It’s with great pride and a large dose of gratitude to our worldwide customers and international teams in Miami, London and Minsk, that we announce Arteza has been named #32 on the prestigious 2020 Inc. 5000 list. This list ranks the top 5,000 privately-owned companies in the United States, based on their revenue growth over the past three years. Thanks to our loyal customers and exceptional team members, our company has seen phenomenal growth for which we’re now being recognized. Arteza is based in Miami, the gateway to Latin America, and in just a few short years has grown to become a reckoning force within the art supply industry by offering outstanding customer service and quality products at affordable prices.
Art, the Arteza Way
How did our company go from a small startup to an international e-commerce art supplier with more than two million customers and growing? It started with the vision of founders, Mike Koshatko and Jurgis Plikaitis, who discovered an unsatisfied niche in the art supply market. They knew that going up against companies such as Crayola, PrismaColor and Papermate would be a challenge, but they did their research and discovered that about 63% of households in the US in 2016 were involved in arts and crafts of some kind. These households included children, students and hobbyists, so the founders embarked on launching a customer-centric company that put the creative spirit first. The vision of Arteza was, and still is, to give artists and crafters of all ages and skill levels, the motivation, inspiration and supplies to make their artistic dreams come true.
Starting with a set of gel pens, the company went on to create their own brand of paints, offering hundreds of products in nearly every category of arts and crafts, as well as some office supplies. Today, customers can get these supplies on the company’s US and UK e-commerce sites, Amazon and a few other online retailers.
In 2019, Arteza accelerated mightily when the venture capital company, Volition Capital made a $24 million investment. Larry Cheng, a managing partner at Volition Capital, saw Arteza as a “...high-growth, profitable startup driven by meeting customer needs rather than raising money.” The funding presented an exceptional opportunity to recruit some of the industry’s brightest talent in e-commerce technology, strategy, and marketing.
3 Values Are Key to Our Success
Despite the quickness of our growth, Arteza is still committed to the values the company was founded upon—to offer a one-stop approach to buying art supplies, to provide the ultimate in customer service and to create quality products at affordable prices
1. Ultimate Customer Service
We value each and every customer and know they are the main reason we’ve been able to build the Arteza brand into what it is today. Our loyal customers deserve the best service we can give them and to do that, we adhere to a policy of 100% satisfaction guarantee. If not completely satisfied with a purchase, our customers can return items for a complete refund.
Our call center operates 24/7, so customers can get answers to their questions any time, day or night. Our experienced customer service representatives also read all the comments and direct messages on our social media sites, making every effort to reply quickly. We even respond when customers share their good experiences or art with us. We carefully read all the reviews customers give us because we want to know what they like and what they don’t like. This valuable feedback is how we make better products and products that will meet the specific needs of users.
At Arteza, we believe people should be rewarded for their loyalty, so one of our newest initiatives has been the implementation of our Arteza Rewards Program. This program lets customers earn points on every dollar spent. These points can then be applied to discount future purchases. Rewards members can also earn points by tagging Arteza on social media and referring friends.
Arteza also has a strong social media presence, where followers can get inspiration and participate in numerous challenges that offer recognition and prizes. The Arteza Instagram account @artezaofficial has 516K followers and Facebook @artezacolors has more than 149K and gives artists and crafters a community in which to engage with like-minded folks.
2. Premium Products at a Great Value
Early on, we realized that many artists and crafters were struggling to find high-quality products at a price they could afford. We believe no one should have to sacrifice one to get the other, so it became our goal to find and create competitive products readily available to everyone. We employ specialists in R&D to create and test our products, including our oil, acrylic, watercolor and gouache paints, brush pens and art markers. Our in-house artists use these products, reporting on their color accuracy, lightfastness, usability, and other criteria before they are packaged and ready for sale. We also submit our products for certification to specific safety agencies to ensure our customers enjoy products safe enough for all members of the family to use.
To support our product offerings, Arteza has an extensive blog library that includes step-by-step how-tos, video instructions, interviews with established artists, seasonal craft projects and other art-related topics. These free online guides and tutorials have something for every skill level, as well as activities that can supplement homeschooling. If someone has been reluctant to try a new medium, our blogs give them links to the tools, instruction, plus the confidence to get started.
This summer we were excited to open Arteza Art Camp for the very first time. Art Camp was an exciting, complementary, at-home art program designed to give participants an overview of different media, using a wide range of online and livestreamed courses taught by professional artists and art teachers, along with the chance to share work and earn prizes. Everyone—from children and teens, to student artists and professional artists—was welcome at Art Camp. It proved so successful, we’ve got plans to offer it again in the near future.
3. One-Stop Shopping
Whether you’re a mom looking for finger paints or a graphic artist in search of premium art markers, we’ve made it our mission to provide the widest range of supplies possible. We value your time and want your art buying experience to be easy and convenient. That’s why we offer free shipping and art bundles that include, in one handy collection, everything you need to start creating, right down to the gesso primed canvas. To make paying for purchases easier, we also offer AfterPay, a service that allows customers to make purchases and pay in four equal installments made every two weeks without any interest.
At Arteza we’re artists, designers and creators just like you
There’s no other art supplier in the world like Arteza. As our CEO, Brenda Freeman states, “It has been a particular honor and delight for us to see the crafts, masterpieces and family projects that you have created with Arteza products and that you have shared with us online. We love to see them! It boosts us all when we see the fun and creativity, so please keep them coming! As fellow creators, we know that art is about the journey. It is a privilege for us to provide the tools – you will continue to steer the way.”
