Art & Crafts

Quick Help – Useful Tips

• Online Shopping Sites’ Fast Shipping Glossary – Guide to Common Terms
• How to Survive Urgent Last Minute Online Shopping In One Piece?
• Shipping Policy Checklist: How to Read the Fine Print with a Critical Eye?

Art supply vendors are the primary source for all types of materials, equipment, tools, accessories and training books that can be used for any type of creative project.
Their online catalogs are jam packed with everything you may need, from essential stuff like canvas, pencils, brushes and paint to a wealth of more advanced items which they distribute.

These websites serve several primary customer groups, each with their own specific needs, buying patterns and shopping preferences.
Here is a short summary of the different groups:

• Artists
  Painters, sculptors, sketchers, animators, illustrators and other professional artists need to get their quality materials from somewhere and obviously, as far as they’re concerned, this is the best source for such items.
  Other professionals, like fashion designers, graphic designers and 3D modelers are also repeating customers of such sites.

• Amateurs and Hobbyists
  Even experienced artists used to be beginners when they took their first steps and that’s another key demographic for such suppliers. Additionally, there are many individuals (children and adults alike) who do their creative work as a part time hobby, just for fun as a cool way to spend their leisure time and that’s where they obtain their much needed materials.

• Parents
  Children of all ages are a very important target group of art supply companies. Since so many experts emphasize the importance of art in young children’s learning and development process, there’s little wonder that parents to infants and toddlers, as well as to older kids, are among the most frequent shoppers of such products.

• Early Childhood Educational Establishments
  Nurseries, kindergartens, preschools and daycare centers are another crucial audience for art and craft materials, since kids do a lot of creative work during their stay there.

• Schools
  The education sector in the U.S. invests a lot of money every year in order to bring a huge selection of high quality supplies to the classroom. Art teachers and educators in elementary schools, high schools and colleges are always looking for fresh ideas and new ways to help students express their creative side and such stores deliver all the equipment that they need in order to accomplish this mission.

• Other groups include homeschoolers, adults and children with special needs (art therapy), the disabled and many others.

What Do Art Supply Stores Offer?

• Adhesives, Tapes and Fasteners
• Air Purifiers
• Art Sets
• Brushes
• Charcoal
• Colored Pencils
• Cutting Tools
• Drawing and Illustration
• Erasers
• Framing and Matting
• General Equipment
• Hand Trucks and Trolleys
• Mat and Paper Cutters
• Outdoor Structures
• Papers and Boards
• Pastels
• Pencils, Leads and Powders
• Portfolio, Presentation and Display
• Special Needs
• Sprays and Fixatives
• Studio Environment Gear
• Watercolor Paints and Mediums
• Airbrushing
• Archival Storage / Conservation Supplies
• Art Books and Media
• Canvas, Linen and Boards
• Cleaning and Washing
• Craft Materials
• Drafting and Engineering
• Easels
• Educational and Instructional DVDs
• Artist and Classroom Furniture
• Gouache
• Inks
• Oil Color Paints and Mediums
• Painting Supplies
• Pastel Pencils
• Pens and Markers
• Pencil Sharpeners
• Scratchboards
• Specialty Apparel
• Storing and Organizing
• Transporting, Shipping and Carrying Gear
• Watercolor Pencils and Sticks

What Arts and Crafts Do Art Supply Websites Support?

• Ceramics and ceramic arts like mosaic, porcelain, pottery and stoneware.
• Glassware and glass art.
• Fiber and textile crafts like quilting, lace-making, embroidery, macramé, weaving, knitting and crochet.
• Flower crafts
• Leatherwork
• Beads and jewelry making
• Basketry
• Scrapbooking
• Yarn and Needlework
• Sewing
• Fabric
• Paper crafts
• Wood and furniture crafts
• Stone crafts
• Metal crafts
• Home décor & framing