Blick Art Materials

"Dick Blick" redirects here. For the Olympic swimmer, see Dick Blick (swimmer).
Blick Art Materials
Private
Predecessor Dick Blick Art Materials
Founded Galesburg, Illinois, 1911
Founder Dick and Grace Blick
Key people
 Robert Buchsbaum, CEO
Products Art supplies and equipment
Parent Dick Blick Holdings, Inc.
Subsidiaries Utrecht Art Supplies

Blick Art Materials is a retail, online, and catalog operation that supplies artists and school art programs. Established in 1911, it is one of the oldest and largest art materials suppliers in the United States, as well as a primary supplier of mail order art supplies.

Background

The company operates more than 70 retail stores in the United States, including 11 purchased from The Art Store in 2004, and 45 acquired in 2013 from Utrecht Art Supply.[1] Each store hires about 20 people, mostly artists.[2] Its central warehouse and distribution center are located in Galesburg, Illinois. Corporate offices are in Highland Park, Illinois.[3] According to venture capital and private equity firm Madison Parker Capital, Blick is the largest supplier of art materials in the United States.[4]

A Payzant pen, Blick's first product

History

Dick Blick and his wife Grace started Dick Blick Company in 1911, working from their kitchen to sell their first product, the Payzant pen, by mail order.[5]

Robert Metzenberg purchased the company in 1948.[1] Its parent company is Dick Blick Holdings, Inc., founded by Blick and Metzenberg.[3] Metzenberg expanded the company, opening mail order offices in Las Vegas, Nevada; Hartford, Connecticut; and Allentown, Pennsylvania. He opened the first Blick's retail store in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1974.[5] He also established retail outlets in Las Vegas, Allentown, and Dearborn, Michigan.[6]

Metzenberg's grandson, Robert Buchsbaum, joined Blick in 1996 and became CEO in 2001.[7][8] The Business Committee for the Arts honored Buchsbaum with its 2016 Leadership Award, for "extraordinary vision, leadership, and commitment to supporting the arts and for encouraging other businesses to follow their lead."[8]

Blick Art Materials store on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles, California

References

  1. 1 2 Jackson, Cheryl V. (February 19, 2015). "Blick Art Materials and the sales power of the maker movement". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ Kritzer, Ashley Gurbal (Jun 10, 2016). "Online sales drive Blick Art Materials' brick-and-mortar storefront in Tampa". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Dick Blick Holdings Inc.: Private Company Information". www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Utrecht Art Supplies - Madison Parker Capital". Madison Parker Capital - Venture Capital and Private Equity. 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Our History". www.dickblick.com. Blick Art Materials. 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ Heise, Kenan (March 22, 1985). "Robert Metzenberg". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ Murg, Stephanie (April 3, 2013). "Blick Art Materials Acquires Utrecht Art Supplies". www.adweek.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Blick Art Materials CEO Robert Buchsbaum to Receive BCA Leadership Award from Americans for the Arts". Americans for the Arts News. July 4, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.

External links

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