Blick Art Materials

The staff were friendly and I had some great conversations as well. One of the staff and I ended up really debating the pros and cons of pastel types, but not once were they rude or dismissive. The manager was incredibly sweet when we talked about me purchasing some of the smaller and broken pieces at a slight discount. She was so patient and her taking the time to help me so extensively makes me want to continue to go there vs other locations.

I took my first drawing class last week and went here for my supplies. I was clueless and couldn't locate anything. John was so kind and patient to help me identify my supply list and explained so expertly the ins and outs of the pencils, papers, and other materials. Thank you for being such a friendly neighborly presence.

Used to be 5 star awesome but now it seems smaller with less selection basically a storefront for the online store. Now the online store is pretty nice. But blick looks to beoving more to craft and sacrificing fine art. In 10 years they might be as bad as Michaels.

I hate to post a one-star review, but I feel like it’s worth warning people that the prices advertised on the floor are completely different from the prices when you’re rung up at the register. I was recently at Blick to purchase some supplies for oil painting, and happened to pick up some products that were on sale for 40% off “list price.” There was no indication that this “list price” was not, in fact, the price displayed on the shelf. It was only after checking my bizarrely high bill that I realized that, even though the posted price was ~$50, the list price was $80. A thirty dollar difference between the price that is advertised vs. charged is HUGE and a very shady business practice in my opinion. And this was the case for every single sale item we purchased, and several others - we ended up paying close to $100 more than we would have expected to based on posted prices. When I mentioned this to the employee at the register, they basically shrugged and said the floor prices were a little old, but the “list price” was the true price (even though the list price exceeded even the price online??). Anyways, the moral of the story is to be wary of sales at this store, and be careful in general - the experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I don’t think I’ll be back, which is a huge bummer!

I needed 3 paintings framed for open studios and went to Blick for the first time. Christina was great in suggesting the best possible frames to showcase the artwork. The frames look amazing! Great professionalism and attention to detail.

An art supply store of the highest caliber. Here you will find a wide array of nearly all your art needs, as well as a friendly and helpful staff. When it comes to art supplies, quality really makes a difference and at Blick they have some really quality stuff. I highly recommend this place if your just starting out (like me) or if you're a professional artist. Love it.

Great customer service. Parking available near the store. The store is also near a train station.

Wonderful Store for the aspiring artist or the professional, or anyone in between.

A unique bead bracelet gifted to me from a friend in Türkiye, recently broke. The beads are unusual with an ethereal beauty magnified by their arrangement as a whole piece. None of the crafts or jewelry shops I visited had what I needed to repair it. Then I found Blick's -- a lovely art supply store full of creative materials, including a small jewelry repair section. I found the right type of repair wire -- and more. It's the kind of place where unhurried perusal reveals hidden treasures, if you recognize them. Even with the materials, I realized this repair needs more than just my hands. I'm not sure when but I'd have to bring it in and see if the kind staff will help. It's unclear if it can be restored fully, but given the rarity, it's worth the effort. That piece is the heart of a set so it's not quite the same without it. I'll update this review after finding out more.

How can you walk by a Blick and not go in, right? They have so many interesting things to look at. Right in the door my husband and I were greeted warmly by an associate. We were there to browse (with a few things in mind that we might buy if they had what we wanted) and, of course, we ended up with a few things that they had that we hadn't known we needed! LOL Unfortunately we are visiting from out of town so we didn't know that Cambridge is plastic-free. I had just removed my reusable bag from my purse to lighten the load of a day in Cambridge/Boston. :::facepalm::: Fortunately they did have nice quality paper bags available to purchase for only 10¢ so we will continue to use it until it wears out.

This Blick location is good for some last minute art supplies. It doesn't have the enormous selection like the Fenway location so don't expect to see hard to find items. It's very conveniently located next to the Central T stop. I stopped by to pick up some blank canvases. Everything is easy to find and the staff made checkout a breeze.

