sgot all of these.
The first picture I see are allof these surfaces like jesso
board and clay board and scratchand pastel and aqua.
This is really good, andthere's your pens and so forth.
(10:09):
So, folks out there, you reallyneed to go and check out their
website If you're looking for areally good source for art and
craft supplies.
Which kind of leads me to mynext question is how do you see
the role of brick and mortar artsupply store evolving with the
ever increasing online shopping,where people have kind of
(10:33):
gotten away from going to brickand mortar?
How do you see brick and mortaris moving forward?
Joe (10:38):
I mean honestly.
I think our store website istestament to the fact that, yes,
we're a brick and mortar store,but we're also a digital
shopping space, our onlinepresence, just like we have our
in person presence.
I have people who live only acouple blocks away and they're
constantly placing orders.
You know, free shipping as longas it's over $35.
(11:01):
And they're just too busycreating or too busy painting,
too busy doing whatever it isthat they're doing, to come in.
And then we have people, toothat we've found a lady who
found us through.
She buys some of our finewriting inks that I was talking
about.
She and her husband drove herefrom Connecticut because they
(11:21):
wanted to see in person thestore where she's been shopping
online to get all thesebeautiful inks.
And, you know, while she washere, she wanted to see what
else we have the thing about abrick and mortar place.
What we've really turned thisinto is an interactive space
where artists can engage withtheir craft and connect with
(11:42):
other like-minded individuals.
So we do that with workshops,we have constant free
demonstrations, we have eventsand really it kind of transforms
our store into a hub ofcreativity and knowledge sharing
.
So that is something that, ofcourse, we can all go on Reddit
and we can all find there's somany online forums, but nothing
(12:05):
beats in person.
You know, shopping down thedown the brush aisle and you and
you see another local artistalso shopping and striking up a
conversation, and then thesalesperson comes over and the
three of them all start talkingabout different ways to wash a
brush or different ways to use abrush and different media that
you can use that brush with.
It's so much of a, I guess,like a social place, not that
(12:32):
the digital world can't give you, that, can't provide
information, but it's a wholeother experience to do it in
person.
And also there's people, I think, who constantly just really
want hands on, the ability tophysically assess something's
texture, something's color orsomething's quality before they
(12:52):
make a purchase.
And I saw an interestingarticle about Gen Z, the young
people that are kind of comingup now, college age and a little
older and a little younger, andthat they are all more likely
to make a purchase in person.
They prefer shopping in a brickand mortar store to doing it
online, which sort of bucks thetrend of generations Y and X
(13:16):
that came before them, who nowwe're all shopping on Amazon as
much you know, as much as we can.
We hate going to a mall, hategoing to a store or whatever.
No, these kids, they prefer togo and speak to a salesperson
who has knowledge about an itemand then make an informed
decision.
That way, they may also goonline and do their own research
, but they prefer to purchasesomething that they can look at,
(13:39):
feel or try out, even Such agood thought.
Jeff (13:46):
Our industry is very tactile.
Exactly, it's literally.
You want to feel that brush,that watercolor brush, and is it
going to have a sharp edge toit?
Is it going to hold water?
And many times you can go intothese stores and you can try
brushes with water and you canask people and oftentimes there
(14:07):
are manufacturers there,Sometimes you can talk to them
directly, correct?
Joe (14:11):
Any brush in our store.
You can try out any paint ifyou want to take it into the you
try it room, give it a whirl,see what happens.
And yes, just over the weekendFriday, saturday we had the nice
people from Da Vinci brush werein town and so we had a whole
lecture and workshop on thedifferent, the different brushes
(14:32):
for watercolour and for oil.
And you could just see thatthere was nowhere to park I
think for a block in anydirection.
Our parking lot was full, thestreet was all parked with cars.
Everybody was engaging with theDaVinci people and asking
questions, learning whole newthings.
And this date in age two wherewe're all about saving money, if
(14:53):
you can find a brush that's areal workhorse that can do two
or three things for you.
Davinci brushes definitely dothat.
Jeff (15:03):
So we just interviewed Greg Daniels from DaVinci Brush
just a couple of weeks ago.
Joe (15:10):
Oh, did you.
Jeff (15:11):
Yeah, that is a really good brush and one of the things
that, as a community, we needto support brick and mortars,
because the brick and mortarsare going away worldwide and we
need to be able to go places totouch the paint, to play with
(15:32):
the brush, to look at differentthings.
That's important, isn't it?
It's so important.
Joe (15:37):
I think also there's just a lot of again.
You can get so many benefitsfrom online or from a digital
platform.
Right, and I won't knock it,because of course, we have our
store website.
We have tangible experientialelements that only a physical
space can provide.
Gosh, like the, it's really,it's shopping and it's
(15:59):
entertainment, you know, andbeing part of a community, and
that's for a website toaccomplish.
Jeff (16:06):
I love that visual.
It's shopping and entertainment, because you go to an art store
and pretty much you just smilethe entire time.
You're there with everything tolook at.
So I know you guys are very,very involved in your community.
