Since April Fool's Day of this year, a new art supply store has occupied a space at 811 E. Johnson Street, just off of Livingston. The store offers materials for a variety of two- and three-dimensional art media, including paints, charcoals, canvas, and sculpting tools, as well as offering instruction in their use, beginning with classes in late summer. One can find a wide selection of postcards and novelty items in addition to the serious art supplies, but Artist and Craftsman Supply, the disarmingly practically-named chain of businesses to which our new store belongs, is first and foremost a venue for the sale of art-related tools.

Although Artist and Craftsman Supply, based since 1985 in Portland, Maine, is technically a chain store, the individual franchises are typically located in areas similar to the one around the 800 and 900 blocks of E. Johnson: in town, in neighborhoods, and not in the suburbs. (For many, the phrase "chain store" is inseparable from large, boxy strip malls miles outside of any urban center.) The manager of the Artist and Craftsman Supply at 811 E. Johnson, one Jeffrey Carpenter, asserts that the company seeks to maintain a “neighborhood, community-oriented store,” and seems to be willing to stand behind his claim. The company prefers to locate in previously existing spaces rather than building new locations for itself, meaning that its stores will be found in older, established commercial areas, helping contribute to the overall health of such neighborhoods. In short, Artist and Craftsman Supply seeks to be a chain store with a community conscience. There are, of course, advantages to belonging to a chain of stores; the prices at Artist and Craftsman Supply are reasonable, Carpenter says, because of "less overhead. We're able to get good deals to pass on to the artist."

Carpenter originally expected the majority of the store's business to come from professional artists, as is the case in other cities in which Artist and Craftsman Supply stores are located. Instead he has found that most of the store's customers are students, a situation that was unexpected but certainly not unwanted. Business is still good, and student artists generally buy up the same items that professionals would purchase: as in the chain's other locations, the biggest-selling item in stock is tubes of paint, or simply "color" in art-supply lingo.

The space at 811 is very large, and very little floor space shows. With my backpack on I worried every time I turned around that I would knock several hundred dollars’ worth of charcoal or watercolors to the floor. It’s not that anyone is guilty of bad design work; it’s just that there’s that much stock to display. There are easels, rows and rows of paint tubes, artist’s paper, charcoal, and brushes. There are large pencils made entirely of graphite. There are even blank white jigsaw puzzles that one buys and then gives to one's children to paint their own pictures on. In addition, Artist and Craftsman Supply offers Sigmund Freud action figures (in a market where this commodity was distinctly lacking beforehand), although they were sold out at the time I visited the store.

The staff, headed by Carpenter, is knowledgeable and friendly, lending a professional and courteous atmosphere to the store. For example, within half a minute of my entrance into the building, an employee approached and asked whether I needed help in that perfect way that simply lets one know that the option for help exists, without making one feel pressured. This type of customer service can sometimes be hard to come by. Carpenter himself is a storehouse of artistic knowledge, familiar as an artist with every item his store carries, and able to use and demonstrate all of them. Beginning in late summer, he and several other instructors will be teaching classes in various media and techniques. Additionally, family-oriented classes will be offered on Saturdays in August. The roster of instructors is not yet complete, and so artists who are skilled in their medium and wish to share their abilities with others are encouraged to contact Carpenter about teaching this autumn.

Jeffrey Carpenter saw Madison while on the Antiques Road Show three years ago, and the city impressed him enough for him to recommend it as a new location for an Artist and Craftsman Supply. His position within the company is that of a pioneer, as it were: he has lived in Pittsburgh, Seattle, Charlotte, and Charleston, among other places, in order to kick-start new Artist and Craftsman Supply locations into business, and Madison is his latest stop. He cited the concentration of creative minds and diversity of ideas here as drawing points the city had for him. However, in order to keep our heads from swelling with too much pride, it must be said that Carpenter found the amount of drinking done by college-age residents of Madison to be astounding. Admitting that even one cocktail will put him under for an evening, he found it amazing that kids here can drink as much as they do and still be functional (or at least "semi-functional") for work.

When released from the watchful eyes of their parents, he said, "kids think alcohol is the greatest freedom. I think that's so sad."

But despite the borderline-alcoholic tendencies that certain parts of the city's population exhibit, Madison has proved a welcome market for Artist and Craftsman Supply. The store is open from 10 until 8 Mondays through Fridays, from 9 to 6 on Saturdays, and from 10 till 6 on Sundays, and is able to meet virtually any artistic needs a customer may have. Most items that are not immediately available can be ordered at short notice. At the company's first Midwestern outpost, Artist and Craftsman Supply has found yet another niche for itself.

- Connor Wood

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