Great art store with really great supplies but some things are overpriced. I recommend checking with artist and craftsman across the street cause they often have better deals and you get more from your free membership than you do at blick. Nonetheless the staff are usually nice and they have a pretty good selection of supplies

Store is well-stocked and well organized. Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Great store. My daughter is a student at RISD and we really enjoy going into Central Square and spending time in Blick. They have it all! Great staff. Great prices. Wide selection. It's Central Square... so parking can be difficult but doable. They have a rewards program and your are not inundated with emails every day. Great deals. Great service.

So clean and organized! Staff was so nice and helpful. I went to pick up some art supplies on a Friday afternoon and it wasn't too busy. Everyone maintained social distancing and wore masks. Metered parking available in the back!

First store EVER where I could not pay for a gift certificate using the credit option on my MC Debit/Credit card!!! - "I have never 'done' a gift certificate before" said the person at the counter. - The other employee came over and... could not do it either. - In comes the manager, to help. All good until I get to the "Enter pin number" (aka debit) screen. - "How can I pay using credit?" (I never remember my debit pin number.) In ALL other stores, I have been able to switch to credit. ALWAYS. I ended leaving without the item I wanted to purchase (not in store and the on-line option would not take shipping off, even though my total purchase was above $ 45!) VERY RELUCTANTLY (I try not to use them, ever) I ordered from Amazon. 5 minutes. All done. Items will be shipped in 2 days. You want to compete with Jeff Bezos? Get your act together.

Blick may be just another art supply chain but this location has wonderful customer service. I'm not artistic by any means but I've visited this shop to buy random things and each time the staff has been friendly and helpful from the moment I entered the store all the way to the checkout.

Blick is clean. Unbearably so. Don't the good folks here know creation is messy, spattered, chunked and torn? Art is disorganized; Blick is not. Pristine rows of immaculately arranged supplies, pointing even the most novice of budding artistes to what they need, and priced so even the starving can create. Yeah, it's a chain and the looming ghost of Pearl will score nary a notice under the fluorescent lights and retail uniformity. But, for ease of navigation and a well-stocked selection, Blick does the trick.

This is the best place in town to buy acrylic paint materials. I was blown away by the huge selection and the helpfulness of the staff. I am not a professional artist by any means, but there are affordable items for people who just do art for fun too :)

The other one star review for this store has a point- the customer service is severely lacking. I don't know if they're understaffed or just lazy, but nobody helps you unless you go up to the counter and ask for it, which is kind of annoying in relatively large store. I will say that based on the strength of their selection (and reasonable prices) that I'm giving them four stars. I came in looking for some unique coloring supplies for an ad-hoc project and was not disappointed. Left with some metallic coloring pencils and a pad of black paper that the girl at the counter recommended.

Excellent Customer service and Shout out to Kristi for helping me with framing my art. She was very helpful and thoughtful as she made her suggestions. Highly recommend. THANK YOU!!

I needed a black Pebeo Porcelaine 150 marker for testing before I brought a 9 pack from Amazon and they had it! Score! This is one of the only places that carries this brand in the area. The service was super friendly and I was asked by a few different sales associates if I needed any assistance. The only other Blick I've been to is one in San Francisco-Market Street location and they weren't nearly as friendly as they are here! Loves it. Other notes: Street parking. Blick card offered for savings. Next to Walgreens and Starbucks. In the heart of Central Square.

I genuinely do not understand the bad reviews for this location. Do they have as much selection as the Fenway location? No. But plenty of businesses have flagship stores with smaller and less stocked satellite stores. I dont understand what all the fuss is about. This location is perfect for grabbing a few essentials and the staff has always been great. I also got custom framing here for the first time and the framing staff was super helpful and my posters look amazing hanging on my apartment.

My boyfriend & I went to the store in Central Square to just LOOK around. Once we were there, everything was perfect & exquisite. Until my boyfriend accidently dropped a container with glitter. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!! So, as any customer would, he went to reach an employee for assistance so he could look at the mess and help us. Once the employee came and cleaned up the mess, he was all serious with us. After the incident, we said "thank you" and walked away to look around more. But the employee kept following us everywhere we went and asking us questions. Literally all we did was accidently drop something and that's it. I don't know why he felt the necessity to follow us around and ask us questions. But the best part was when we were leaving he gave us a dirty look and said "don't come back here". Never will I return to that place with judgmental and assume making people.

