A cup of coffee, some easy money. and Binders

I had the opportunity to be in the audience while Jim Schell was interviewed at last month’s meeting of the Portrait Society of Atlanta (PSA). Jim Schell is surely one of Atlanta’s old masters -- a highly accomplished portrait artist, as well as a respected teacher. We have had the good fortune to know Jim over the years as he has also been a long-standing customer of Binders.

During Jim’s PSA interview he was answered questions about his career accomplishments. He regaled is eager audience with many insights and anecdotes about being a successful artist. “Was there any time in your career that you thought that you might pursue something other than painting?” Jim didn’t take one second to think before relating the following tale that happened to him many years ago.

Jim said he came to Binders early one morning about 15 minutes before the doors opened. So, to kill a little time until the store opened he decided to walk across the street to get a cup of coffee. On his way back to the store he had to pause for the traffic to clear before recrossing busy Piedmont Road again. As he waited at the curb, coffee cup in hand, a car pulled up, a window rolled down, an outstretched arm appeared and a dollar bill was quickly thrust into Jim’s coffee cup.

Jim said, as he stood there whimsically staring into his cup, this was the only moment that he might have consider doing something else other than painting, because, as he put it, “this was easy money!”

Much to our amusement, Jim went on to say that when he got home that evening he told his family what had happened to him in front of Binders. His kids asked, “Dad, what on earth were you wearing?” Jim replied, “What I wear every day.” “That explains it,” his family responded, “no wonder you got a hand out!”

And so, he said, his momentary thought of becoming a professional panhandler quickly faded. Besides, he said, that cup of Joe was $1.25 and since he only collected a dollar on the street that day, this might not be such a good business venture after all.

The epilogue to the story is that if Binders had opened a few minutes early that morning, the events that transpired might not have ever happened. Thus, Jim might not have ever considered another lifetime career for himself. And from that moment in time, Jim knew there was only one thing that he absolutely should be doing – painting!

-Howard

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BINDERS History: From Beer to Paint

Did you know that BINDERS has been in the Atlanta area since the early 1900’s? It started as a small gift store which also included picture framing. Over the years from acquiring old framing pieces, we are able to confirm dating from this period. It was originally owned by a family- whose family name was the Binders family. Hence, the origin of the name of BINDERS is traced to a family (the Binders family) and not to anything related to selling notebook binders of which so many people have misconstrued over the years.

In 1955 two brothers, Moe & Joe Krinsky, who made their mark in Atlanta as founders of Moe’s & Joe’s Tavern, a highly successful beer joint located in the Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta bought the little BINDERS gift store. This was their first venture into retail. A year after taking over the store, at the suggestion of a salesman, the guys put in paint. The first artist paint line to go up on the shelf was Permanent Pigments- commonly known today as Liquitex. And thus, BINDERS as we know it today was born.

Originally, the store was located in downtown Atlanta and over the years it has moved throughout many locations in the metro area. In 1978, Joe left the business and a new partner came in — Paul Finkel. As the business grew, Moe and Paul brought in family members to help run the store. Moe’s son Fred came in 1978. Paul’s son-in-law- Jay entered into the business in 1980 and Moe’s youngest son, Howard came in 1982. The business thrived and expanded to 16 stores in various states throughout the country. But hard times befell the company in the late 1990’s. Moe, Paul and Fred left the business to pursue other interests.

On September 7th 2001 Jay and Howard bought the assets of the business and BINDERS had a new lease on life. Today, BINDERS has two stores: one in Atlanta and one in Charlotte. Its flagship store in Atlanta is an 18,000 square foot store that is called one of the finest art supply stores in the country by experts in the industry.

…and as Paul Harvey would say: "…and now you know the rest of the story!”

Have you been shopping with BINDERS for a long time? Does some of this look familiar? Share your BINDERS story!

Visit our website at www.bindersart.com!