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| 8/26/21 Daniel Smith store and First Avenue South ramp |
When Daniel Smith’s Seattle store announced that it was finally reopening after its 18-month pandemic closure, we sketchers were overjoyed to have our favorite art supply store again. Our joy was short-lived, however, when that announcement was followed by another that the reopening was only temporary: The store would be closing permanently in November. Unrelated to the pandemic, the closure supports expansion of Daniel Smith’s paint manufacturing and wholesale business, which is the company’s bread and butter. Although I was relieved to know that DS wasn’t going out of business, that didn’t soften the blow of the store’s closure.
Much more than just a retail store, Daniel Smith offered workshops, demos, vendor days, book signings, presentations and other events that had brought the art community together for 45 years. It was also very supportive of Urban Sketchers Seattle. I will miss the knowledgeable, helpful staff. We have other art supply stores here, but they will not fill the hole left behind when DS closes its doors.
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| By Day 2 of the reopening, the Stillman & Birn Beta books were all gone, but I grabbed most of the remaining Zeta books and an Epsilon. I also grabbed all the remaining Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelles in the primary triad hues I have been having so much fun with! |
Through my various casual art forays over the years, I wandered many times up and down the aisles, both dazzled and bewildered by all the possibilities those art materials represented. When I began urban sketching and learning to draw in earnest a decade ago, I started attending demos and workshops. The last few years, I even had ambitions of someday offering demos or classes there myself.
The day after it reopened, I did my best to help DS clear remaining inventory (the 20 percent discount didn’t hurt) by stocking up on favorites, but as my final shopping trip there, it was probably the saddest art supply shopping I’ve ever done.
Technical note: I’ve sketched outside the Daniel Smith store a few times before, usually from the dark parking area under the First Avenue South ramp adjacent to the store. Neither the storefront nor that dismal parking area is especially visually appealing, so I tend to stick with monochrome tones. This time, however, the vibrant primary triad I’ve been using inspired me to get away from “real” colors and just look at the composition from the end of the street.
(Incidentally, Daniel Smith’s logo and signage include a saguaro, which I’ve always thought was strange for a Seattle-based store. I’m sure there’s a story there, but I’ve never heard it.)
I find it sad whenever an art supply store closes. There is nothing that compared to being able to stroll through the aisles of a well stocked, well run art supply store and find new materials to attract you. I was always jealous of artists who were near this store because none of our art supply stores here offer classes and workshops to the extent that the DS one by you did. On rare occasions Blick will offer something but not like you were getting there. It is a sad day but I'm glad you did a sketch of the store with your vibrant primary triad.
ReplyDeleteWe're all very sad here about it... I doubt it could ever be replaced in the same way.
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