Complaints about poor customer service at Blick really surprise me. I live nearby, have needed help there probably 10 times since they've opened, and have always found the staff to be attentive, knowledgeable, and polite. Prices are great, especially if they're running a 20% off sale (common) and/or you have one of those "preferred customer" thingies. So why 4 stars instead of 5? Because I find their custom framing department to be super expensive -- FAR more than Artist & Craftsman Supply across the street, and more than Big Picture Framing -- for no apparent reason. I also waited a really long time for customer service in the framing department -- seemed unnecessarily long. I really like Blick -- SOOOO much better than Pearl Art (now THEY had horrible customer service -- I remember wandering around the aisles of Pearl looking for someone helpful).

I'll first start by saying that I used to be an employee at this exact store and this is not how we treated customers. Many of my students have come to me disheartened because the people at the store were rude and convinced them that they cannot buy Lead White because it's toxic. Obviously flake white and cremnitz are both lead white (PW1)Basic lead carbonate. I personally went to the store only to be greeted by a annoyed, rude and condescending clerk. No foul language or insults. Only bad attitudes and rudeness.

Blick in Central Square has been great to me. There's always someone to help out when I need it and they always have what I need... and often plenty of stuff that I find and love that I don't need. It's an art store. I'm not looking for anyone to hold my hand or pretend to be my best friend. I go in, find what I need, buy it and leave. But the store is always clean, stocked well, and the line is usually non-existent or at worst, very quick. I'm very happy to have Blick in Cambridge!

I like this store. They have everything an artist needs... or someone who would wanna be an artist like me! ;-) Staff is very nice and helpful. Not a cheap store, but great place to find the supplies for your next masterpiece!

I received a call after posting this review. They paid for the whole framing, which was a huge savings for me. I appreciated the call and the refund. Given that this was my second trip back, I'm giving three stars. I hope they improve because it's a convenient location.

Came here for a large number of custom framing jobs. Very expensive, but the frame selection is excellent and the customer service, especially Hillary, was great. The resulting work -- a mix of both photographs, memorabilia, and prints -- came out very well. Hillary has a good artistic eye.

I swear, every time I go into this store, there is a sale of some sort, which is great, first of all. Second of all, the customer service is always stellar. In particular, Al, who helped me with a few different art printing jobs, stands out as one of the friendliest and most informed and patient customer service people I've ever encountered. She took the time to explain paper types, timelines for my jobs, and even informed me of future sales that were coming up. It's because of people like Al that I will keep coming all the way from Roslindale to give my business to the Central Square Blick.

I've always had great experiences at this location. There's always that employee that can't really help you, but when I came across one of those employees, she stated that "if I cannot help you, there's someone here that can!" She went on explaining that at this location, every rep is aware of everyone's strengths and weaknesses in regards to art making. If I have a painting question and one employee cannot answer it completely, that employee knows the employees that can help me- that is pretty cool. I'd rather have an employee be honest with me and say "I wish I had the answer for you, I don't, but I know who would!" rather than an employee making stuff up, which I have experienced at other art stores (including Arts and Crafts across the street!) and even the other Blick location! This is an awesome way of presenting your employees in which I think more businesses should! I love shopping here!

Went to Blick looking for some calligraphy tools and I found a dedicated section with just the right tools I needed to get started. The staff were so friendly and answered all the questions I had about ink types and colors. I could get lost in this place for days. Seriously, if I ever go missing, check Nordstrom's, Blick, and Sprinkles Cupcakes (if I make it to LA). The selection is expansive and the opportunities are endless. Every time I visit, I always feel like I should go home, lock myself in a room, and paint until my fingers fall off. Friendly staff, reasonable prices, and awesome products. Point set match.

