Longtime Fresno company Duncan Enterprises has new New York owners. What will change?

Longtime Fresno company Duncan Enterprises has been bought by a New York investment firm, but will continue to operate in Fresno.

The company, founded in 1946 as Duncan Ceramics, is changing its name to iLoveToCreate as part of the change.

The company is most known these days for products like fabric paint, tie-dye kits, glue and other craft supplies. They are sold in big-box stores like Walmart and Michaels under brand names such as Tulip, Aleene’s, ColorShot, Scribbles, and Puffy.

Most of the company’s assets were bought by the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, a private investment company in Poughkeepsie, New York, said Duncan president and CEO Larry Hermansen.

“They bought the products, the brand, the website, the team that goes that with it,” he said.

The Duncan family is still running the business and still owns the colorful Fresno headquarters on Shields Avenue. DKM signed a longterm lease for the property, an agreement that will also retain the 130 employees.

No one was laid off, he said.

“We’ll still be based in Fresno, no real changes fundamentally to the business,” Hermansen said. “I can’t stress enough how positive this is for the team.”

Hermansen declined to say how much the business sold for, nor share specifics about what prompted the company to sell.

However, Duncan chairman Larry Duncan is retiring, he noted.

“It’s time for him to move on and there’s a new ownership now in place that wants to make considerable investment into growing the business,” Hermansen said.

DKM is a holding company that tends to hang on to its businesses longterm, he said. It also owns Plaid, a major player in the craft paint business, though Duncan and Plaid will remain separate companies.

Duncan Ceramics was founded in a family garage and quickly grew into a large company specializing in ceramic glazes. That portion of the business eventually shrunk and the last of it sold in 2020.

Duncan instead focused on growing the DIY and craft side of its business worldwide.