Downtown Kingston’s streets are lined with so many family-run, small businesses. These small businesses play a huge role in making Kingston the charming city that it is. And the best part is that they each have a unique story.

Among these family-run shops, you will find Art Noise. Located at 290 Princess street, it’s been there for 10 years but in business as a local art materials manufacturer for 30. This past year, they have moved their factory into a new larger space. Not only do they manufacture quality artist paints but they produce many more products as well. Between the shop and the factory, they employ 70 folks locally.

If you’re familiar with Art Noise, you’ve likely noticed that they’ve expanded their offerings to include hardware items as well. It is a space suitable for artists and non-artists of all ages - there’s something for anyone working on a project, craft or piece of art. When I recently dropped in with my 5-year-old, we found inspiration for so many at-home crafts and projects. Keep reading to learn a little more about its history and how this family business has learned to adapt to the ever-changing environment of retail.

Co-Owner, Evan Ginsberg, grew up watching his mom and dad run the successful art shop and was naturally influenced by his environment. He has a BFA in studio art that’s come in handy and gave him his knack for problem solving as he takes the shop in a different direction in a post-pandemic retail environment.

“I came to realize that my degree was essentially in ‘creative problem solving’. We had a new problem that needed solving and we had learned through our factory that the key to keeping everything moving smoothly was diversification of our business,” Ginsberg explains. He adds, “We realized over the years that we had been sending a lot of customers to Canadian Tire or Home Hardware as artists often need tools, sandpaper, storage containers, specialty adhesives, nails and screws, furniture paints, wall paints, etc. So we had been working on ideas of how we could expand into this category.”

Ginsberg didn’t just have the knowledge of customer experience, over the years he’s witnessed the culture of downtown retailers hopping from shop to shop to get what they need. He shares,“I grew up downtown, my parents were downtown retailers, my grandfather was a downtown retailer, my aunt was a downtown retailer. Growing up I listened to the challenges that they faced, but more importantly what they meant to the community as a retailer. Downtown Kingston has folks who are very local-conscious. We like to be able to walk from business to business rather than drive everywhere. We love to be able to engage directly with shop owners who know their products, have a friendly chat, and spread a smile.”

Though the shop is split right down the middle offering half hardware supplies and half art supplies, with shelves of vinyls in the back as well as a workshop space, they have not cut back on their art supply offerings. “Surprisingly we have not down-sized many of our art supplies at all. I feel we have just as many products as we did before,” Ginsberg explained.

And unlike the massive online corporations selling art materials, each customer means the world to Ginsberg and his young family. Ginsberg says, “As a relatively small market, we rely on only a handful of customers. Every single customer is extremely important to us to be able to function properly as a business. It is not uncommon to spend an hour or longer helping a customer work through their artistic projects, or to help introduce painting to a new generation of individuals.”