Customer service is horrible. I don't wanna name the guy but he does not know how many feet there are in a yard and he was there to help me with cutting the canvas role. He also wanted to let the canvas drag on the floor was FOLDING it as he measured it for me (once he finally figured out the measurement when I helped him). So at the end when I refused to take a folded up canvas that was blistered with dirt from the floor, that's when his teenage angst came out (oh my god teenagers.) He didn't ask but TOLD me to hold the canvas while he cut it and accused me of not being clear on how much I wanted. If I say I need two sheets of 2 yard canvas each. What does that mean? It does NOT mean a sheet of 3 yards and another of 1 yard. When I was finally at the cashier, they didn't want to make efforts to help me wrap up a FIVE feet tall canvas. It is NOT easy to carry. "Do you want me to tape the edges or what?" he said. I at least want you to PRETEND like you wanna help. It's an ART STORE!!! OF COURSE people are going to buy oddly sized and shaped canvases and other stuff!!!! Why you help the customer???? Dear manager, please check out this situation I reported. GOSH. I left regretting not going to Utrecht instead. Ugh. What a bad experience.

I don't love this location at all. When I heard Blick was coming to Central Square, I was super excited. Let me back up, I'm that guy who loves a perfect pen, amazing stationary, and little trinkets. I'm obsessed with notebooks, paints, and various art supplies. I was really scared I was going to spend all of my money here. Alas, that was not the case. Maybe I am critiquing so harshly because I love the Fenway store, but there's something missing. When I walk into the Fenway store, I am bombarded with so much crap, I don't know what to do with myself. The staff there is always friendly and I could honestly spend hours in the store looking at all of the stuff. This is not the case here, though. It seems to me, and maybe I am wrong, that there is half the normal junk here. Where is the huge selection of pens? Markers? Paints? I don't know, it's just too much of a change for me. The staff at Central Square isn't the most friendly. But, maybe I am judging (again) because I assume the staff at Fenway are also students at AIB, MassArt, or other art schools so they are pretty interested and passionate about what they are selling (this could be a total lie, but at least they dress the hipster part).

Top notch art supply store, comparable to Pearl and Utrecht. Has everything one could need for sketching, advanced illustration, commercial art, painting, cartooning, comics, and animation. They also have some very useful small plastic cylindrical containers and glass jars. If you get on their mailing list, be sure to time your shopping days to coincide with the higher discount coupons you receive in the mail or find in flyers. You can get here via the MBTA Red Line Central Square subway station or park in the parking lot next to H Mart. (The parking lot is not easily visible from Massachusetts Avenue.) Make sure you check out Artist & Craftsman Supply across the street (a little further south toward Boston) FIRST before you shop here.

Unlike the blick in Fenway, you can wander here for days without being helped. When I was in there, and asking for help, I really felt like I was pestering people with my non-artist requests. I was working on putting together a mask, and I would rather frequent an art supply store than a cheap costume store... but I left pretty disheartened. Fortunately, I ended up by fenway, where they set me straight and got me exactly what I wanted... the Cambridge store could really take a page from their fenway sibling.

The issue here is that Blick happens to be on the side of the street of Central where you know it's going to fail one day, because that's what happens to everything on the north side of Mass Ave... really.. BUT because you can view its innards (consisting of rows and rows of canvas, paint, sketch supplies, and more) from the street and apparently lots of people need Art in Central Square, it will be well received for the time. I entered Blick to share my local purchasing love and had already spent a whole bunches across the street. My goal was to find a cute diary of sorts for my niece. I had just returned to my home hood from a day long of shopping, which meant I was loaded with approx 50 lbs of gifts on my back, in tow, hanging out the side... like a female Asian claus of sorts. Unfortunately, the aisles in the store were sooo tightly squeezed, I could barely settle myself without causing an aisle queue or knocking over a wall loaded with paint tubes. Plus, I was in pain... Without feeling successful and with sweat rolling down my cheeks, I stood in a long line to pay for a ring-bound sketch book with a black cover, cursing ... er... promising myself I would take it up a notch by gluing the heck out of the cover in pink shreds of old magazine pages (thank you, Absolut cosmo ad). I just needed to get my xmas shopping bedoozled.

