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Kalish Finest Brushes was founded as a modest Mom and Pop operation with two senior citizens sharing the joys of a successful business. Ruth and Harry started selling art supplies around 1980 while Harry was preparing to retire from his engineering career at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Their stock included multiple lines of oils, watercolor, etc. - and brushes. They learned what is good and what is bad about brushes, and watched the big established brush makers vie for market share. Their art supply business, Kalish Photo, became known for its quality, personalized service, and good prices.

In the mid to late 80's, a good friend and art professor who was conducting a teaching tour in Ireland, discovered a small factory making artist brushes. He was impressed and told them that he knew someone in the US who would be interested in their fine brushes. And that’s how it started.

Harry sent his designs for each one of our brushes to the factory and they sent samples until Harry was satisfied. Their craftsmanship is superb, and they use only top-quality hair from the most reputable hair dealer in Europe.

We sell directly to artists and teachers in the US and Europe, and we love to speak with them on the telephone or e-mail. Only a few years ago, most of our orders were through ads in the top artist magazines, but now most are through our website. Some are recomendations from teachers and some old customers still order on the telephone. Our greatest satisfaction is reading testimonials from artists who discover that our brushes are superior to those being made by the old established names in brushmaking.

Harry passed away in December, 2015 at the age of 94 and Ruth followed suit in June 2017. They lived long and full lives, married for nearly 70 years! They contributed richly to their local artist communities and many interests and charities, whether through passions like painting and photography, jazz and calypso music, ham radio, engineering and seeking better ways to do just about everything or through their numerous philanthropic endeavors.