Blick Art Materials — Attraction in Portland

Been coming here since I first visited Portland, well before moving to the area, and this place doesn't disappoint. First I should wonder if Mr. Ewing is aware of the incredible irony in his surly, unhelpful, specifically personal, artsy, poetic, insulting, kvetch-fest of a review?

Tangent aside, the staff is not pushy, or at all as in your face as other kinds of stores, but in an art supply store, call me crazy, but that's what I want. To some it may come off as hipster and arrogant (plus, this is Portland, a lot of people are going to look too hip to help you), but I thought better, and was dead on.

They trust me, an artsy introvert (which I imagine is most common of their customer base) to find what I want in this clearly labeled smorgasbord, and Blick's sheer selection can be intimidating, so I don't necessarily want to be tripping over a bubbly personality (and likely my words) underfoot every step of the way while I figure some stuff out. I know it's conscious (and not "too hip"), because I've found when I do have a question, or need some help, I ask, and the staff is very, very knowledgeable, and often will break off in to an interesting (and interestED) conversation about your project and medium, and not in a phony way.

It's almost as if they're passionate about art or something.

There are media I will never be half-decent at, but dammit all if I don't end up at least checking out the stuff I could get if I wanted, every single time. What would I make in Sumi-e? I'll tell you what: a disaster. But if I wanted to try, Blick's got me covered. I like that.

The only knock would be the prices, but with that kind of variety, it's expected.

What isn't is the Blick brand of many of the supplies, which runs well cheaper, sometimes nearing half on the smaller items.

Don't pass it up. When I'm in the area, I always hit this place to geek out, then Pro Photo to nerd out, even now when I can't afford anything, because what I can afford is...

On their site they mention this about their customer service standards “we pride ourselves on offering the best customer service in the industry.” I also noticed that they don’t provide any clear information about the in store covid policies. My wife and I just visited your Portland location in the pearl district and were kept from entering because our 2 year old can WALK! That is what the front door person said, he said if they walk they have to wear a mask! A 2 year old baby, we had to stuff our 2 year old into the storage compartment of our stroller which had our infant on top, too cold to wait outside and too fussy to be held. Would’ve just left if it wasn’t for the fact we went into town specifically for this one frame we ended up buying. This is the most unscientific ridiculous thing we’ve experienced since this started. So by this same logic you would prohibit a blind person from entering if their service dog wasn’t wearing a mask because it can walk? To top it off, when I questioned the absurd policy the front door person said “You should vote for Trump!” They assumed that because we questioned the completely unscientific policy that we questioned it for political reasons and not because it is impossibly to make a 2 year old comply, the same way a service animal wouldn’t be able to, they get more rights that a 2 year old human....

Intro - I originally first visited this place just to check it out. I ended up spending $30 and becoming a preferred customer.

Merchandise - An absolutely ridiculous amount of stuff to see here. Tons of paints, markers, pencils, pens, canvases, cases, stands, frames, air brushes, all that stuff. If you need an art material of any kind, you can safely bet Blick has it.

Service - Employees are friendly and knowledgeable. One of the few places I can say the employees are outstandingly good at their service.

Atmosphere - Very cramped/dense. The store itself is pretty small in terms of area, but it's got so much stuff to choose from. Not a big deal, but it would be a good idea for this branch to expand or relocate. You can see examples of this in the photographs I added to this review.

Cost - A tad expensive, but worth it. I purchased two high-quality brushes and a pallet and used them for most of a cosplay project I made, and the brushes performed very well and held up great. You can also become a preferred customer and they'll e-mail you every time a new sale goes up, and those sales are usually good.

Summary - If you don't mind driving through the downtown area and want to get your hands on some good art materials and such, then definitely come here. This store is...