You’ll be the face of Argun’s retail floor, looking after the art, craft, and stationery side of the business. We’re looking for someone with a real working knowledge of art and graphic design materials – the kind of person customers leave a conversation with feeling better informed than when they walked in. You’ll work directly with the owners and have meaningful input into ranges, merchandising, and how the shop runs day to day.
- Serve customers on the shop floor – advising on materials, suggesting alternatives, and matching products to project needs (illustration, fine art, design, craft, school/college supplies, gifting).
- Operate the till and handle card, cash, and account-customer transactions.
- Replenish stock, rotate displays, and keep the shop floor presentable to a high standard.
- Receive and check deliveries, price stock, and flag low or slow-moving lines.
- Maintain visual merchandising – window displays, feature tables, and seasonal/themed sets.
- Build and maintain product knowledge across our ranges (paints, drawing media, papers and pads, brushes, surfaces, design and writing instruments, journals, presentation materials, craft).
- Refer print and bespoke design enquiries to the print team with the right notes attached.
- Contribute to social media and in-store content – product picks, demos, new arrivals.
- Help with regular stocktakes and admin tasks supporting the buying and merchandising side.
- Be a friendly, knowledgeable first point of contact for the local creative community – artists, designers, students, schools, and small studios.
Skills and Experience Required
Skills and experience required
- Degree from University of the Arts London (or equivalent creative discipline — fine art, illustration, graphic design, printmaking, product design, textiles).
- Strong working knowledge of art and graphic design materials, including:
- Drawing and painting media (graphite, charcoal, inks, gouache, acrylic, oil, watercolour, marker systems).
- Papers, surfaces, and supports (weight, finish, sizing, suitability for different media).
- Brushes, tools, and accessories — and the differences that matter.
- Stationery, writing instruments, and presentation materials used in design and studio practice.
- Confident, warm communicator — comfortable advising customers at every level, from first-time hobbyists to working professionals.
- Reliable, organised, and able to take ownership of areas of the shop without close supervision.
- Eye for visual merchandising and display.
- Previous retail, gallery, studio, or art-school shop experience.
- Familiarity with brands such as Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, Caran d’Ache, Daler-Rowney, Fabriano, Arches, Rhodia, Leuchtturm1917, Posca, Copic, and similar.
- Active personal creative practice — your taste and judgement is part of what we’re hiring for.
- Comfort with social media content creation (photography, short-form video) for an independent retail brand.
- Basic familiarity with print finishes and design specs (helpful for handover to the print team).
Disability Confident Employer
We can confirm that we are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 1-3) who can welcome a wide-range of disabled applicants within our level of training.
We are an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their race, disability, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and belief, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and caring responsibility. We are committed to offering a working environment where everyone is valued and feels appreciated.
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