How do you guys work with thecommunity and how do you serve
(16:27):
them?
Joe (16:27):
There's that saying we are the weirdos, mister, definitely.
I think, above all else, we arethe place for the weird kids,
the art kids, the creative kids,and when I say kids I mean kids
of all ages, if you're eight,if you're 108, everybody gathers
here to network.
You know, we try to be thenucleus of the art and artist
(16:50):
community of not just Syracusebut Central New York, the Finger
Lakes region.
And it's so neat because I cango to a gallery show, whether
it's here in town or if I driveto Seneca Falls or whatever, to
see one of our artists, you know, putting their works up and
I'll look at the work and belike, oh, that's what you're
doing with all that quinoacrudone opera, or that's what
(17:14):
you.
That's why you needed all thosecatalyst blades from Princeton
Like now I see what you've beenhooked to.
Oh, that's funny and I don't.
Again, being part of acommunity, that's something that
I benefit from.
But I do like to think that ourcustomers enjoy it too that
they can come in and we takethem right to what they need to
(17:35):
answer their questions about howto use, how to use what with
what, how to varnish what, howto get whatever it is ready for,
whether it's exhibition, ifit's for their senior workshop,
if it's for one of their artclasses.
We're right next to SyracuseUniversity and I can't say
enough about their artdepartment.
We're also right down the roadfrom Uneductal Community College
(17:58):
and again, can't say enoughgood things about their art
department.
All such dedicated professorsand passionate students at both
of those schools.
But we have our kids in town too, who leave Syracuse to go to,
whether it's SCAD or Parsons inNew York.
Wherever they're going to, theylike to stock up here before
they leave because they don'tknow what they'll find.
(18:20):
And it's really, really awful,I think, to get to school, get
your materials list and thenhave to hunt online or go place
to place and hope that you canfind what you're looking for.
So many of our away studentsthat go out of town they choose
instead to stock up here beforethey go and also just sponsoring
community events like murals.
(18:41):
We have murals popping up allover Syracuse and we've been
working with Golden and theirnew mural paint, which is
absolutely beautiful.
I don't know if you've seen itin action.
Yeah, it's ex exquisite.
And also, of course, montanaand Montana 94, the spray can
companies.
Both of those we've beenwatching as these murals pop all
(19:02):
over town watching that stuffget used.
We sponsored the kids activitytent at the Juneteenth Festival
Gosh.
Recently we did a littleexperience booth with some mixed
media at an art show down atthe Gear Factory, which is
another.
It's sort of a live in artistcommunity.
(19:24):
I don't want to call it acommune, but it kind of is.
It's a repurposed machine gunfactory from World War Two.
They've turned into apartmentsand artist studio lofts and it's
just so neat so we got to goparticipate in that.
Jeff (19:39):
Wow.
Now if let's say we've gotsomebody in the Midwest and they
have a question and they justcan't seem to find the answer,
do you guys accept phone callsfor questions and stuff?
Oh my gosh all the time.
Joe (19:57):
We phone calls, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messenger,
and we have our also, just ourregular.
If you go to our website,there's an email that actually
comes right to my email If yousubmit your questions there.
We answer questions for peopleall over, so please bring us
your questions Well.
Jeff (20:20):
I know crafters and artists.
We always have questions.
Oh yeah, I mean absolutelyalways.
So you know, have you had toadapt your store and reinvent
yourself after the pandemic?
Have you had to do things?
Joe (20:36):
different.
During the pandemic, we atfirst we closed, we here in New
York.
It hit early and it hit reallyhard and we sort of watched as
it got closer and closer andthen finally it was in our
county and so before thegovernor, before anyone could
shut us down, our leadershipcame one day and said you're
done, we're going to close uptonight and tomorrow.
(20:59):
Don't come to work, everybodystay home.
And a few days later, of course, then the state shutdown, made
it mandatory.
But our leadership, they didn'tlay us off, they paid us to
stay home.
And, wow, stayed home.
They were like you know, wedon't, we don't want anyone
losing their, their benefits,that's not going to happen,
we'll take care of you.
(21:20):
So we sat at home and a coupleweeks went by and then they said
you know what, come on in,because it's huge here.
If you see pictures of ourstore, it's absolutely massive.
So a handful of people we canreally work without ever seeing
each other or going within.
You know, 10, 12 feet of eachother.
So we socially distanced, wewore our masks, we were very
(21:41):
careful and we sort of, you know, we did curbside pickup.
I would send emails and say,hey, we've got some great deals
going on, and one thing kind ofled to the next and we had there
were orders that were placedbefore we went home that started
coming in, and so we startedputting up the new displays and
putting in new merchandise andthen suddenly we started
(22:02):
ordering more things.
And we ordered a few morethings.
We looked around and we're likeyou know, we've been putting
off painting the wall.
Why don't we paint the walls?
We painted the walls, then werearranged the store and then we
bought new gondolas and thenthe next thing you know we were
in.
We were up to our neck in acomplete renovation and so in
the months that we were closedup April and May we totally
(22:26):
gutted, repainted and re sort ofreinvented the entire retail
space.
