Art Supplies and Elves

Sadly, times have changed. Prior to the soulless plague of Hobby Lobby with its acres of literal JUNK from China, there was a Ben Franklin store in Topeka. BF's had enough people working in the store that you never had to wander around looking for something. The employees knew where every single item was located and they were knowledgeable about those items. If they could not answer a question, they called the right person over with the answers. The store was small but it was absolutely packed with colors, scents, tools and supplies for every art endeavor or craft need. It was one of my favorite places to go. Of course, I had hardly any disposable income in those days but it was a wonderful place to shop. I went there as often as I could. When Hobby Lobby came to Topeka, Ben Franklin went out of business almost immediately - within a month or two. It was a genuine loss.

Forced to shop in Hobby Lobby, I was amazed by the size of the store and they had almost everything I ever needed - at first. I was shocked at the enormous square footage devoted to fake flowers and junk from China. Who wants to buy that useless junk? None of the dishes are food grade so they are decorative only. Even if I happen upon something I find attractive or whimsical or even well done, it is made of such crappy material that I do not want to waste my money. Not to mention, there are likely 10 billion identical pieces destined for the landfill of every city, state and country. No thanks. But, if I wanted easy access to art supplies in Topeka, Kansas I had no choice but to shop in Hobby Lobby.

Then came Michaels, a much smaller store devoted almost exclusively to arts and crafts, and no controversy over Sunday and birth control. I have spent a lot of money in Michaels but they only offer a short aisle for real art supplies. As time goes on, both of these big chain stores have employed fewer employees, and they offer fewer art supplies. The last painful trips through either store did not yield the size or quality watercolor paper I want or some other basic items. I suppose Amazon.com is responsible for this.

Amazon offers every art supply imaginable, normally much more cheaply that I can buy retail in Topeka. However, for the last three years, everything I order from Amazon itself takes almost two weeks to get to my house. United Parcel Service and the United States Postal Service have spent the last three years blaming each other for the fact that my order goes from Topeka to Manhattan, Kansas, then back to Topeka, then to two different facilities there, and finally gets delivered to me days past the expected date. I have talked to Amazon, USPS and UPS. The actual issue is the wrong post office facility address Amazon uses for their contract between UPS and USPS. My packages continue to travel up and down highway 24 before it ever gets to me. I order far in advance for anything I will need. I also discovered that I am shortchanged when ordering from private sellers through Amazon in every instance. Items advertised with a quantity of 20 arrive with 16 or less in the package, sometimes by as much as half missing! I was so dense it took more than once to notice this scam.

I have been saved by the fact that my son moved to Kansas City, Missouri. There in the heart of the city is a tiny little art supply store with EVERYTHING in it any artist could ever need. It is the Blick Art Materials store. Their prices make me swoon but they give the online discount for everything. Of course, I pay sales tax on the full price, but I still feel as if I get a great deal. The young people working there provide excellent customer service. They are cheerful and smiling and they know their store and their merchandise. I can put my hands on the supplies and spend a little time day dreaming about things I wish I could afford to buy, or wish I knew how to use. It is the energy of potential that feels so good. (The Harley store felt the same way to me in those days when I was interested in all things Harley Davidson.)

Best of all, there is a handsome and gentle young man working at Blicks, with long blond hair and a very cheerful manner. I think he is probably a real life Legolas. I enjoy seeing him and chatting with him when I pay for my purchases. Amazingly he remembers me, though I have only been in there a few times over the last few years. He offered good advice on a particularly expensive watercolor paper I was going to buy yesterday, which I greatly appreciated. I told him I was now retired and that I am painting every single day. He laughed and gave me a high five. You will NEVER get to high five Legolas in Hobby Lobby, believe me.