ASI 51 Marvy Uchida, Interview with Lawrence Hoffman, VP of Sales

For over 40 years, Uchida of America Corporation have been developing and marketing a wide range of quality office, craft, and art-related products. Year after year professional artists and crafters alike have come to recognize Marvy Uchida as their go-to source for quality art supplies and creative inspiration.
Marvy Uchida Key Brands:

• Bistro Chalk Markers
• DecoColor Markers
• LePen
• LePlume

To see all of the products Marvy Uchida has to offer click here

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Transcript

Jeff00:07

Welcome back to Art Supply Insiders. My name is Jeff Morrow, and today we're talking with Lawrence Hoffman. Lawrence is the Vice President of Sales with Marvi Uchida. Lawrence, welcome to the

Lawrence00:20

show. Hey Jeff. Thanks so much for having me. I really

Jeff00:22

appreciate that. Oh gosh. It's, it's, it's our pleasure. Tell me a little bit about who Marvi Uchida

Lawrence00:28

is.

All right. Absolutely. Well, I'll start out with a, a 30,000 foot view . Good. And we'll kinda kind of bring it down in. So basically, uh, to simplify it, we are a Japanese Penn manufacturer. Um, but Marvi, Uchida, or Uchida of America was actually established in 1973 here in the US market to better serve this. Um, we're actually next year, 2023, we're celebrating our 50 year anniversary, which we're really excited about.

Wow. So, uh, we initially came over and we, our offices were in New York City and then we moved to, uh, sunny Torrance, California where we are right now. And, uh, that's where our warehouse and distribution center and offices are. And that's where all of our fulfillment is done. And, uh, one thing that's interesting is we are a small subsidiary of a, a much larger company.

um, Yeshi, a Yoko that's based in Tokyo, Japan. And they're about, uh, gosh, well they, they were, they were founded in 1910, so they're, they're, they're very well established. It's a multi-billion dollar company and, uh, they do a lot of crazy things that, that we're not involved in that great stuff. They do office furniture manufacturing and, and R F I D technology and Wow.

Supplies and stuff as well. So, but we're, we're the stationary arm over here in the us. Um, everything that we do, um, from our offices, we handle all of, uh, US, Canada, and some of Central South America. Okay. And everything else is handled by our partners, uh, in Tokyo.

Jeff01:54

So give us kind of a, an idea of what the types of products do

Lawrence01:58

you carry Well to, to kind of make it easy.

We kind of have it broken down into, in the main categories and there's kind of subcategories underneath it, but. Again, pens and markers is our primary, primary business, but we do go outside that a little bit. But, uh, I would say kind of we focus more on, on chalk markers. We focus on paint markers and there's a lot of different varieties of that.

Uh, fabric decorating markers. Again, a lot of varieties of that. Uh, writing instruments is kind of how we classify some of them. Uh, craft marker. , uh, we have drawing markers and then our craft tool section. So, um, wow. Those are kind of seven primary categories, but under each one of those, obviously we have subcategories and some key brands.

Jeff02:39

So you said a chalk marker. What the heck is a chalk

Lawrence02:42

marker ? Well, it's, what's interesting is we, were actually one of the first ones in the industry to introduce that type of marker. So the great thing about it, it's, it's a water-based pigmented. But it's removable on a porous surface with a damp cloth.

So for example, if you write on a seasoned chalkboard or you can do glass or some plastics, um, you write on there, it's beautiful, it's nice, opaque. And then when you're done or you want to change the design, take a damp cloth, just wipe it off, leaves no dust, no residue. It doesn't, uh, it doesn't leave any ghost.

Uh, it's one of our, one of our marquee products.

Jeff03:17

Really. Wow. So I know you probably have some key brands. What, what are some of the brands that, that are under Marvi, Uchida?

Lawrence03:27

Well, it's interesting you ask that because, uh, you know, with a name like Marvi, Uchida. Some people don't necessarily know us as Marvi, Uchida.

Right. Um, a lot of people may know us from some of our, our key brands and I'll, again, I'll kind of start at the top and kind of work our way down. But starting with chalk markers. So Bistro Chalk Marker is our brand. Mm-hmm. . So within that we've got five different tips, 23 colors. We have primaries, fluorescence, pa, pastels, metallics.

