New Website Launched!
Posted on 31 August 2010 | 3 responses
Here’s the new ryanhipp.com. I still have a few bugs to work out, but I am proud to say I built this site myself, (with a little technical troubleshooting help the past 48 hours from Kyle, Luke, and Kolene…thanks guys!)
So, it isn’t, “done, done”, but its, “good enough to launch done”. I’ll be making some improvements.
Let me know what you think…actually, only if you like it…mom always says, “if you can’t say anything nice…”
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41st Festival of the Arts 2010
Posted on 24 May 2010 | 5 responses
June 4, 5, 6, 2010 – I will be selling books, music, and artwork with other Michigan author friends at our table in the Festival Art Tent on the Calder Pavilion. I will be on-site most of the weekend drawing original sketches! If you are attending Festival, come by and say “hello”!
Where Do I Get Art Supplies?
Posted on 12 May 2010 | No responses
I recently placed a really big order online for art supplies. I typically avoid making online purchases, if I can help it. I like to shop at corner stores and mom & pop places and find local retailers to build relationships with.
I wanted to share why I choose to buy online for most art supplies, and why I may again soon.
In Grand Rapids, there are really only a few choices to get art supplies. Here’s a list of the businesses and their downside:
Michael’s Crafts / Hobby Lobby
I can’t believe it, but I go here a lot. These stores are really great for things like sketchbook paper. However, the problem is they don’t carry any quality supplies. Its all student- or amateur-grade. Every once in a while, they do surprise me with their selection though.
Service Reproduction Co.
Service Reproduction, (Bridge St. in Grand Rapids) is a nice little store that caters to the art students at GRCC and Kendall. The problem with S.R. is their hours are just awful, (they close at 5:00 and 5:30 weekdays, and are not even open on weekends!!). I don’t feel their website is particularly user-friendly as well. And their selection tends to be sparse too. I really want it to be a store I can count on, but too many factors are preventing my loyalty.
T-Square
T-Square, (Plainfield Ave. in Grand Rapids) is probably the best stocked in terms of quality, but not in variety – the store is small, so the selection is limited. Also, they are unfortunately very expensive. Most items are list price with no discount; which would be fine if that extra cost allowed the expertise of a sales person, but my last few visits there were met with disinterested staff — when presented with a question they could not answer, or product they did not carry, they made little-to-no effort to offer solutions, or to find the answer, or to offer to follow up. Leading me to sadly shop online…
Conclusion…DickBlick.com
Blick’s Artist Picks is a great online store. The site is constantly offering compounded discounts. Almost everything is already discounted off of list price, but then coupon codes are offered often on top of that for fee shipping and additional savings. The website’s interface is easy to browse and find everything I am looking for. And they do have everything — the local stores I shop at don’t even carry certain materials that I need, anyways, (like gouache). Shipping was lightning fast. There was an error with my order, and when calling customer service I was greeted by a real person, who was apologetic and shipped out replacement supplies lightning fast.
In conclusion, I know supporting a big online store is opposite of everything I tend to support, but Blick’s is delivering on all topics where my local stores are not. I wish they had a storefront in my town.
If you are curious, check my Resources section for my list of frequently used art supplies!
Ruth Fox Elementary Writing Festival
Posted on 6 May 2010 | No responses
I’ll be presenting on Friday, May 7, 2010 at the Ruth Fox Elementary Writing Festival.
SCBWI-MI Spring Conference
Posted on 30 April 2010 | No responses
I will be at the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (MI) annual Spring conference this weekend at the Lexington Lansing Hotel. For more information, check out the special guests here.
I will post updates from the conference as well.