Last month the buying group iAMart celebrated their 20th anniversary with a gathering in Chicago, IL. iAMart prides itself on being a diverse group, containing stores of varying sizes that represent all corners of the market and the map, including Alaska and Hawaii. In their annual meetings they share ideas, support and have a little fun.
The initial concept of the iAmArt organization came from Larry O’Connell. In 1998 Larry brought together Steve Aufhauser of Continental Art Supplies and Claudia Myers of Spokane Art Supply. Over months of meetings, input from Jeff Morrow, Beth Bergman of Wet Paint and George Bussinger of McAlisters in Dayton, OH, the vision of a collaborative organization began to evolve.
Today, 20 years later, iAMart is a self-directed group of 31 independent retail members. The team at MacPherson’s would like to offer our Congratulations to this group of retailers on 20 years of success, and inspiration!
