Rex Art @ NAMTA 2009

Katrina and I just returned back from this year’s National Art Materials Trade Show, which was held in Louisville, KY. The NAMTA show is the biggest show in the industry and all the major companies are there to show off their wares exclusively to businesses in the art materials trade. This show is always a great to attend because we get to meet with all our favorite suppliers face to face, and get to see all the new and not so new fabulous products that they produce up close and personal.

We had never been to Louisville before, and we really enjoyed the city. We stayed at a very cool hotel downtown called the 21c Museum Hotel. The hotel is surrounded by art everywhere you go. When we heard about it we had to stay there! There was art in each room, in the hallways, by the elevators, and they also had a full museum downstairs which featured several artists. It was really a fabulous place to stay, and I highly recommend it if you ever are in Louisville. A hotel like the 21c would be much more expensive if it were located in a city like New York, San Francisco, or Miami. Here are a couple of shots of the hotel, and also their cool interactive feature by the elevator.

Of course, the main reason we attend NAMTA each year are the art supplies. At Rex Art we always like to make sure we are offering some of the latest and greatest materials in our industry to you, our customers. This year’s show offered some great exciting new products that you will be seeing shortly on our digital shelves, but in the meantime here is a little preview of some things to come…