Blick Art Materials — Local services in Galesburg

Feeling unwelcome at a place where I should feel like I belong is a terrible feeling - the manager was very unfriendly and unhelpful - when I approached her at the counter with my question, she did not acknowledge my existence, but instead shot me a look of disgust when I went to speak as if I was a mutant from the depths. She barely looked at my concern before quickly ignoring me to greet and strike up a conversation with a frequent customer. So I walked off feeling confused and not wanting to spend anymore time inside the store. I am not from the area and traveled a great distance to visit this store in hopes it would pull me out of my long-winded era of depression and finally get back to doing what I do best, which is creating art. I haven’t felt like myself in a really long time and for someone to treat me as if I was burdening them whilst attending their place of employment was extremely unpleasant and unprofessional - especially when said manager was gossiping about customers to another employee during my visit - makes me wonder what they said about me when browsing other areas of the shop. I love this store and wish that my experience here was 5 star. Unfortunately, it was mediocre at best - I almost dropped all of my items at the counter, drove home, and shopped online - I’m sure another store would have appreciated the hundreds of dollars I spent at this energy-draining establishment. I will not be returning to this location to feel like I’m unwanted and unappreciated for being a new guest at a place where everyone is...

Wow! I'd always wanted to go to one of these stores and finally had the chance this past April. They literally have any/every product you could ever wish for for your art/craft supply needs. We went up and down every aisle, and picked up many items.

One thing we especially liked were the employees. We had multiple clerks offer their assistance and they always knew exactly where the item(s) was in the store. With that being said, they did not bother us, you know...when you have clerks hover near you? These all took care of us and then left us to our own devices.

Next, I'd like to talk about the outlet room. Oh, what a wonderful place it is! I had to personally put the brakes on because I saw soooooo much that I wanted. There are some excellent buys located in the huge outlet room - all sizes of canvases, different kinds of painting mediums, all kinds of glue products, paintbrushes, etc - you can really find anything you need here for a really good price.

If you're passing through here, and do art of ANY kind, do yourself a favor, get off the interstate and visit this store; you...

I always love swinging by this place when I have a bit of free time and a bit of disposable income. If you enjoy making art, this place is like a dream come true. The selection of art supplies can be delightfully overwhelming.

Of specific note, is the clearance area. Take your time in here. Look for bargains. You will find them. This is a great opportunity to try something new. You might find a large sheet of a paper that you haven't ever tried before, but always wanted to. Once you find a clearance sheet for 1/10 of retail, you may not mind that tiny tear that you can cut off or it may not bother you to try a new technique with that paper and have it fail. You might just...