A new Jesmonite hub has been launched for Australia and New Zealand, helping ensure customers and businesses on the other side of the world to the Jesmonite HQ can still get their hands on genuine Jesmonite fast!
Art Tree Creations in Victoria first became a reseller in 2021 but stepped up to become a hub in 2024 so they can stock Jesmonite for both the public and other businesses in the country with the same level of customer service they’re known for.
The company was started from the garage of the family home in 2011 by husband and wife team Scott Thompson and Tamara (Tam) McLeish – they began teaching classes and stocking mixed media art styles and four years later they completed the first of three warehouse expansions, becoming a hub was a whole new exciting ballgame.
“We had never purchased shipping container quantities worth of product before, just pallets,” Scott said.
“So we changed the way we worked a bit, rearranged our factory to fit it in and redesigned our own labels too. It has been exciting being a hub for Australia and New Zealand.
“We tested Jesmonite with our customer base first and it was very successful, it is now the second biggest product we sell. It became a much bigger percentage of the business than we initially thought and it has got the potential to be the biggest category in our business.
“Now we’re a hub, we’re making headway with new locations in different states too.”
At first Art Tree Creations mainly taught resin wall art classes and sold epoxy resin, painting surfaces for artists and alcohol inks.
They then expanded to include making art boards, colour pigment for colouring resin and supplying materials for casting and polymer clay – and when they discovered Jesmonite they realised it fit their product range perfectly!
They had a few customers ask about Jesmonite, so they looked into it, Scott said ‘it made sense’.
“I love the different finishes of Jesmonite, we see some really cool creations from our customers. Sculptures using bespoke handmade silicone moulds, custom high end trophies and lovely homeware displays are some of the different creations,” he said.
“It’s a great product – Jesmonite has 40 years of trade tested research and development behind it and because it’s developed for commercial applications too, you can speak about its durability over time.
“Other brands have developed a similar product for the craft market but have never done the strength testing and fire rating to guarantee the product over time – you only know the material is going to do the job that it needs to if it’s Jesmonite.”
Scott and Tam both have a background in retail, both former store managers who have spent their whole careers in customer service based businesses.
They run creative classes using products Art Tree Creations sells and have a stable team who have worked there for a minimum of six years – the family owned business is dedicated to teaching people how to do various mixed media art forms properly and safely.
And Scott thinks this is what makes them perfect to be a hub.
He added: “We have first-hand knowledge and can offer insight into all products, in Victoria our base has a teaching studio, it’s half shop space and half inspiration space.
“We only sell products that we have expert knowledge of because we teach, demonstrate, manufacture and use them weekly.
“People can walk in, we can talk about all the products we sell and we can show examples to walk-in customers right away as there are finished products on show too.
“If we can help we will always endeavour to assist in any way we can as we have staff you can talk to for knowledge and advice about any of our products, you can call us and we are happy to give guidance and advice over the phone, or you can email us and we will reply and best help our customers with any projects or questions they might have.”
For more information about Art Tree Creations and how to buy Jesmonite from them as a member of the public or work with them as a business using them as a Jesmonte hub, visit their website (https://www.arttreecreations.com.au/) or email info@arttreecreations.com.au.
You can also follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ArtTreeCreationsAus), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/arttree_creations/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLSqNgekK-magQG6ImWkCLQ).
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