So really within that we have the largest assortment of chalk markers, uh, in the. . And so that's a big brand for us. And probably our, our top brand, which a lot of people may know us for is our deco color brand. Oh yeah. I'm not sure. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it sounds like, uh, a lot of people don't realize that that's a Marvi sheet of product, but deco color, um, is our paint marker line.

And then under the deco color line, we have our deco color oil base paint markers. Mm-hmm. , which, uh, in that line we've got 35 colors, four different tip sizes, you know, an extra fine, a fine, a broad, and a, a calligraphy tip. And with the oil base, the great thing about that is it works on almost any surface, but the oil base is probably better for the more non-poor surfaces like, uh, metal or glass, or.

Um, again, the great thing, they're permanent, they're opaque, they're light fast, so they won't fade. They're outdoor resistant. And we also have a, a line of premium metallics in that which were really, really exciting. And the reason we call them premium, a lot of people say, well, cuz they're more expensive

But, um, the reason they're premium is that they actually contain a much higher level of metallic pigment. So these things are actually, they have a reflective property to it. So those are really, really, Oh wow. And, and then part of our, part of our deco color nine, we also have an acrylic deco color acrylic, which now we have 28 colors, five different tip sizes, and, and as very well, you know, the primary difference between the oil base and the acrylic.

Acrylic works on a lot of surfaces too, but it's better for the more porous type stuff like the wood and the canvas and the stone ceramic, things like that. But, um, but our deco color brand, has some subcategories underneath it, but, uh, that's, that's a key one for us. And then probably, um, another key brand we're known for is our deco fabric, which fabric markers are a very big part of our business as well.

Um, again, 37 colors. We've got metallics and pearls and glitters and all that kind of fun stuff. And they're permanent on fabric. Those can also be used on paper, uh, but they're washable and all that kind of stuff on fabric, and they won't fade over time. Um, they're, they're really, really fun and, and we're seeing a, a huge trend right now in the, uh, the shoe decorating category.

Oh, yeah. And, uh, and a lot of those, a lot of those products work incredibly well both on canvas shoes and leather shoes and things like that. And then I would probably say just one of our last probably big brands, which some people have actually told us that they said, oh, you guys are the LePen. So, oh yeah.

LePen is another one of our key brands, and it's been on our line for, gosh, 25 to 30 years, and it was one of the original fine line markers, uh, in the industry. So we're up to, uh, 36 colors now. Cool thing about those things, it's a lightweight barrel, sleek design. The color of the barrel matches the color of the.

and, uh, it, it writes really smoothly. It dries quickly, it's doesn't smear and it works great ump in papers. So with Under the LePen, we also have our LePen Flex, same grade ink, but it has a flexible rubberized tip. And then we have our Lapin drawing, which is really more of a technical pen. Um, really more black ink, but has eight different tip sizes available on that.

So when you talk about key brands, that about sums it up. Probably . Wow. So, so I

Jeff07:12

would say, you know, fine artists, uh, beginning artists, crafters of all types. You really manufac. The products for those people, it

Lawrence07:23

sounds like. Yeah, I would say so. And I think a lot of our products are kind of, they kind of cross over, right?

They're kind of cross-channel because some of these products work great in art. Mm-hmm. , some of these products, the same product may work great in craft or may work great in office or in general merchandise. So, um, I would say there is a lot of cross-channel products. But yes, the majority of our stuff is used by both artists and crafters.

Jeff07:46

So if our audience wants to go and see some of this stuff that you've been talking about, I'm sure you have a website cuz I know cause I looked at it. Can you give them the, the web address to look at some of these products? Sure.

Lawrence08:00

It's really easy. It's uh, www.Uchida.com and Uchida is spelled UCHIDA

Jeff08:08

that's U C H I D a.com. That's correct. So tell me a little bit about what makes you guys so different. There's a, you know, you and I both know there are a million, billion markers and pens and stuff out there. What makes you guys so different?

Lawrence08:26

Well, and you're right, but as I mentioned above, I said that we are primarily a pen manufacturer.

