Art Supplies in Alaska

Way up here in the Interior we are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to procuring the tools of our trade, be it Cartooning, Drawing, Fine Art or whatever. Alaska does have one actual art supply store down in the big city: Blaine's located in los Anchorage, and I've known folks to do the 800-mile road trip just for that reason alone (I did it once with a housemate for straight down & back again bomb-run for doughnuts, but this isn't the time to get into that).

Had to do an emergency supply run around town to try and locate some workable fixative for classes, and struck out at the top only five choices in town. As an aside this particular instance of sticker shock was so egregious it caught my eye and merited a snapshot, and price comparison. And people think I'm joking when I say that even with a 50% off coupon you'll still save money buying online versus at the corporate chains - even with priority shipping fees.

Lots of folks equate Joann’s and Michael’s craft stores as interchangeable as Coke/Pepsi or Ford/Chevy or Mac/PC, but there are a few subtle distinctions. One is how Michael's has its own line of art supplies, the Artists Loft brand, which in my experience has some of the absolute worst materials. And when you are teaching beginning students it's especially crucial to not frustrate their initial explorations into making art by making them crutch their way using inferior supplies (which in turn means subjecting them to the cruel & unusual industry devoted to separating artists from their money with exotic art materials). Another is how much inventory at Joann’s is kept under lock + key behind giant glass display cases, which requires the additional step of tracking down someone free somewhere out on the floor for assistance. Which, in my experience, given the preponderance of poorly-staffed and untrained help usually on hand at these chain stores, can be quite a quest in itself. One could also argue against the marketing strategy behind making a customer feel like a petty thief, regardless of any shoplifting issues.

Speaking of getting ripped off, as an art teacher I continually warn students about how much we get taken for a ride on supplies, and for this post we won’t even start in on the notorious Alaskan shipping woes esp. what with the “contiguous states” caveats snuck into the fine print at the bottom of most orders and specials (“certain restrictions apply!”).

Here’s a quick sample list of what materials I used in a random weekend at the studio: the first price is Dick Blick versus Michael’s:

Mixed Media paper $6.28 vs $12.99 

Bristol Board $11.64 vs $17.99 

India Ink $6.65 vs 9.99 

Marker set $21.99 vs 49.99 

Brush $12.04 vs $13.99 

Pocket brush $11.49 vs $30.99 

Watercolor pencil set $10.79 vs $22.99 

Total: $80.88* vs $158.73** 

*plus free shipping (Lower 48) + another 10% off 

** these are on-line prices… costs are even higher still for in-store, as we get gouged AGAIN when the shipping costs are passed along to the customer.