Carter-Sexton Art Supplies: 80 years in North Hollywood

While easily 50% of the corporate portfolio of products offered by Joanns were not fabric or sewing related, but rather a very broad scope of craft supplies. Perhaps it was this attempt, to offer only the perimeter of products for artists, in a wide variety of art forms, which resulted in a lack of customer loyalty and retention. 

While the number of in-person, independent store locations for artist supplies and classes has scaled back in recent years, as online stores provide the owner less restrictions and overhead costs, there are still brick and mortar stores with a large variety and, in many cases, better quality than the stores which sell more than art supplies. While Michael's assumed the Aaron Brothers name and framing services, they did not increase the variety of art supply products. Walmart and Target offer basic art-painting products and Hobby Lobby has an interesting selection of products including their own brands.

The largest national retailer solely dedicated to art supplies is Dick Blick, with stores in twenty-three states. Meanwhile in Southern California there are a number of well-established stores:

 Carter Sexton Artist Materials, in North Hollywood since 1944, started out selling drafting furniture to local film studios. When the shipping company wouldn’t deliver to his (Carter Sexton) home, he rented the storefront at 5308 Laurel Canyon. With extra space to fill, he chose to sell art supplies, and the rest is history. Services include

• Airbrush Cleaning & Repair
• Canvas Stretching

​Blick has 11 stores in California. While none are in the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Monica and Pasadena stores are reasonably close in distance. 

818 Art in Reseda is "an art supply store that started back in 2019 out of the trunk of a car". They have a broader inventory catering to non-traditional art forms. 

 Graphaids Art Supplies  in Agoura, Culver City, and Westchester is " your creative art materials source: traditional to digital and everything in between"

McLogan Supply Co. in Northridge and Los Angeles is a 100+ year old store. While they offer supplies for screen printing, vinyl applications, and signage. There are supplies  for direct to film, embroidery, and more.

 Mittels in Woodland Hills closed in 2020, their Thousand Oaks location closed in 2007; both had opened in 1981.  Mittels was established by Joseph (Jay) Christian Mittel as a frame shop in Santa Monica in 1954.  That location will close this week.

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