That's what we do. We're not a company that does other things and then says, oh yeah, well, we have pens too. So 99% of the products that we sell and we carry are made by us in our factories in Japan. So we use nothing but the finest Japanese quality inks, pigments, tips, nibs delivery systems. And the interesting thing is most of the product is shipped from our factories in Japan over to us, uh, open stock, right?

Just to help with the shipping costs and all that type of stuff. And we do most of the packing. and carding here in the us. So that gives us a lot of flexibility to be able to do some really creative packaging for our customers. Um, and kind of segment the markets a little bit too. But again, we are the manufacturer.

Uh, we control most of the supply chain, um, from start to finish. So we have a very good handle on the quality of the products that, uh, that we make and the, the, and the raw materials that we.

Jeff09:28

So they can, our, our audience, they, you can go to brick and mortar, you can go online. Do, do you sell direct to the consumer?

Is it only through, uh, brick and mortar and online? Well,

Lawrence09:39

I, I would still say our primary business model is to, is to support our brick and mortar partners. But, um, we do also, as you mentioned, sell on our website. And the reason we do that is we have such a broad expansion, broad breadth of. that there's not a retailer, brick and mortar, especially retailer out there that can carry every single color of every single item that we carry.

So, um, it is more of a, a service as, as why we have our website. Cuz if someone wants a, you know, a fuchsia fabric marker that their local store may not carry, you know, we we'll have that to be able to, to provide it to them.

Jeff10:17

Wow. That's, that's, that's great because you know, when, when our audience looks at all of the products you have on their website, I know one of their greatest frustrations is they can't buy or find the fuchsia any place

Lawrence10:32

Exactly. We have a, we have a product line that has 144 different colors in it. Right. And, uh, and any to, to the retailer's. It doesn't make sense for them to potentially carry all 144 colors, but, um, it's an offering that, that we feel is important, especially to the art community. So, um, we wanna make sure that's available to, uh, to the people who wanna get

Jeff10:52

it in.

In that vein, you guys are mainly in the pen and the, the marker market. What have you seen changed over the last five to 10 years?

Lawrence11:02

Yeah, what's interesting is I can probably pinpoint. Um, probably looking back, let's just say 2015, kind of when the adult coloring trend kind of really started to, to just take off, right?

Yeah. Um, that had a, to, to us, that had dramatic impact on the, on the pen and marker business because due to the, the popularity, the sudden popularity, everybody started getting into the pen and marker business. You had, you had publishers now selling pens. You had paper. now selling pens. You had paint companies, you know, starting to sell pens, so everybody kind of jumped in and started selling pens cuz anything that was branded, adult coloring was flying off the shelves.

Right. It was just, uh, incredibly popular. So everybody kind of wanted a little bit of, little bit of piece of that. And then at that time, most of the people had gone overseas to, to China or. Uh, and basically to come up with their own brands of Penn. So basically a lot more players, uh, are on the field now than there were five to 10 years ago.

Jeff12:05

Yeah, I, I have to admit that I did get into the adult coloring and being a bit of an art geek that's, I still kind of do that. So, um, yeah. I love your product,

Lawrence12:19

. Listen, it's still, it's still a very therapeutic, um, I guess very therapeutic hobby. It's, there are a lot of benefits to doing it. Uh, and yes, it is, it is still out there.

It's just not. The fevered pitch that it, it was, you know, back in 2015.

Jeff12:34

Wh what are the things today that are driving the pen and marker business?

Lawrence12:41

Well, you know, it, it's interesting because our, our product really can't stand alone, right? I mean, it's a pen, it needs a surface, it needs something to work with it.

So, um, basically I kind of go back, I think probably right now you still have a lot of the hand letter. Uh oh. Handwriting, things like that, which you're driving it, but also planners and journals in the, uh, in the kind of more middle space, I guess. A lot, a lot more people are, are using the, the handwritten planners again, they're doing more journaling, they're requiring more colors, more, more different ink types, more different tip types.

Um, and then in the, in the art world, it's still continually, um, you know, alcohol is a, is a very. very well used, um, type of ink, especially in, in art because it's very workable. You can blend it, you can move it, you can move it around. But um, but I would say there's still a lot of, lot being done on different surfaces now.

