Art shops have a long, distinguished and proud history in the United Kingdom, with an unusually large number of independent, family run high street retailers surviving into the twenty-first century unlike many other high street retail sectors such as pharmacies, newsagents and hardware shops So we want to celebrate this longevity and tell you a little about the history of our favourite art shops: Hobby Craft (HobbyCraft Group Ltd) Established 1995 – Dorset, United Kingdom Hobby craft are perhaps the largest UK art retailer with 50 stores across the UK (as of October 2010), and are perhaps the only chain of their kind, with most competing art shops traditionally being family run, small, single owner art shops

Nobody knows when the first watercolours were made, but the evidence that it was a very long time ago can be found deep inside caves once inhabited by Palaeolithic man Perhaps some powdered stone, dried blood or ash accidentally got mixed with a few drops of water and its properties as a paint were discovered

If you have ever felt inspired enough by artistic experimentation to take a trip to your local art shop will already know the brand Daler-Rowney It’s almost become a standard in the world of art supplies – it’s the brand artists turn to when they want a guarantee of quality in their materials

While it’s quite interesting watching media publications get all in a lather about “what is acceptable as art these days”, the vast majority of art that goes on in the schools, universities, clubs and homes up and down the land still relies on the types of materials that Botticelli, Da Vinci and Lowry would feel at home with

Humans have been writing and making marks as far back as the caveman Initially man used his finger by dipping it in plant juices as a drawing and writing instrument