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Art and craft stores · Retail

An art and craft shop serves the school project panic and the weekend hobby.

At eight on a Sunday evening a mother is at the counter with a chart paper list from school: poster colours, a glue gun, thermocol sheets, a cutter. The shop has all of it, but the mother only came because it was the last place open. Next week the child will want clay, and the nearest shop will get that sale.

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Realistic editorial illustration of retailers at work in India

In one paragraph

Art and craft store marketing gets a shop that sells paints, canvases, clay, resin, beads and craft kits found by students, hobbyists, teachers and small makers. Sales turns a one-off project purchase into a regular customer. GullySales prepares the local listing, the shopping-list page and the WhatsApp replies and records that a shop with a crowded counter needs.

An art and craft store has two customers who behave differently. One is the last-minute buyer with a school list. The other is the person who paints, makes resin jewellery or teaches a hobby class, who knows exactly which brand of acrylic they use and will travel across the city for it.

Last updated 18 Oct 2026.

How buyers decide

How art and craft stores are chosen.

The school-list buyer picks the nearest shop with everything on the list. They search Google Maps for art material near me, check the photo of the shelves and look at the closing time. Price comes second to whether the shop has all of it in one go.

Hobbyists and makers choose on range and advice. They look for a shop that stocks the particular paper weight, the brush brand or the resin moulds they saw in an Instagram tutorial, and whose staff can say which product works for a first attempt. Hobby class teachers and small makers also buy in volume and want a rate and a reliable supply.

Both groups come back when the shop remembers them: the brand they use, the course they are doing, the stock arriving next week.

The problem

What usually goes wrong for art and craft stores.

What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.

  • “We are the shop people use only when the list is urgent”

    The school list buyer comes in once a term and never returns, because nothing makes them think of us when the next project arrives.

  • “Our best products are not on Google”

    We stock imported brushes, calligraphy pens and resin moulds, but our listing shows only a signboard and a few blurry photographs.

  • “Hobby class teachers buy elsewhere in bulk”

    The teacher running a Saturday painting class orders from a wholesaler or online, because nobody at the shop ever offered a class rate.

  • “Customers ask for products we have, by name, on WhatsApp”

    Replies are slow because the owner is at the counter, and the customer buys the same item from whoever answers first.

  • “Stock moves with the school calendar and we are caught short”

    Project season, exam holidays and festival crafts arrive on different dates, and we learn what to stock only after the rush starts.

  • “We have no way to show what a product makes”

    A tube of acrylic means nothing to a beginner. They need to see a finished piece and a first-timer's shopping list.

What we do

What we do for art and craft stores.

Everything included for art and craft stores.

  1. A listing built around what is on your shelves

    A Google Business Profile with photographs by shelf, the brands you carry, closing hours and a question-and-answer section that covers the common school list items.

  2. A school project shopping list page

    A page with the typical lists for primary and middle school projects, with a WhatsApp button that sends the list to the shop to be packed.

  3. Starter guides for hobbies

    A short guide for each hobby, such as first watercolour set, beginner resin or calligraphy basics, with the list of items to buy and a photograph of what it makes.

  4. A class and workshop rate card

    A price sheet for hobby teachers and small makers with a minimum order, a way to place a repeat order on WhatsApp and a named person who handles it.

  5. A repeat buyer record

    A simple record of who buys which brand and what they asked for that was out of stock, with a message when it arrives.

  6. Instagram posts from your own counter

    Finished pieces made with products from the shelf, a staff member trying a new product, and a corner for customers' work with their permission.

How the result is measured

  • Brand-by-name requests on WhatsApp answered while the buyer was still deciding
  • School list orders packed from the page
  • Repeat buyers against first-time buyers
  • Teacher and maker accounts opened
  • Out-of-stock requests recorded and fulfilled

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Worth a page and a campaign of their own

Paints, brushes and canvases · Sketching and drawing material · Clay, resin and mould supplies · Craft kits for children · Calligraphy pens and papers · Beads, thread and jewellery-making supplies · Festival craft material for Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi and Christmas · Bulk supply to teachers and schools

Priority campaigns

Campaigns for what art and craft stores most want to sell.

Each one planned around when your buyers decide, and measured against the baseline.

  • School project season drive

    Posts and WhatsApp messages to parents before the project-heavy terms, with the shopping list page and a pickup option.