So we're seeing a lot of art and craft being done, not just on paper or canvas. We're seeing it be done on wood. We're seeing it be done on metal. We're seeing it be done on glass. So all these different surfaces are creating, it's kind of brought. Some old, um, just old skills, kind of back to the forefront, but just on a different surface.

And the great thing is, is we, we've got some product that kind of helps with all of that. So we've, we've seen a pretty nice uptick, um, with. With people just kind of just getting crazy and doing art on, on a lot of different, different surfaces. It's a lot of fun. Yeah.

Jeff14:15

Now, do you guys have, um, like videos and, and, and, and things like that on your website or a place you can direct them where they can see all of this cool stuff?

Lawrence14:27

You know what I tell you? I, that that is an area that we definitely need to improve. Um, I would say we don't have the video content that, uh, that I wish we did. Okay. Um, but I, but we, we realize it's a weakness and, and we're definitely trying to strive to get better on that because we know, um, that once somebody sees something in action Yeah.

Um, it really, really helps. But it's funny cuz you, you kind of talk about that obviously with the, the pandemic and, you know, the age of the Zoom meeting and all that fun stuff. So we've, we've been having a lot of Zoom meetings with our customer. And it part of it, and I think we're all about done with that.

Um, you know, we, we much prefer the face-to-face in-person stuff, but especially with our type of product, it's, it's a very touchy feely, you know, use it type of thing. And it, and it's one thing to say, Hey, this pen is great. It does cool things. Look at this picture. Right? But once somebody gets to pick up the.

use it. Yeah. And, and, and just have it, you know, and command it to do what they would want it to do. And see how the ink flows and see what it writes on. That is the, that's the magic sauce. That's when people really get excited about seeing something. So yes, videos are, are incredibly helpful. It kinda gets people excited, but once they actually get it in their hand, ah, man, that's, that's, that's the key because, uh, that, that's what makes the difference in the writing instruments right there.

So

Jeff15:45

if, if our audience has. Questions, uh, can they contact and talk to you guys directly or do they need to go through their brick and mortar? Uh, how, how do they handle something like that?

Lawrence15:56

No, absolutely. Matter of fact, through our website, um, you just kind of send an email and what that does is that goes into our customer service.

So if you have specific questions about. Kind of specific areas. Um, you know, some of those questions come directly to me and I respond Some of those, uh, our customer service team responds to. So yeah, absolutely. There's a just kinda a general email box that people can respond to on our website.

Jeff16:18

So why, why do you think it is that the Japanese pens and markers, what, why is there quality seem to be so much better than than others?

Lawrence16:28

We know, it's interesting because as, as you kind of mentioned, you know, Japan is kind of famous for the quality of their stationary and also kind of the wide choice, uh, the unique pens and stuff that they, that they have. So I think one of the, the root of that is in Japan handwriting is seen as a respected art form and, and they're still teaching that to their kids as early as possible, as early as they can.

So because they're encouraging people of all ages to, to continue with calligraphy. Cuz the old, old style of Japanese writing, it's absolutely beautiful. It does look like, uh, like an art form. But yeah, so, so the thing is they wanna make sure that people have the best tools possible so they can, they can basically have the best outcome possible.

So again, calligraphy being a strong hill tradition in Japan, they wanna make sure that when they're teaching this, that they're able to. provide a great outcome. And, and a lot of it has to do with, I kind of go back to the, the quality of the, of the inks that are used, and not just the inks, but the chemicals that go on, the inks, the pigments.

Um, when you talk about the pen itself, it's the tips and the nibs and also the delivery system. What, what is getting the ink, you know, from the barrel through the nib, out onto the paper. And uh, and Japan is very meticulous also. Especially with us in their, um, basically in their quality assurance.

There'll be times where we're working on a, a new product and I'm like, come on, let's go. Let's get that thing out. And they're like, whoa, whoa. Time out . We've gotta finish our testing. We haven't done our age testing. We haven't done our light testing, we haven't done this. And I'm like, you know what? Okay.

Because that way we know when it hits the market, the quality's gonna be exactly where it needs to be. That's one thing I I never, ever have a fear about with our product. I know when you take the cap, And you use it, it's gonna be a good experience for you.

Jeff18:19

So you mentioned calligraphy, so do you make a full line of calligraphy markers and

Lawrence18:25

or pens?

