Longtime Marin County art supply store is closing

Perry's Art Supplies and Framing, a fixture in San Anselmo for decades and one of the few Marin retailers of arts materials, is closing.

The proprietor, Perry Paradiso of San Anselmo, said the Greenfield Avenue business lost its lease.

Paradiso, 93 years old and still going strong, said the building is owned by a trust. One of the owners died and the trust plans to sell the building.

"We've had nothing but sorrow about the closing," he said. "Though we got a very good feeling about the whole thing, it's been very sad and traumatic for us."

The business closed officially on Dec. 31, but the doors have stayed open — "a little grace period," Paradiso said — so the staff can clean out the building and sell off remaining merchandise.

"We provided a kind of education, but not formal classes, we didn't have space for that," Paradiso said. "Everyone who came here loved what they did."

The business was known for stocking a range of supplies: papers, casts, modeling supplies, sculpture equipment and etching tools. Paradiso said he always envisioned the store to be small, friendly and ready to solve problems for customers.

"When people come in here, we try to figure out what they need," he said.

Paradiso said he also served as president of the Marin Society of Artists and donated supplies and funds to local schools.

Gigi Lambert, an artist from Fairfax and a store employee for several years, called Paradiso a "treasure."

"I love how he interacts with the community and he is a joy for work for," she said.

Lambert described the business as a community of artists — from professionals to hobbyists — who are able to share their passion for arts. She said the store attracted a loyal group of customers who knew they would be treated well when they visited.

"When you're here, it creates in some ways a community within a community, the customers here are incredibly loyal," she said. "The types of things that we carry are really generated by the community's need. He's open to ordering things and having what people want. And with the enormously talented group of humans working here, everyone knows what they are talking about."

The business was started in the early 1950s as the Torrance Gallery. In 1963, a massive flood forced the shop to a new location, its current site at 128 Greenfield Ave.

Paradiso became a partner in 1964 and a co-owner 10 years after that, renaming the store.

Paradiso was born in Richmond, Indiana. He joined the ROTC at Michigan State University and served in the Air Force.

During his years in Marin, he participated in the Marin Conservation League and Marin Agricultural Land Trust.

He said he does not have plans to retire.

"This caught me completely by surprise, so I'm not finished yet," he said. "I've got a shop in my home and still got a few more projects, a few more jobs. We'll see."