4 paint shops in Bristol and not a single one had MTN94 Tokyo Pink
I was looking for the full range of shades of pink from dark to light as displayed on the official MTN colour chart. 5 shades in total. I visited 4 of Bristols paint shops and not a single one had all 5 colours. Now I appreciate that these are small shops and can't stock every colour but I do think there is a prime opportunity in the market for one of them to make a bold statement such as promising to always hold certain palettes. Think of it as limiting the choice but guaranteeing the stock. I think this would be a unique and useful service that none of them currently offer and would be a breath of fresh air from the inconsistent range of stock and constant excuses of "Oh we're expecting an order in the next few days".
A couple of the shops I visited today had such a seemingly random selection of colours that it was basically impossible to pick out a pleasing palette without visiting multiple shops. Who are they catering for? What do they base their decision on when placing an order? Of course the answer is that they are not catering for people like me. Most graffiti writers / street artists make on-the-fly decisions with their colours and work with what they've got in their box/boot/bag. I am a rarity in planning a limited palette so expecting the retailers to operate a policy that allows me to drive to one shop and collect what I need is asking a lot.
But of course this is what being an artist is all about! Original ideas will never be catered for with pre-existing, all-in-one solutions. If it's hard to source the materials in one place, you're probably combining them in an original way. The fact that the shops do not think like I do means something very special to me. It means I'm thinking outside the box. (By the way, I sincerely apologise for my use of bullshit middle management terminology)
But as a compromise I would love to see one of these shops introduce a unique selling point around the concept of guaranteeing stock. If they could maybe just choose one section of the spectrum and make it their priority then that would be fantastic. For example, imagine if Weapon of Choice decided to still stock a selection from the whole range as they do now, but made a new promise to always hold every shade of blue. They could become known for this unique policy and when each artist reaches the inevitable moment when they want a certain shade of blue and don't wanna mess around sourcing it, they will not think twice about visiting the one-stop shop that guarentees blues. Artists are compulsive people and when inspiration hits, they demand the tools to work immediately.
Of course the risk a shop takes with this policy is that some people will misinterpret it to think they only stock blues. But then again if it didn't carry a risk, it's not marketing. Risk-free marketing makes 100% of the public feel indifferent toward you, bold statements make 50% love you! I know what I'd rather have.