We actually do, as a matter of fact, in our, in our deco color line, our paint marker line, we have a calligraphy tip, which is about two millimeter. In the two mill, two millimeter calligraphy tip is one of the top two tips. It's either two millimeter or 3.5 millimeter. Mm-hmm. . Um, and then we also, in our premium metallics, we have a, have a leafing type calligraphy tip as.

And then also we have a standard calligraphy, uh, an ink based calligraphy line where we have three different tip size. We have a 2.0, a 3.5, and a 5.0. We have it in, I think, seven different colors right now. Um, but you know, calligraphy isn't just refined to just the standard calligraphy tip. Uh, calligraphy can be done with, you know, brush markers or, uh, you know, fine tip markers or technical.

It's, uh, it's really pretty amazing.

Jeff19:11

One of the other things that I saw are these glow in the dark markers, and you know, sometimes you'll walk into a restaurant and you'll see a glow in the dark. Sign outside. Tell us a little bit about Glow

Lawrence19:26

in the dark. Yeah, that's kind of funny. We kind, we kind of call that one of our, uh, one-off products.

Yeah. And the reason I say that is we used to have four colors in the glow in the dark. We've kind of parrot it down. The standard glow green. And uh, and so basically the cool thing about it, the, the phosphorous pigment in the pen. So when you expose it to light, it glows. The neat thing about that product is it works on both paper and fabric.

So it's the fun thing we sell. Gosh, a bunch of people use 'em for around Halloween time and, and costumes. Oh yeah. All that stuff. But it also adds a really cool element to mixed media. . So like when the lights are on, you know, with a, if there's a, an art project, the lights are on and you know, it looks one way, turn the lights off and, you know, it looks differently.

So, uh, it, it's a fun product and it's a, it's been a good one for us. Now, I, I

Jeff20:13

know, uh, I, I saw on your website that you've got some cool craft tools. Tell us a little bit about those craft tools.

Lawrence20:20

Yeah. So that is an area that, uh, that was one of the areas, um, kind of from our, our key categories. And, uh, primarily we've kinda limited it down to more paper crafting type tools.

So we've got a, a full line of craft punches. Uh, we have a full line of, of corrugated paper crimpers, which these things are really cool. We were actually the first, one of the first ones to have a paper crimper. That crimped an eight and a half by 11 sheet of paper. But the neat thing about these is they work on, they work on card stock, they work on thin metals, they work on thin foams.

Um, and we've got some that, that have really cool patterns on it. So you have your standard line, you have your standard wavy, but there's like a bubble pattern and there's a heart pattern. And um, so we've seen some people do some really creative things with that, especially with, uh, with mixed media stuff.

Uh, kinda another strange little item for us, we call it our jewel pickef. I was gonna ask about that. Yeah, it's crazy. It's one of those things that, uh, that just people, once they get in their hands, again, people love cause on, on one end it's a reusable adhesive nip. So basically you use it to pick up whether it's, uh, beads or um, paper or stickers or, gosh, I don't know, you, you name it.

Um, small little pieces that are hard to pick up, right? Uh, you can use that to pick it up, move it, and. Really, really easy. And again, it's, it's the size of a pen, so it's really easy to use. And if it loses it's adhesion, all you have to do is just take some mild soap, you know, wash it off and, and let it dry.

Wow. But it's a crazy little item for us. We have a double-ended one and a single-ended one. But, uh, it's one of those things that once people have it, they love it.

Jeff21:56

They wonder how they ever lived without it. Right. . Exactly. Exactly. And the other one I saw was a hot wire

Lawrence22:02

foam cutter. Yeah. That, that's a pretty cool item.

We, we actually came up with, You know, there, there's a lot of foam cutters on the market. This one, um, like the handheld ones, right? So you've seen the ones that, you know, you put the battery in and it's got the wire, and you kind of use that to, to kind of carve the foam. This one, I could probably say is probably more like a table saw.

It was designed to be, you know, you have it down on, on a, well, the base of it is almost like a table saw where you can slide the foam on it and it enables you to do a lot bigger, um, artwork or a lot bigger cuts. Um, but also that the. Snaps into the base can also be lifted up for a handheld cutter as well.

So, um, it's, it's been, it's been a pretty good item for us too.