So when we opened back up, itwas even airier than it had been
before, even better spaced out,even more wheelchair and
stroller accessible than wealready had been.
Everything was better.
We had an even better selection.
(22:48):
We had new merchandise that noone had ever seen and we
reopened to the public.
People were lined around theblock to wait to come in and
shop.
The day that we reopened ourdoors.
People were so happy to be backyou know, shopping in person
and they walked in and justwatching their eyes just bugging
out of their head at thechanges that had occurred in
(23:09):
just the few weeks that we'dbeen closed.
They were so impressed and, ofcourse, it's just that the
momentum has continued sincethen.
So we really took it as a timeto take a deep breath, take a
pause.
We all had a couple weeks offand then we rolled up our
sleeves and we just improved onwhat we've always done really
well, which is offer an amazingexperience and with an amazing
(23:30):
product.
Jeff (23:32):
Well, there's no doubt that the art store is a premier
place to get fine art and craftsupplies.
How do you differentiateyourself from other stores that
sell fine art and craft supplies?
Joe (23:48):
You know we really are a part of the community here.
Everybody that works on oursales floor is a practicing
artist.
You know we're all workingartists.
In addition to working at theart store, almost everybody who
works here teaches classes, alsoincluding me.
And I think another piece ofthe puzzle that's integral to
(24:11):
this is our entire second flooris an art gallery dedicated to
local artists.
It doesn't mean you have to beborn and raised in Syracuse to
show your stuff up there.
We have people who've movedhere from Italy, from Hawaii,
their work you know sits rightnext to born and raised
Syracuseans.
(24:31):
We have members of the facultyfrom the art department at SU
that have been our featuredartist of the month.
Just so many ways that we canreally be part of the community
and you really do get adifferent level of service here
than you would at, you know, abig box retailer.
Jeff (24:53):
It sounds like your attention to detail is what
really makes the difference.
You treat each of us asindividual artists and you pay
attention to what our needs areExactly.
So this whole interview hasgone by so fast.
We're just about at the endhere.
Can you give us a little ideaof what the future looks like as
(25:17):
you enter your 50th year ofbusiness?
Joe (25:20):
I think, continuing to honor our past.
You know, and in many ways wealways say we're the friendly
neighborhood art store, we'reyour friendly neighborhood art
store.
You know, in many ways we'restill, I think we like to think
still like that little corner ofart supplies, that precious
jewel in the corner of ahardware store, but, of course,
(25:45):
embracing the innovation of thefuture.
We embrace the digital age andwe invest in our online
platforms, but for the store, itstill needs to continue to be
an interactive space whereartists can meet and experiment
and collaborate and even, like Isaid in our gallery, showcase
their work.
Jeff (26:03):
Well, as you were talking, I'm still browsing through your
website and I am so absolutelyimpressed as a fine artist or as
a crafter.
You literally have just abouteverything anybody could want.
I mean, it's just we're allover the place and I'm looking
(26:27):
and you've got plenty of ourbest practices and drawing your
inner voice and the ancient artof water marbling.
These things are all thingsthat our audience is looking for
.
So congratulations on such awonderful platform.
Joe (26:41):
Thank you.
We've worked really hard on it.
Jeff (26:43):
Well, Joe, as you grow and as you reinvent yourself,
please consider coming back andchatting with us.
This has been eye-opening.
And again, if they want to goto the website, give them the
website again.
Joe (26:59):
TheartstoreCNYcom.
Jeff (27:02):
TheartstoreCNYcom.
Joe, thank you so much again.
Is there anything I forgot toask you about?
If you want to follow?
Joe (27:11):
us on social media.
We love our.
You know we can be yourfriendly neighborhood art store
too, even if we're not in yourneighborhood.
You can follow us on Instagramor Facebook the Art Store CNY.
We're the same handle on allour social media platforms.
And keep an eye on TikTok,because you know we're on there
too.
Jeff (27:32):
All right, I have to ask you so I have to be at the end
of this TikTok what the heck isTikTok?
Joe (27:37):
Oh, it's a platform that shares a short form video,
although some of them seem to begetting longer and longer,
because now you can I think it'sup to seven minutes you're
allowed to be on there.
But for artists, especially toshow time lapse of their art or
just to demonstrate a quicktrick or a quick technique, it
is an absolutely invaluable tool.
Jeff (27:56):
Wow.
Well, this is the exact reasonwhy you need to talk with Joe at
the Art Store.
They are on the cutting edge ofwhat's happening.
Joe, thank you again for beingon the show today.
We really appreciate it.
Jeff, thank you so much.
Joe (28:11):
It was an honor to be asked .
Jeff (28:13):
You've been listening to the Art Supply Insiders.
Check back with us often as wetalk about the world of art and
craft supplies.
If you'd like to hear more ofthese podcasts, please hit the
subscribe button on yourpreferred podcast platform and
we really would appreciate it ifyou tell a friend.
If you'd like to show yoursupport, please consider going
to our website and hitting thesupport button at
(28:34):
oursupplyinsiderscom.
Now go out and create something.
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