Today we’d like to introduce you to Howard Krinsky.
Howard, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My father, Moe Krinsky started Binders along with his brother Joe Krinsky in 1955. After opening and operating Moe’s and Joe’s tavern in Virginia Highlands for almost a decade, the two brothers ventured into the world of retail. Binders at the time being primarily a gift and custom frame store, the brothers put in art supplies at the suggestion of a traveling salesman. For over sixty years Binders has been serving artists and the creative type in the metro Atlanta area. I was fortunate to come into the business in 1982 and worked many years in store operations as well as outside commercial sales calling on the advertising and creative business communities. The digital age arrived along with the arrival of Apple in the late eighties and Binders commercial business started to wane.
In 2001, I along with my business partner Jay Shapiro bought the business. We operated two stores, one in Atlanta and one in Charlotte, N.C. Our focus was growing our retail art supply business with the best selection to offer. In doing so, we became involved in the creative community and did everything that we could to help art organizations around town. We would show up at art demonstrations, openings, lectures and so on in order to help our business grow. In time, we developed the reputation of good guys that were not only selling to the art community, but also we had become accepted as part of this very same community.
In 2010, tragedy struck as my partner Jay was diagnosed with brain cancer and shortly thereafter passed. I continue to run the business with the same zest by allowing our wonderful employees to share in this continuing journey.
In 2015, we opened our newest store in Ponce City Market. It is a wonderful space in such a vibrant part of town. The challenges today for Binders is like any other retail. Our biggest concern is the internet.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the eighties/nineties- we had the advent of digital technology (Apple) that took the place of a lot of hand art supplies, typesetting etc. that were now being done on the computer.
In the 2000’s – the internet and the arrival of Amazon has made art supplies more of a commodity. So – we are having to differentiate ourselves.
Location: Atlanta’s traffic is suffocating and has had direct impact on customer visits. Its impact plays into the hand of the internet companies.
Please tell us about Binders Art Supplies & Frames.
Binders specializes in art supplies and custom picture framing. We have a knowledgeable staff that allows customers to get answers that are hard to find. We offer very competitive pricing and we bring that to our customers daily. We dare to be different than most. We have an art gallery where we have monthly art shows, we have classrooms, whereby customers can take different art classes and learn new techniques. We have a wonderful reputation with our suppliers that have them wanting to partner up with us time and time again. I am most proud of our culture and longstanding reputation in both the Atlanta and Charlotte art communities. I have a few employees that have worked over 25 years for the company which speaks volumes about not only our expertise, but about the company culture that we have created. Many of our customers have recognized Binders as a friend to their endeavors as we are constantly helping our local art community
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My dad teaching me how to drive.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3330 piedmont Rd
Atlanta , Ga 30305
650 North Avenue
Atlanta, Ga 30308 - Website: www.bindersart.com
- Phone: 404-237-6331
- Email: howard@bindersart.com
- Instagram: bindersart
- Facebook: bindersartatl
- Twitter: bindersart
Image Credit:
Binders art Supplies and Frames
Ron weese
March 28, 2017 at 4:16 pm
So happy for your success! Has been my extreme pleasure to know and you have been a business partner.
Michael Hammer
March 28, 2017 at 11:44 pm
Here’s the whole “ten yards” about Howard and Binders:
Everyone is family.
The customers are family.
The employees are family.
The suppliers are family.
Binders created an environment where creative people can collaborate with knowledgeable staff that are practicing artists. Binders always have the newest supplies because their management team scours shows all over. The suppliers love to work with Binders because they are the vital link to artists!