When I was in art school (what feels like a million years ago), Pearl Art & Craft Supply was everyone’s favorite store. They have almost every kind of acrylic or oil paint you would want, rolls of canvas and stacks of stretchers, and entire aisles devoted to markers, pens, and papers. Years later, I still use it as a resource for DIY and framing supplies.
Pearl has locations in a number of cities, including New York, LA, and Chicago. They market themselves as “the world’s largest discount art supplier,” and they sell products online as well as in stores.
Their website isn’t great. It feels cluttered, disorganized, and confusing, and much of their inventory (including frames) isn’t online. If you live near one of their stores, we recommend visiting in person. The staff is usually very knowledgeable and helpful. We can easily waste an hour inside, and we’re always tempted to buy tools and supplies we don’t necessarily need.
They also have a small selection of office furniture, artists’ stools, drafting tables, and lighting. If you’re setting up a workspace, it’s a good place to shop for cool-looking organizational and office furniture for less than you’d pay at a furniture store.
Photos: Kevin Y, Pearl Art
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Comments (22)
um, the pearl art on chicago ave closed at the end of january!
Oooh I love Pearl Paints. In NYC I used to walk to ABC home and browse around, get a coffee in Union Square and walk down to Pearl on Canal to get supplies to create something after all the inspiration from ABC.
Fixtures are on sale at Pearl....
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-pearl-art-supplies-closes-feb01,0,7729033.story
Love Pearl.
I also read that some of the shops are closing.
The Pearl Market St. in San Francisco just closed too.
I still remember going to the giant Pearl in NYC that was like 5 stories, when I was in at school a million & a half years ago. It was artist heaven. Luckily, there is one out here in LA so I visit that one as well.
if you want inspiration, forget pearl... go to FLAX in sf. where good design meets awesome customer service.
Pearl on South St. in Philly just closed as well! So sad!
Pearl in Cambridge, MA has closed as well. The Artists & Craftsman Supply across the street from the old Pearl is great, though.
Awww...Pearl on South St. closed? I haven't been there in a couple years, but I'll still miss it.
The Pearl Art in Virginia (their only DC location) just closed as well. It was one of the best places to get supplies! It was very sad... well, except for that week that the whole store was 70% off... that was pretty great.
pearl in philly just closed. it's sad but...idk i kinda always thought they were sorta overpriced and being a sculptor they never really had what i needed. the 5-story one in nyc was probably the Canal St. store (still open, afaik). going there you'd get your supplies and your workout in one trip - the stairs in that building are killer.
Pearl in Atlanta just closed too. I might have cried.
I could spend days and millions in Pearl Paint!!!
I used to like Pearl, but then I discovered Blick and never looked back.
yes I thought this post was going to be an "ode to pearl" due to all the recent closures. no other store compares to pearl having all sorts of art supplies under one roof for their prices. I will really miss walking in with a vague idea of what I need some supply to do for a diy project, walking to the aisle where that type of supply may be, and discovering some crafty product that I hadn't known about before but now can add to my crafty arsenal. now I will have to go to different stores to do the same thing.
Pearl on Canal was where I shopped my summer of design classes in NYC. It was a magical place for someone who was just getting started!
Yikes! We were just there last month, but it's true. The one on Chicago Ave. is no more. I updated the address and am checking into the closings to update further. Thanks!
I always liked the Art Store in NYC ( renamed now to something else) much better. It was clean and had just what I needed.
Pearl always seemed a bit too messy to me. It has a lot of stuff, but I never found the place inspiring.
I guess I prefer smaller clean stores.
I'm partial to Blick art stores.
It was right down the street from my college.
And totally awesome.
I heard from an employee that all stores are in the process of closing except for their New York location. All inventory from the closing locations are being shipped to the NY warehouse and they hope to have a steady online presence. Crazy.
I used to live in Philly where a giant Pearl store was...truthfully, Dick Blick's has better stuff and Utrecht is cheaper for fine artists. Craft stuff seemed to be in bigger supply at Pearl though.