Jeff22:47

Wow. So do you guys have anything new that'll be coming out soon or, I have no idea what your, you know, your calendar looks like. Can you give us any kind of previews?

Lawrence23:00

Well, um, yes, we do have something coming out, um, that'll be coming out in the middle of January.

Um, that's

Jeff23:08

January of 2023, right?

Lawrence23:10

2023, correct. Right. Um, I can't give a whole lot of information on it just yet. Okay. Um, but it is, um, a product line extension. We've had a lot of people ask us for, This particular, particular characteristic, um, in one of our products. And, uh, we're glad to say we're coming out with, uh, with 12 beautiful colors.

Um, and that's about probably all I can say right now, but, uh, perfect. But we'll start, uh, we'll start getting that information out. Probably the middle of, uh, Middle of January.

Jeff23:40

Wow, that's great. So, is, is there anything else I've forgotten to ask you,

Lawrence23:47

? Oh my gosh. You know what? I, I don't know. I could sit here and probably talk, talk to you all day, but, um, I know that we, uh, I know that we need to cut, cut this off here a little bit, but the one thing that, that I always find amazing is, um, just about, about pens and markers in general.

Cause the way, the way I always look at it is, so we provide the. Right. We provide the tool for people to be creative. And it's amazing to me, everywhere we go, people are like, oh, I love pens. Oh, I love markers. Oh, I have too many. Oh, you know, it's, it's the same thing over and over again. It's like, you know what?

You don't have too many , you know, have, have as many as you'd like. And, and that's the great thing about it. There's so many different styles and, and different types, different inks, different tips, different barrels, you know, different companies. And that, that's the great thing is, uh, especially in the art world, right?

Because you know, the artists. Um, have their preferences, um, whatever media it is, you know, if, if they, if they prefer liquid tax or they prefer golden or what, whatever the thing is. Um, but the good thing is, is there's a lot of opportunity out there for people to try different things and, and give it a try and, and see if, if you may like, uh, may like something new.

But, um, that's the thing I love is that, you know, I sell pens and markers, but what people make with our pens and marker. Blows me away sometimes I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm, I'm so excited. Cause one, one quick thing. We do a lot of the Comic-Con and anime expos, um, oh. And we allow, we kind of set up a drawing station and we let people come and use the product, you know, free of charge.

We do sell it there, but, um, but we let them create artwork and then we post it on our, on the wall, on our booth throughout the weekend of the show. And it, it gradually grows and grows and grows and grows and, but it's amazing. The, and the, the skill level and just the, the talent of, of people out there.

And again, we, we sell a basic marker, right? I, I wish I could say, uh, I was, you know, I had great penmanship or, or I had a, a great skill at, at any type of art, but I don't, that's why I'm, I'm so enamored when someone picks up our product and creates something beautiful and, and we see it every day and, and that's what really.

Gets me excited cuz it's like, man, this, this is some great stuff and, and people can do some great stuff with it.

Jeff25:53

Well, I think that our audience now has a real good source for finding out if you have a marker or a pen that they can use with their art or their crafts. And it's important to know where to be able to turn and to be able to use the proper tool for the proper.

Lawrence26:15

and you know, and I listen. I appreciate that. And if, if people use our, our products, you know, thank you very much. And, and if people haven't tried 'em, it'd be great if, if you gave us a try. Um, and because hope, hopefully there's something in our line that, uh, that you'd like and, and that'll, that'll work out for you.

So, um, yeah, I think, I think we've got a little something for everybody, which is, uh, which is kind of.

Jeff26:37

Well, Lawrence, thank you so much, and the website again is what?

Lawrence26:42

It's Uchida, U C H I D A.com.

Jeff26:47

Uchida.com. Well, Lawrence, I gotta tell you, this time has gone by really, really fast, and the information that you are passing along can be equally used with fine artists, regular artists, crafters.

And if you haven't tried a Marvi product, I think you really need to do that. So, uh, Lawrence, thank you again. Jeff. Thank you so

Lawrence27:10

much. I really appreciate. And yeah, the time did fly , thanks so much. You

Jeff27:14

betcha. You've been listening to Art Supply Insiders. Check back with us often as we talk about the world of art and craft supplies.

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