California Art Supply Company — Attraction in San Mateo

Lovely art supply shop, will be back and would recommend. Came to buy some hot-press Arches and ink, picked up a few extras in the process.

Service: Friendly staff, excellent job safely wrapping a large piece of watercolor paper for crease-free transport home. Did a good job of limiting store capacity to ensure social distancing could be observed. Pleasing paintings at the easel display and other art examples give a sense of place.

Selection: Not a huge warehouse, but a well-thought selection and should cover everything you need. (Didn't have the exact color Sepia we wanted, but covered 95% of what we were looking for in a recent COVID supply run.) Emphasis on more quality items vs. cheap junk, which in my book is a good thing.

Value: Quite competitive -- prices for many things were better than Blick or what you would see on AMZN. Also, you should support your local supply shops for the excellent convenience and community benefits they offer.

Note, the store was a little tricky to find if following navigation, because El Camino gets complex around this intersection. If you are driving southbound, it's on the right side of the street and...

It’s nice to go to an art store and speak to people who know where things are, what they do, and how much it costs. While other “art” stores offer a great deal of options for arts and crafts, it’s always frustrating that the workers often have no idea what is in their store. This is not the case with CAS. The workers here are knowledgeable, approachable, and friendly. They can talk to you about their experience with many of the products in their store, which helps to make better decisions when purchasing. Everything here is high quality. The store is small and straight to the point which is a good thing for someone like me that doesn’t like having to walk past aisles of crafts, candy, and items “on sale”. This place is a heaven for professional artists, but it’s also a great place for amateurs like me. Check them out! It may be what you’re...

The best art store in the bay area in my opinion. Store is well lit, allowing you to view the true colours of the many, many paints pigments and colours they carry for many different techniques. There are also nice selections of imported paonts and supplies, as well as specialist items for book binding, leather paonting, alcohol inking, textiles and more. The location may seem small but it has a treasure trove of goodies packed inside. Make sure and ask the staff if you're looking for specific items or supplies. I asked about a particular paint and was not only provided updates, but a call when it arrived (it's a challenge to get Swiss paints!) and they kept it aside for me until I could come into the city. I can't recommend them enough for their knowledgeable, welcoming environment...