Blick sucks! I stopped in to pick up a few things but they didn't have them in stock. Good thing I looked up the items on their website first, right? WRONG They can order items for you, but it's the same as if you ordered it yourself and have it shipped to your home. They charge shipping to ship it to the store. What kind of a business won't order items to put in stock for a customer that requests it? Especially if they are items that the company itself normally carries. The employees who helped me were very friendly and helpful, but it wasn't enough to put this up to a 2 star review. Bottom Line: Prices: F Customer Service: B+ Business Practices: F- It's too bad they put the A&Cs out of business in this area. They always had what I needed.

One of the best places to get your supplies for arts and crafts. This place is conveniently located right next to Central T station which is a huge plus! Lately I've been coming here to get supplies for my Clay class and I was very happy with the staff that have helped me so far. They are pretty knowledgeable and can answer any questions you have if you are new to art. (I had a person help me in another store that was not Blick and I felt they did not know anything so thank god for Blick). Blicks has a rewards card that is only for students I believe? They asked me for my student ID when signing up. The person that helped me open one did not explain much of the benefits but that I will sometimes get coupons through email. Better than nothing if anybody wants some extra discounts next time. I'm not familar with art supplies but I was pretty surprised at how expensive some of the products can get. There are some cheaper alternatives in the store but just seeing how expensive it can get scared my wallet a bit. Overall, if you ever need art supplies come here it's a great place to go to. If you're driving it may be difficult to find parking considering the multiple snow storms over the winter. If you can, take public transportation, it may take you a bit longer but it's definitely less stressful than driving in all the recent traffic.

I wanted to buy an airbrush as a Christmas present and the assistance I got at Blick was fantastic. I had very little knowledge regarding airbrushes but the Blick employee (I think her name was Shira?) who helped me was incredibly patient and thorough, checking their entire stock for the various types and components and comparing with their online packages to make sure I got the best and most complete deal.

The manager at this store is so rude and unhelpful. My card was charged multiple times, and she was apathetic to whether or not it was her problem. I won't come back to this location.

The store is very clean and the staff were very friendly for the most part. Katie was the most helpful and she showed me everything that I needed. Also, the materials are very reasonably priced and there is a HUGE selection for a small store. The drawing/how-to books could be a little more diverse and I wish that they had some that catered to beginners in drawing. However, I had a great experience there.

worst staff. seriously, they lack common sense and basic customer service skills. I can't even go on to describe. Fab supplies though. But i wouldn't go back if my life depended on it.

I came here on Saturday at 2 pm to buy a piece of black paper. Found what I was looking for and went to go pay for it. That was when my mood went sour. I saw a cashier almost done with her customer so I stood behind her ready to pay. Next thing I know, the cashier put a "close register" sign on her counter, looked at me and walked away. I looked at her and I put my item on her counter and walked out the store. I will be going over to Artist & Craftsman Supply store across the street from now on.

Clean and organized store with the best customer service I've received in a long time. Every staff member was attentive and super helpful -- they know so much about all different kinds of art! I wanted to get into oil painting but didn't know exactly what materials to get. Eric knows all about oil painting, so he provided candid advice on what to get and directed me to everything I needed to get started. On top of the preferred customer card and the 10% student discount, I saved a significant amount today on my beginning oil painting materials. I'll definitely come back for my future art supply needs or even to talk art with the staff.

I was picking up something for the office, and what I thought I wanted was not in stock, save for the floor model. So I ask Andrea, an associate at Blick, to start folding up this easel. Of course, as she's wrestling with the easel, I decide I want the travel version, and she responded with grace and patience. tl;dr, they put up with my waffling, especially after some effort had been put into something else.

