Blick Art Materials

What a dream. This place has so many amazing products it’s not just for you run of the mill art geek. The DIYer would eat up all of these items. Definitely worth a visit and the prices are on point. The line was a bit long so try not to hit it up at lunch time when everyone is running errands.
Must find: Poster Section it’s what hipster dreams are made of.

Con: Prices on their web site _​are_​_​not_​the prices in their store. Web price + exorbitant shipping is cheaper than in their store, and is approximately the same prices as any other art supply.
Pro: They’ve incredible inventory, and you can spend quite a bit of time there perking ideas.

Incredibly unhelpful staff. If you know exactly what you want the place is fine. But if you need help, support or advice go anywhere else. But not here.

Lots of over-​priced junk made even more expensive by the brutally long-​wait he hipster clerks impose on «customers” — ugh! Most of the merch can be bought for less @ Target!

I took my first college art class last fall and was recommended by a friend its worth the drive from the suburbs to Boston to get my supplies at Blick and he even gave me a gift card for my birthday last summer. I walked in with a syllabus and was greeted at the front door and I felt a little overwhelmed looking at the size of the store. So an employee was happy to walk me around and pick out everything on my supply list with me. And I went back in November to restock what I ran out of and because we just began color theory and I was struggling with my color scale. An employee went to the trouble of opening up a color wheel and spent 20 minutes in the acrylics department with me trying to help me figure out which shades to buy and what mixes I would get out of them. I needed as close to primary colors as possible because it was a complimentary color scale on subtractive color theory. I ended up getting an A for the class and I really appreciate the customer service I was given by Blick. I’m going to try their Cambridge location tomorrow for my drawing 1 supply list. And it’s a lot cheaper than the local art supply store we have out here. I pay for golden acrylic’s around $ 6 at Blick depending on the shade and the same one sells for $ 15 near my house.

I love Blick! Everyone is usually very nice here — I am always asked if I need help when I arrive (which I usually do) and they are more than willing to take me around the store for the items I need. But, I recently experienced the worst employee yet and I have a feeling it was the manager. I’m not sure if her day was going badly but she took it out on us and another associate. She talked down to the associate while asking if she could work the register. Definitely not something that should be done in front of a waiting line of customers. Keep your cool next time — hence the –2 stars.

Came back again and again for more art supplies! The supply here is incredible! I think this is going to be my art material supplier for the next few years.

The people who are complaining about parking are idiots. It’s in the middle of a busy city area. If you don’t like the parking rates find street parking and pay a meeter or take the t. The parking garage is a luxury— that’s what your paying for.
The store itself is chock full of fine art supplies and fun craftier items (though they are not a true craft store). The staff does the best they can with the massive space and the amount of people per shift. When ever I’m there multiple people ask me if I need help and they almost always greet me at the door.
This is the best and biggest Boston blick. Stop complaining, do your own research, know what you want and they will always help you find it.
I am a fan.

The worst customer service and expensive parking. There must be better options elsewhere.

Overall I had a good experience customer service wise. Although I found it sketch that I had to leave my backpack at the front counter, I guess they have had a lot of theft. As far as selection goes I was really pleased. This place is really far superior to a Michaels or Hobby Lobby as far as quality goes. I was surprised by all the beautiful paper they had in stock which really made me want to start a new project. Definitely will be back soon.

I keep going back to this store because I love their supplies and gift selection, but I’ve been disappointed so many times that I’m finally calling it quits. More than once I’ve waited 15 minutes in line while the severely under-​staffed store took forever to ring up customers. In my last visit, I had barely walked in the store when the cashier rudely demanded that I leave my bag at the front counter. I realize that this is store policy, but I also think it’s a ridiculous policy given that the store is in the middle of a city and I always have my laptop, wallet, phone, etc. on me (as I would imagine many others do). I would have loved to give them my money, but rather than risk my valuables with a rude cashier, I walked out of the door. As another reviewer said before me, you can’t just assume the worst of your customers or you will lose them all. Sadly I’ll be shopping elsewhere from now on.

I have mixed feelings about this Blick. They have great supplies, although their craft section is lacking (not really what I’m upset about, though I wish they had more of that). A little bit overpriced for me, because I know I can get the same supplies for cheaper elsewhere.
My biggest complaint is their customer service. I had to return a few items, because I was only living in Boston for the summer and didn’t get the chance to finish a project before I was leaving. They gave me SUCH attitude about this. Even when I wasn’t in the store for a return, they were rude. Great customer service starts a simple smile and a nice tone of voice, you don’t have to be jumping up and down with enthusiasm to be nice. They need to work on this. I would not recommend people go to this Blick.

I seriously can never find somebody to help me here so I always end up going up and down the aisles tons of times until I find what I need. When I have asked an associate for help, they seem annoyed. I keep returning because the store is in a convenient location and they seem to carry everything I need whenever I visit, although difficult to find.

Warning: The parking rates have gone up a lot since the store opened and the validation with purchase hardly helps. It is impossible to run in and out with free parking anymore because that has been reduced to less than 10 minutes. That is impossible. The lines are so long in the store that today it cost me $ 9 (validated) to park. That is insane. I only bought frames and mats and did not go anywhere else. Never again!
If you are going to be the only name in Boston at least open a convenient location!

I love this art store but some of the staff members are inappropriate. I went in to purchase paint markers which are behind a locked display. The staff member unlocked the display and continued to stand over me for several minutes the whole time I was trying to decide which colors I was going to purchase. As I was walking away from the case he mentioned something about keeping them safe. I understand there are some people that steal but the guilty until proven innocent approach is not the way to go. You should never make a customer feel like you are treating them as if they are going to steal something. The display is in a location where the person at the cash register can see them clearly. There was just no need to stand over the customer watching them.

If you have a seemingly impossible framing challenge, go see Ashley at the framing counter. This girl has an eye for color, sizing, placement, layout, art, composition – everything.
I went in with a broken antique frame, an 8×10 B&W photo, and a dream. And 20 minutes later, I walked out with a show stopper. She made magic. And beyond that, MUCH better pricing than the framing stores in Back Bay.
Couldn’t have asked for better customer service, pricing, or end results.

Some of the rudest retail staff I have ever met. I emailed the manager to provide feedback… still waiting ant it is has been 8 days…

Great customer service and selection but very overpriced on most items.

AMAZING ART STORE.
Friendly Staff,
Easy to find materials,
Good Prices,
My new favorite for art supplies.

For haloween I came up with the last minute idea of dressing as Richard Harrow, so I wanted to make a mask — but didn’t have a lot of time to do paper-​mache. The staff helped me find one of the few remaining masks, but it had weird lines in it. Next came the paste to cover the lines and smooth out the mask. This was followed by a quick tutorial on blending paints to get optimal skin tones.
Going in as a complete novice — I was appreciative that I wasn’t talked down to, and they seemed happy to help. I really couldn’t ask for much more.