Artist & Craftsman Supply announced today that it is closing its Long Island City store permanently (Photo: Artist & Craftsman)
July 23, 2020 Staff Report
A large art supply store that opened near Queens Boulevard in 2014 has closed for good.
Artist & Craftsman Supply, which has locations throughout the county, announced today that it has shut down its 10,000 square foot store at 34-09 Queens Blvd in Long Island City. The company’s other New York City locations– Park Slope, Williamsburg, Bushwick and Harlem–will remain open.
The company issued a statement on social media today announcing the permanent closure of the Long Island City store.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the difficult decision to close A&C Long Island City permanently,” the company posted on Facebook.
The store had an enormous supply of product, which met the needs of local painters, printmakers, sculptors, knitters and crafts enthusiasts. Furthermore, there were an array of items for children.
The firm opened the Long Island City store in 2014 in response to an influx of artists.
“We opened here because we wanted to be close to the train, have a big space and be near lots of artists,” an employee of the company told the Queens Post in 2014.
The company, which is based out of Maine and is 100 percent employee-owned, said in its Facebook post today that it was unable to keep the location afloat.
“Our staff and senior managers have put great effort into the store, but due to the conditions of the local market and the financial losses we have faced, we are unable to sustain our operations to make business viable.”
One Comment
Now queens has no art supplies store. I don’t understand how you can maintain 3 stores in Brooklyn and not even 1 store in queens. Perhaps a different location in queens? Please consider
Thank you