Retailer Spotlight: Jerry's Artist Outlet

Welcome to our first ever Retailer Spotlight! In an effort to help our painters get to know our retailers better, we are doing an occasional blog post about one the art stores that offer our brushes. This first post is an introduction to Jerry's Artist Outlet. 

Located in West Orange, New Jersey, Jerry's Artist Outlet is an art supply store and an award-winning custom framing and design center--making it a one-stop shopping experience for area artists. Store staff member Bonnie Shefts was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for us. 

Our questions appear in bold. Bonnie's answers appear in italics. 

How long has Jerry's Artist Outlet been in business? 

Jerry’s Artist Outlet had a soft opening in October 2000 and had an official opening in December 2000. The events of September 2001 put our store in a tenuous position that our amazing customers and vendors turned around--making our first year in business pretty darn remarkable!

Does your store have a motto or philosophy?  

There are a few mottos for our store. We’ve chosen to put the phrase "You provide the talent --we supply the tools" on our business card. In the store itself we refer to Jerry’s as an artists’ candy store. Allen and I believe that attitude is everything and we do our best to share that philosophy with our staff and customers. 

What sort of relationship does your store have with the west orange community and/or your local artist community? 

We are very involved with private and public schools in West Orange and many neighboring communities. We contribute gift certificate (awards) and product (awards) to schools and non-profits. We sponsor events for non-profit art organizations and we have free giveaways and free raffles. We established a scholarship for deserving student(s) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.  Jerry’s also opens our doors during and after hours for schools to bring students in for a tour and quick lesson on artist supplies. We offer some free demonstrations and classes. Jerry’s artist outlet is extremely proud of our involvement in our town and neighboring towns.

What sort of art supplies does your store carry?  

You name it!  Adhesives, brushes, books, canvas, boards & surfaces, drawing boards, pencils, pens, charcoal, pastels, markers, easels, drafting supplies, drafting tables, acrylics, watercolors, oils, water mixable oils, gouache, mediums for all paints, origami, watercolor paper, printmaking paper, drawing paper, decorative paper, inks, screen & block printing, fabric paints, leather paints, aerosol (spray) paints and much, much more…

Does your store offer any services, classes, or demonstrations?  We have lots of classes, demos and workshops.  Some months we have 2 events a day, 4 times during the month. Other times we keep it down to 1 or 2 events a month, because of the season.

Please tell us about your staff. Are any of your staff members practicing artists as well as employees? Everyone of our sales associates is a practicing artist!  They are so very knowledgeable and love to share info with each others and their customers. We encourage our staff to do their art by offering them big discounts on their supplies and by giving them as much product as possible.  We try to visit their studios as well. 

Thank you so much to Bonnie for sharing her thoughts and photos with us. Right now, Jerry's Artist Outlet is having Holiday/Winter sale with significant savings (50%!) on Dynasty brushes!  You can't possibly pass that up--stop by the store or order online today! 

Other ways you can find out what is happening at Jerry's Artist Outlet:

Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

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And as always, visit the website for more info about our brushes!