Roy Thompson, Pro Arte’s founder, had always been a keen and talented artist. He’d grown up loving the romance between easel and canvas and specialised in oil painting. With this skill and art material ambition he joined Winsor & Newton, known for its classy art materials, to work in sales due to his deep artistic knowledge. He progressed through the company with high aspirations to become sales director, but the position never arrived.
Initially, Pro Arte relied on established brush makers in the UK to ensure quality products at competitive prices. Roy's focus on quality, service, and value for both retailers and artists laid the foundation for the company's success.
A decade later, Roy's son, Peter, joined the business. Recognizing the limitations of relying on external suppliers, Peter set his sights on establishing a full-fledged manufacturing facility. This vision became a reality when a key supplier ceased operations, allowing Pro Arte to hire skilled brushmakers. With this newfound knowledge and expertise, Pro Arte embraced the changing art landscape. The company saw the potential of synthetic brushes, which were often inferior to natural hair alternatives at the time. Through collaboration between Peter, the artist's son, and Roy, the artist himself, Pro Arte developed the Prolene range – a groundbreaking synthetic brush that rivaled the quality of natural hair.
Pro Arte continues to thrive under Peter's leadership, with his son Johnny now actively involved. The company fosters a culture of internal growth, promoting from within and allowing staff to learn the intricacies of brush making firsthand. This blend of tradition and innovation ensures Pro Arte remains at the forefront of the art materials industry. Find out more about the Pro Arte story here.
Pro Arte’s longest standing brush maker who has been a huge part of their team for over 36 years! Joining the company in 1988, Janet helped to shape the way that Pro Arte’s brushes were being developed as their own manufacturing facilities were being developed as well as the first synthetic brushes coming onto the market.
Her role began at Pro Arte as a brush head maker, and although she has learnt a range of tasks throughout the factory, this has remained her chief role. To become a brush head maker, Janet undertook years of training and development to be able to manufacture all brush ranges to their own specifications. Although quality remains paramount, speed is also essential to keep brush costs down for the end user and remain competitive. Once Janet had mastered the skill of brush making to a high level quickly, she was able to become a fully-fledged brush maker and has since gone on to train a good number of fellow brush makers over the years
Janet’s role within Pro Arte has kept her at the forefront of brush development, meaning that she has progressed from the early natural brushes that Pro Arte manufactured, to new synthetic ranges. As a result, she has become very adept at handling and understanding hairs and fibres, creating the perfect brushes for artists with minimal wastage.
Click here to meet some more of the people who are responsible for Pro Arte's product innovation, high manufacturing standards and excellent customer service.
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