We are relocating our shop from Bay St Louis, Mississippi to Batavia, Illinois!
Over the course of the summer and autumn of 2023, we will be working to move our entire operations away from the Mississippi coast.
This will cause some changes and disruptions to existing clients (both in Mississippi and worldwide), as well as new opportunities for artists in the Chicago area.
We will try and answer some questions here, more info will be added as we get closer.
Expected Timeline
Things are a bit in flux, but the expected timeline is something like this:
May 1st
Sale on stretched canvas prints where any side is at least 40"
Sale on 40" x 60" conservation white matboard
Sale on all paper prints 24" x 36" or larger, for in-stock papers
Stop re-ordering materials for non-core products (ie magnet backings) unless client will commit to a sizeable order.
Note for the things below, we will stop ordering restock. We may still have some on hand - but clients should check before ordering.
Stop restocking paper materials other than our top 5 (Aurora Art Natural, Palo Duro Etching, Polar Matte, Palo Duro Baryta, Big Bend Baryta)
Stop restocking canvas materials other than Blanco Matte Canvas
Stop restocking plastic sleeve materials other than 8x10, 11x14, 12x16, and 16x24 unless an especially large order calls for a different size.
Stop restocking stretcher bars over 36" (unless there is an order for more than 8 canvases that use them) - individual bars can be special ordered at extra cost if necessary.
Stop restocking varnish and coatings other than Timeless Gloss
Stop restocking foamboard over 32" x 40"
Begin prospecting in Batavia and Chicago areas for potential clients.
Start packing, selling, or giving away non-essential shop items.
Closed May 31st - June 17th (orders will still be accepted and queued)
Early June
Begin very actively marketing to Illinois markets.
Trip to Batavia, Chicago, Aurora, and others to meet with artists and arts organizations and scout locations.
Stop restocking matboard other than White, Black, and maybe 2 or 3 other colors.
Major push for website and social media updates.
Mid June
Fulfilling backlog orders
Weekend flash print sale in our shop (tentative)
July
Go down to one printer (44" x 59ft max) in the shop
Limit new artwork photography to existing clients and possibly well established artists or large collections (to be determined)
Suspend offering greeting cards until after move
Sale on remaining stretcher bar and non-core paper inventory.
August
Going away party at 100 Men Hall (tentative)
Limited capacity for printing on anything other than Aurora Art Natural or Palo Duro Etching
Suspend stretch canvas products until after move.
Suspend all matting options until after move.
Suspend all shipping operations last 2 weeks of August
Final packup of shop equipment and materials
Sign lease for new location in Batavia (if not already done)
Formally establish Illinois based company and apply for sales tax permit, switch over insurance, etc (if not already done). File change of address paperwork.
September
Expect about 10 days of total downtime during the actual move. Incoming orders will be queued.
Basic printing and shipping on our most popular papers should be back up fairly quickly.
Canvases will probably take an extra week, and it will take us time to build up our stretcher bar inventory (unless we can find a local and affordable source for small quantities) - so expect that some canvases orders may take up to 10 days for the first couple months.
Matting will likely be available by the end of September