We do still have a 15 patron limit in store and there have been wait times on Saturday and Sunday as shopping and business resumes in Newtown, its getting very busy again. We appreciate your patience if asked to wait outside when we are at capacity.
Business as almost normal!
Here at Art On King we are so thankful for our staff who have been able to continue working through the Coronavirus outbreak. We have been able to keep our shop open, serving the community with essential goods to get you through this difficult period.
A big thankyou also to our local community who have come out of isolation and supported our store. For those of you unable to make it in store we are offering local home delivery (local = under 15min drive on google maps ;-)) Just email info@artonking.com or call 9516-2342
So what’s changed?
We have a 15 patron limit, when we reach this Maximum we will kindly ask you to wait outside. This rarely happens so rest assured the store is usually a lot quieter at the moment.
We have installed screens at each register for the protection of our staff and customers. These screens also help with social distancing as our counters are only 50cm wide!
We encourage everyone to pay using card, and charge no fee for this service. If you only have cash we can currently also accept it until further notice.
Our opening hours have shortened, but seeing we were always opened such long hours they have just rolled back to normal business hours. Mon – Sat 9am – 5pm and Sun 10am – 5pm
Special orders are affected as we only order now from our main core group of suppliers. When life gets back to normal we can continue to order in all the unique and wonderful items we are so renown for.
Our store is regularly cleaned and all our staff practice sanitation procedures in accordance with the current health regulations.
Will we open an online shop?
Probably not, or as i like to say “over my dead body!” We love that we are old school. We love the freedom that comes from not being a slave to technology, having manual operating systems and the fun chaos that comes with it. But most importantly we love to see our customers face to face.
As a small family run business, we have our plates full bringing the range and quality of goods to you in our store. There’s just no desire for us to compete in the online market. We are 100% bricks and mortar and will be for as long as we can, currently in our 41st year!
Having said all that we will endeavour to post more items that we sell on our instagram and Facebook pages so you can get a better feel for the amazing range we have.
Keep well, stay safe, stay strong.
New Yellow Owl Workshop range
We have been stocking the Yellow Owl books for some time now, but I am so excited that we are now also stocking their cards. Makes we want to drag out my Print Gocco and get printing again! We currently have a range of Risograph Printed gift cards as well as a range that has amazing 22-karat gold gilt magnetic lapel pins attached. They are flat so they can still be posted regular mail. LOVE THEM!!!
Don’t even get me started on how much I love the stamps!
End of an Era: Art School closure
Art On King will no longer be running courses in 2018.
It is with great sadness we make this decision to cease running courses after 13 yrs. Being a small family run business the demands of running our busy retail shop has not enabled us to put in the effort required to really grow the school and still give 100% attention to our retail business. This has led us to assess where our priorities lay, both in family and business, and so the Art school has had to take a break.
We wish to thank all of our wonderful students both past and present for attending our courses and helping build a lovely art community in Newtown. We have loved watching our students be inspired by art and go onto more creative ventures. We hope to still see you all in our art store, continuing your art practice. Who knows what the future may bring, when our young families have grown up you may see a bigger and better Art on King Studios!
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH SUNDAY SKETCH CLUB?
Sadly this will cease also, last class will be Sun Dec 10th. Our sketch club has been growing from strength to strength over the last 3 years. We have had a great group of regular artists, fantastic models and class coordinators, we do regret having to cease classes. We can only suggest you pre-book classes now and utilise this resource while you can. Spots will fill quickly once word gets out.
THE GOOD NEWS
We still have 2 terms left and would love to see as many of you as possible. Bookings are now open for all remaining courses this year, along with limited discount tickets for early bird and bring a friend tickets. i have included links to all these courses below. So if you have ever thought about doing a course with us, here is your last chance, use this opportunity to get creative and see where it takes you.
Fabulous Fathers Day cards & gifts
So many amazing cards in stock at the moment – but grab them quick before they are all gone!
Hand Lettering and Calligraphy
We are really loving that people are excited by hand lettering and calligraphy again – it is such an amazing skill, one i envy very much. We have been getting in plenty of books and materials and I am learning a few new tricks along the way. Don’t forget to ask to see the nibs, they are so small and delicate that we keep them stored under the counter – but are happy to grab them out for you to have a look through.
And the winner is……
Its been a busy couple of weeks so apologises for not posting our winner and showcasing some of the awesome colouring-in entries we got sooner.
The Newtown Festival was lots of fun and our colouring-in drop zone was very popular. Thanks to all our regulars who came by to say hi.
Our winner was chosen from a combination of ‘peoples choice votes’ at the festival and her brilliant use of shading and colour. Congratulations Jiesi Gu, a wonderful 150 set of prismacolour pencils goes home with you!
The following entries are just a selection of our favourties and highly commended. If you entered and are wondering if you can get your artwork back, YES we are still holding onto them so call the store to arrange collection, asap please.
Colouring-in Competition closing soon
Just a reminder that our colouring comp is closing soon, we need all entries back in store by FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th. Our wonderful prize has just become even more sought after! The Prismacolour 150 pencil set is out of stock everywhere, and its quite likely that the one we are giving away is the last one in the country. We are trying to get more stock in before christmas but at this stage its unlikely to happen.
But don’t fear if you win our competition you will recieve this amazing prize.
Newtown Festival
Sunday November 8th is the Newtown Festival and we are having our very first market stall. We will be selling an awesome range of colouring books and pencils, along with pen sets. We will have some special Market day pricing so take advantage for Christmas. We will also be featuring the ‘Little City’ range of Newtown cards, 2016 calendar and prints, by local illustrator Jacqui Duncan. Jacqui has just released a batch of new designs which we will have at the fair.
Dont forget to enter our colouring competition, winner will be announced at the festival. You can collect your entry from our store, you just need to return it by Nov 6th. 1st prize is an amazing 150 set of Prismacolour pencils, valued at $396. Got to be in it to win it!
We will also have a drop zone for calm colouring at the festival, so come and try out some nice pencils and colour yourself a nice pic to take home.
see you there
New Course Structure for 2016
We are excited to announce a whole new structure for our 2016 courses. We are running effectively 7 shorter terms throughout the year instead of the standard 4 terms. This will give students more flexibility in choosing when to study, and in shorter blocks of time. We will run a dedicated advanced series of classes mid-way through the year for all those continuing students who are looking for more of a challenge. And the best part is our core painting and drawing classes will have a different focus each term, so you can re-enrol throughout the year and be learning new concepts along with refreshing the basics so you can really build on your art technique. We hope you will like our new program and our website will be updated with all 2016 course info as it becomes available over the next few months.