Discover the variety of Schipper

Painting by Numbers on a supreme quality level – a very special experience!

Fifty years ago, SCHIPPER was the first German manufacturer to launch the painting technique “Painting by Numbers” in Germany that originated from the USA. Supreme quality, different picture formats and compositions and a wide range of motifs have been very popular with young and old hobby artists ever since.

Brand Philospophy

SCHIPPER Arts & Crafts has brought the Painting by Numbers technique to extraordinary perfection and to a supreme quality level. This painting technique can hardly be recognized when looking at the paintings. It is our ambition that everybody be able to produce a small work of art without previous knowledge.

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SCHIPPER stands for:

Outstanding quality of all materials.

A large selection for every taste, for teenagers and adults:

Our product range covers flowers and plants, landscapes and animals, historic motifs, famous painters and religious motifs, lifestyle and Christmas.
Our paintings are available in the following formats: 18 x 24 cm, 24 x 30 cm, 40 x 50 cm, 50 x 60 cm, 40 x 80 cm. Moreover, we have developed particular entities such as triptychs sized 50 x 80 cm und 40 x 120 cm, diptychs sized 50 x 80 cm and polyptychs sized 72 x 132 cm.

Different painting techniques:

Classical Painting by Numbers technique.
Flat brush technique for a piece of art with an impressive brushstroke.
Polygon painting technique “Pictures likes Diamonds”. The motifs are depicted by way of geometric areas and their characteristic traits are worked out by the colors.

Frames made from aluminum profiles

to fit every furniture style, available in nearly all picture formats.

“Paint Your Darling”– Convert a photo into a painting!

A picture processing program that was developed by SCHIPPER Arts & Crafts transforms a portrait photo into a painting template in line with the Painting by Numbers technique. Every hobby painter can produce a portrait of his particular darling by himself. The finished painting in colors or in black-and-white is a reproduction of the photo with the character and expressiveness of an artwork.

1940's

1948: Alwin Schipper buys a shut-down mirror factory in Fürth and manufactures pocket mirrors for the leather goods industry located at Offenbach.

1960's

1960: Relocation of the company to Thulba near Bad Kissingen, Alwin Schipper’s home town.
1965: Jürgen Schipper joins his father’s company.
1969: Jürgen Schipper discovers “Painting by Numbers” in the USA and develops four Painting by Numbers motifs for Germany: “Spring”, “Summer”, “Autumn” and “Winter” in the style of “Naive painting”.

1970's

1971: A large department store group took up “Painting by Numbers” in their product range and sold large quantities in the scope of a Christmas merchandising.

1980's

1983: Alwin Schipper and his partner Hans-Claudius Adloff retire from business. The location at Thulba is abandoned and the company shut-down.
1985: Jürgen Schipper establishes “J. Schipper Hobby-Ideen” in an old candle factory in Nuremberg, Frauenholzstraße 10.
1987: The paints of the whole Painting by Numbers product range are changed from oil paints to water-soluble acrylic paints.

1990's

1996: The SCHIPPER Painting by Numbers products are sold by nearly all specialized toy traders, department store groups and mail-order houses. In particular, the reproduction of old German advertising signs, such as “Persil”, “Sarotti-Schokolade (Chocolate)” and “Coca-Cola”, have made the product widely known in the branch of industry.

2000's

2006: On the occasion of the soccer world championship, SCHIPPER created the largest Painting by Numbers picture ever on the face wall of the telephone directory editors Müller. They used 360 kg of paint for a size of 24.82 m x 18.91 m = 469.35 sqm. This artwork was even worth a record in the Guiness Book of World Records.
2008: Noris-Spiele, a company of SIMBA-DICKIE-GROUP, takes over SCHIPPER and henceforth the company name reads “SCHIPPER Arts & Crafts”.

2010's

2016: The product range now covers more than 150 motifs, accessories and frames.
2019: SCHIPPER Arts & Crafts merges with Simba Toys GmbH & Co. KG and continues to work as a creative brand known for its premium quality and expertise.

2020's

2023: Jürgen Schipper passed away on 9 July at the age of 78. In deepest sympathy, the Simba Dickie Group bid farewell to an impressive entrepreneur and will continue his work.

Production

We have been constantly developing and launching new motifs for paintwork under the brand “SCHIPPER Arts & Crafts” in Germany. The rules that apply to a Painting by Numbers artwork are different than those for a painting that is freely designed by an artist. Every draft must be adapted very thoroughly in accordance with the Painting by Numbers technique without losing any of its charming nature. This painstaking and laborious hand work is performed by highly gifted artists, illustrators and graphic designers.

Our products are exclusively manufactured at the headquarter location of SIMBA-DICKIE-GROUP in Fürth, Werkstrasse 1. Our production facilities cover the following departments: mixing of colors, filling of color pots, production of painting templates and final packing plus storage rooms for semi-finished and finished products. All the materials we use are non-hazardous and recyclable.

Quality

The name SCHIPPER stands for a superior quality of all materials we use:

Stable cardboards with a palpable and visible canvas structure. They do not only considerably improve the visual appearance of the finished painting but also enhance the artwork character of the painting and support the desired “oil on canvas” effect.
Precise, thin outline drawings with well legible colors in light grey.
Ready to use, pre-mixed, light resistant acrylic paints based on water, harmoniously matched for every motif.
Good-quality brushes made from synthetic hair with a coated wooden brush handle.

Spare paint service

SCHIPPER maintains a spare paint service because it may happen once in a while when painting in line with the Painting by Numbers technique that the hobby painter is in trouble with his paints, be it they do not suffice or be it they are dry due to a longer break. More information ...

Permanent quality checks

During and after production, all our materials are examined and checked. Special quality checks apply to the paints. We particularly test their opacity and there are special tests regarding leak tightness and tests under warm and cold conditions to which the mixed colors in the pots are subject to. Moreover, the so-called “ISO Certification” many of our suppliers adhere to guarantees that we purchase impeccable materials and components.