Art supply store opens in downtown Hamilton

The first street-level retailer to open in Hamilton's Artspace building downtown made its debut Thursday, just in time for the monthly Alive After 5 event when shops stay open later to drum up foot traffic.

Renaissance Fine Art Supplies opened at noon Thursday, said Rick Jones, who opened the small business with wife Chris and son Brandt Jones. Rick Jones retired as the director of the Fitton Center for Creative Arts earlier this year.

“I started working on this idea just a little over two years ago when Artspace was in the process of moving here,” Rick Jones said. “As my retirement approached at the Fitton Center, I began to seriously work on Renaissance Fine Art Supplies here.”

Artspace Lofts, at 222 High St., was co-developed by Minneapolis-based nonprofit Artspace and Neighborhood Housing Services of Hamilton. It opened this year after construction delays. The $11.8 million project converted the former Hamilton Center into 42 apartments for artist living.

Two other shops were announced for the building's street-level commercial space, and an art gallery is now open on the site, according to the Artspace Facebook page.

“We’re just really excited to be a part of everything that’s happening in downtown Hamilton,” Jones said.

Hours at Renaissance Fine Arts, located at 218 High St., are: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, go online to: www.facebook.com/renaissancefineartsupplies/.

The store sells art supplies including graphite pencils, colored pencils, charcoal, paint, brushes and more, Jones said.

“I think what will set us apart, not just all the different kinds of pads we carry, but we carry a large line of single sheet handmade paper as well as the typical better quality papers,” he said.

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