Store Caters To Creative Minds

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June 19, 2008
Faith J. Van Gilder - Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
For teachers and artists, it’s like a candy shop: The shelves overflow with puzzles, games, rubber balls, stuffed animals and craft kits. There are racks of classroom decorations, posters, notepads and construction paper. Pencils, stickers, paints, brushes and easels beckon the creatively inclined. For the younger set, a large display of Thomas and Friends wooden train items beckons.

If you’re a teacher or artist, you probably already know about United Art and Education, where you can find almost anything for the classroom or art studio. If you have not yet discovered the store at 4111 N. Clinton St., you’re in for a fun surprise.

One of 11 stores in Indiana and Ohio in the chain, United Art and Education caters to three main groups:
• Teachers/educators, including home-schoolers, Sunday school teachers, librarians and camp counselors
• Artists, both professionals and students
• Parents and grandparents seeking educational aids or toys

Store manager Mike Count said back-to-school time in August is the store’s busiest time, with the holiday season secondary.

He said that as a “niche” store, United Art and Education is able to weather economic downturns more easily than other businesses. Although back-to-school orders are down a little from last year, the store is on pace to maintain its sales targets.

The current downturn may even have a hidden plus: Area customers who might normally have driven to the Castleton store may visit the Fort Wayne store instead, said Count.

He said a former boss once told him: “Education will have its ups and downs, but it won’t have the peaks and valleys of other areas.”

Most of the store’s merchandise can be found on the company’s Web site, www.UnitedNow.com. There are also bonus coupons for retail use that change monthly. Best of all, there are more than a hundred project ideas, complete with directions, a picture, a list of materials and cleanup tips.

Store employees regularly conduct workshops on the road, where they demonstrate art projects to teachers or camp couselors, and have merchandise available for sale.

Other services include laminating, craft paper by the yard and gift certificates.

Count, a Ball State University business major who has spent 31 years in the education-material field, said he’s seen the industry evolve from a do-it-yourself philosophy to one in which many resources come prepackaged and ready to use.

Because of the similarity of the store’s name to Arts United, the umbrella funding group for the arts, some customers get a bit confused. But that’s OK, said Count, since any connection to the non-profit is a positive one. Some shoppers don’t venture into the store, he said, thinking only teachers or artists can shop there.

But everyone is welcome, Count said. And they’ll probably find something interesting to buy.

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