  • Holiday workshop campaign

    A short craft workshop in the shop or with a local class teacher during the summer holidays, promoted through Instagram, WhatsApp and school groups.

  • Diwali and festival craft push

    Diya painting, rangoli material, torans and lantern kits shown in a reel and listed on the profile before the festival, with a bundle price.

  • Maker supply club

    A WhatsApp broadcast list for small makers announcing new stock, restock days and a bulk rate on the items they reorder.

Beyond search

Where we reach buyers of art and craft stores, beyond Google.

Search matters, but it is rarely the only way this industry's buyers find a supplier.

  • Hobby class teachers

    The Saturday painting class, the calligraphy workshop, the weekend clay studio. Each teacher gets your class rate card with a reorder number.

  • Schools and tuition centres

    The art teacher whose project list goes home in a diary. If the list names your shop, the parent skips the search.

  • Instagram makers and resellers

    Handmade-jewellery, candle and card sellers working from Instagram and weekend markets, who reorder beads and wax and want a stated minimum order.

  • Event and decoration planners

    Birthday and housewarming planners buy craft items for decor and return gifts, and judge a shop by a sample board and a bulk price sheet.

Who it is for

This is written for these art and craft stores.

  • School and college students buying for projects and exams
  • Parents buying holiday craft and hobby kits for children
  • Hobby painters and sketch artists
  • Resin, clay and jewellery-making hobbyists
  • Calligraphy and journaling enthusiasts
  • Hobby class teachers and workshop organisers
  • Small makers selling on Instagram or at weekend markets
  • Schools, event planners and tuition centres buying craft material in bulk

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You want a guaranteed Google ranking or a guaranteed number of leads. Nobody honest can promise either.
  • You need enquiries by next week and have nobody to answer them.
  • You want posts and reach reported, not enquiries and orders.

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the work runs for art and craft stores

  1. 1

    Learn what sells

    The two customer groups, the products they ask for by name and the periods when the shop is empty or overwhelmed.

  2. 2

    Set up the listing

    Photographs by shelf, product lists and a shopping list page that can send a packed order on WhatsApp.

  3. 3

    Write the guides

    Beginner guides for the hobbies that matter most to your buyers, built from the stock you hold.

  4. 4

    Reach teachers and makers

    Introductions and a bulk rate card for the class teachers and makers who buy in volume.

  5. 5

    Track what comes back

    A sheet that notes which customers repeat, which items they ask for and which requests the shop could not meet.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Engagement options

Ways to work with us.

Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with your brief and a conversation.

  1. Option 1

    The conversation on its own

    A call after you send your brief. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.

  2. Option 2

    One fix, scoped

    Start with the fix that matters most, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.

  3. Option 3

    An ongoing programme

    We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.

  4. Option 4

    Guidance for your own team or agency

    We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

FAQ

Questions art and craft stores ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Is it worth selling art supplies online as well as in the shop?
For some items, yes. Brushes, pens and kits ship well. Paper and canvas are bulky and fragile. Start with the products that ship easily and let the shop handle the rest through local pickup.
How do we compete with big online craft stores?
On the nearby, the urgent and the advised. A parent who needs poster colours tonight will not wait for delivery, and a beginner wants someone to tell them what to buy. We build the pages and replies that make this obvious.
Can you help us find hobby teachers to supply?
We list classes near you and prepare the introduction and rate card. Whether a teacher buys from you depends on price, availability and how quickly you answer their order.
Do you run workshops for us?
We help plan and promote them: the page, the posts, the WhatsApp invitations and the follow-up. Your own staff or a visiting teacher runs the session.
We stock very different things, from school stationery to resin. How should the pages be organised?
By buyer, not by shelf. The school parent, the resin hobbyist and the calligrapher each get a page that speaks to them, with the products they will need.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
Fixes to reply time, follow-up and your Google Business Profile are the quickest to show, because the enquiries already exist. Ads can follow soon after follow-up is in place. SEO and content take longer. How long each takes depends on your business, and we tell you which applies to you after we have spoken. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.
What do you need from us?
To start, last month's enquiries in any format and time with whoever handles them. After that, access to the accounts the work touches, such as the website, Google Business Profile or CRM.

Part of Retail. See the other industries in the sector.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.