Tom Levin, owner of Tom’s Toys (established in 1996) and JWS Art Supplies (established in 2000), now houses both businesses in the building he owns at 293 Main Street in Great Barrington. Offering personal service and free advice, the art store boasts over 18,000 SKUs (stock keeping units) and enjoyed a 30 percent increase in sales during December 2024, the first month in its new location.
According to store manager Emily Cox, the JWS team had wanted to move here for some time, but the address (formerly inhabited by Evergreen Fine American Crafts) only became available last July. “We had definitely outgrown our old space, and being on Main Street—and closer to the toy store—just made sense,” Cox says. “We’ve also added a lot of new products, although many things were already here but couldn’t be seen in the old location, which was too cramped to allow people to browse comfortably.”
Due to window supply issues and other delays, they had to push back the target August or September move date. “We repositioned the storefront entrance, removed the drop ceiling, put in a new HVAC system, and replaced the squeaky floors,” Cox notes. So the official move-in date was November 11 (as in 11/11)—widely viewed as a lucky date for events or a sign of synchronicity. And the finishing touch was a hand-painted sign by local artist Jess Marsh of Hired Hands Signs.
Relocating that close to the holidays was definitely a challenge. “We packed up on Monday and were open in the new location by Friday,” she explains. “We had placed a $12,000 restock order, 80-plus boxes, so we’d be restocked for Black Friday, but it got lost en route and never came.” In a panic, Cox reordered. While waiting for the second order to arrive, when people came to check out the new store, she heard them whisper, “Great location, but they have no inventory.”
“There was nothing we could do, but they eventually refilled the order in time for Christmas,” she shares. Ironically, the missing freight showed up as they were about to close the store on Christmas Eve. It had been sitting at a loading dock, marked as missing. “So a month after our moving sale, we had an overstock sale,” Cox says, adding, “Luckily, it’s been smooth sailing ever since. Now our biggest concern is figuring out how to fit more inventory store items without outgrowing the store.”
Artistic leanings
“Tom Levin went to art school in Boston and still creates modern designs as an oil painter,” Cox explains, noting that one of his paintings hung behind the counter for a long time in the previous location. He opened Tom’s Toys 28 years ago, when his kids were young; once they started getting into art, he added JWS Art Supplies.
Cox grew up in Rhode Island but moved to the West Coast to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. After graduating, she moved back east (where she had extended family at the time) for a “reset.” In 2013, while working various jobs (including product development for Elements Jewelry), she ran into Tom’s son, Jake Levin, who mentioned that his dad was looking for a store manager. She followed up shortly after and has been working as the JWS store manager ever since. “I always loved art, especially textile design, replicating prints and colors, and making geometric designs,” she affirms.
“We’ve added a lot of new products, but we still carry the tried-and-true things people are always looking for,” Cox assures. She points to watercolor paint sets, papers, and erasers as the big sellers, with writing journals, micron pens, and the newly viral Emily Lex Studio watercolor workbooks as also very popular. Although the business ran into supply chain issues during COVID, they are able to navigate unpredictable markets by ordering from multiple places. “We source a lot of supplies from Europe and Japan, fewer from China,” she states, listing a few of her favorite lines (such as Golden, Holbein, Moleskine, and Strathmore).
As for the customers, “In addition to the painters, drawers, and printmakers that frequent the store, we attract people looking for presents, crafts, activities for kids, recent retirees looking for a hobby, and people experimenting with trying a different medium,” Cox says. “We see many of the same faces each month, or every few months, depending on when their supplies run out.” She also acknowledges that some people simply enjoy purchasing art supplies. “There’s a funny meme that says buying art supplies and actually using them to make something are two different hobbies,” she smiles. To address that reality, they have always wanted to offer classes but never had the space—at least until now, so stay tuned.
“Regardless, we teach people every day,” Cox points out. “It often starts with a simple question that leads to an hour-long conversation with a customer since everyone who works here has art experience and knows the products well.” With four or five full-time employees at any given time, the store is able to be open seven days a week and provide guidance and expertise as well as supplies.
Starting last month, JWS has been using the hallway of the Tom’s Toys building as a gallery space. “We announced on social media that we were looking for artists to show their work, with the artist hosting the opening and JWS hanging the art. We were blown away by the amount of interest and quickly filled up our yearly schedule,” Cox beams. Recent artists include David Vartanian and Kathryn Fauerbach; young artist Willa Kaiser will debut her pieces in June. “It feels important to give young people an opportunity for exposure in a supportive space.”
Being in a community that supports homegrown retail shops has been equally essential, she says, noting that their customer base remains loyal despite online and big-box competition. “It’s a combination of our staff being able to share valuable information and the community valuing small businesses and local access. The downtown Great Barrington operations are all good at directing people where to find things.”
As a manager, Cox often wishes there were more hours in the day, especially for speaking to shoppers. “I try to spend half of my time in the front interacting with customers and half in the back working on inventory, marketing, and other managerial tasks,” she explains, adding that hearing her employees greeting people gives her FOMO (fear of missing out).
“We’ve been lucky to watch so many customers’ children grow up,” she concludes. “We have a nice space now in a great location and want to keep being here for the next generation.”
