University Art

By Staff (Feb 12, 2009 )

University Art
267 Hamilton Ave.,
Palo Alto
650.328.3500

456 Meridian Ave.,
San Jose
408.297.4707

What’s the secret to University Art’s success? Established in 1948 in Palo Alto, and in San Jose for over 25 years—15 of them at the current location on Meridian—University Art has carved its niche as the go-to spot for art students and other creative types in the Silicon Valley.

Mike Maguire, manager of the San Jose store, has been with University Art for 16 years, and believes the answer is absolutely the relationship that the store has been able to build with its customers.

“Our customer service is head and shoulders above anyone else, to be honest with you,” says Maguire. “University Art has been built on customer service.”

Those customers range from serious artists and university students to high schoolers and beginning artists picking up a sketchpad for the first time. “There’s a variety of challenges to help customers,” says Maguire, “and there’s never really two days of the same thing.”