Customer service is horrible! I walked in today because I wanted to frame a sketch someone gave me as a gift. I had purchased a $20 frame a couple days before from this store and, while the frame was fine, the mat needed to be cut to fit the odd size of paper from the sketchpad. I walked straight to the back of the store and found the employee in the framing section on the customer side of the counter arranging some of the Christmas lights strung along the edge of the counter. I could not believe my luck that obviously he was not busy and would be able to help me out. He said the best bet was to just buy a mat without a cut out so the picture would sit on top of the mat and then tape it down. How perfect. How can we make this happen?He said pick out a mat and bring it to the front where they will cut it and then buy this $13 roll of tape. Wait a minute! I don't need a roll I just need this one item framed. Can I buy the mat and bring it back to you and have you put two pieces of tape in place for a couple dollars and I am on my way. Oh no....that would be too simple! He said he was too busy to help me and there were too many orders ahead of me. Wait....didn't I just see him standing alone arranging Christmas lights??? He could put the new mat and two pieces of tape in the frame for $28 and it would not be ready for a few days! Seriously!!!!

Fantastic store! Every art/creative project product you could imagine. The prices are good, location is great, and staff are nice. I'll be a repeat customer for a long time!

Decent prices on a stack of canvas I needed to stock up on. Clean interior and a semi scarce yet helpful enough staff. Is curious as to how the store brand acrylics I picked up will be.

Eh, it's OK. I hit a 20% if it's not on sale and got what I needed. Customer service was good: information on what I needed, etc. The downside was I was standing in line and this woman cut in front of me. The cashier took her first - I was in a bt of a grumpy mood and stated I was there first. (There was a 5-6 person line). The cashier said "she has a basket behind the counter". Um, ok? I mean, if that's the trick, I'll put a pencil in a basket to save my place. Overall, it was ok. A bit more crowded than the one in Fenway. I was able to renew my Blick card for free despite not being a student anymore. I'd go back if in the area but won't go out of my way for this one.

People are nice but it's shitty. They have sales and make you wait up to 30 plus minutes and that at frame counter. Very very short staffed. Bullshit. Huntington Ave does NOT do custom framing so either you kill 1 1/2 hours to price out a frame or lose any 24 hour sale they run. Bull shit!!

The prices can be good IF you go during sales (which are frequent) or have a coupon (but only for one, non-sale item) - the same policy as with crafts store Michaels. (which tells you how high the prices are). The C. Square store has an ok selection. Agree with those who say the service is not great, seems to depend on who it is, who you are, and maybe even how you look. It's as if the people working there have a chip on their shoulder. I really miss the always friendly Utrecht store, now gone. Based on what people say about the Fenway shop, I'll check it out, although it's not handy if you have to carry large pieces on the T

Staffers Jordan and Chelsea were great! They fielded questions from me, pointed me in the right directions, and Chelsea offered to look up any paints I bought the last of to see if there were more in the back. Jordan was extremely patient and didn't make me feel like a pain while he helped me ring up purchases for myself and two other artists. I dumped a basketful of supplies on the counter, parsed three separate piles and Jordan cheerfully rang them up and packaged them separately for me. Great customer service, thanks!

I went to Blick recently with two of my colleagues. We had a long list of supplies that we needed to purchase for a nonprofit event we are hosting, and we definitely needed some help. Employee Mike was incredibly helpful to us, explaining the store, guiding us around, helping us weigh our options and appropriately giving his opinion on our project. Not to mention, he was very patient with us and the many questions we had. If you're looking for a store that's friendly, helpful, and also has good prices and selection, give this location a shot!

I had a wonderful experience here. Customer service was great, very friendly. Chelsea was particularly awesome! This was my first time in the store and new to the art world. She provided excellent suggestions, was very patient, and gave me pointers on how to get the basics on a budget. I will definitely be going back!

Blick is generally well supplied and the staff is very friendly, helpful, and fairly knowledgeable. The prices are competitive, however If you intend to do any amount of shopping here it is well worth getting the Blick's reward card. They have almost any paper or marker you might want. They carry a full range of oils, acrylics, and brushes. They have a decent selection of stretched canvas and rolled canvas both primed and unprimed. They are a little light on linen canvas, though I find the house brand Blick Premier Heavy Weight cotton primed is really about as good as it gets for cotton. Blick also has a very good selection of stretcher bars in both light and heavy-duty. If you need a brick and mortar art store then Blick will most probably serve your needs.