Texas Art Asylum — Local services in Houston

If you're an artist/crafter this is absolutely your place. Whether you're on a budget or looking for some eclectic items for inspiration this is a must stop. Into sewing? They got you. Painting? They got you. Organizing/presenting your work for sale? Yeah. Photography? Yeeesss! School supplies on a budget? Yep. Mostly vintage but new as well. So if you're looking for that slide projector your mom had or an antique typewriter, vintage toys/books, doll parts or just a different medium you're in luck! I changed this from 4 stars to 5 because originally I thought pricing wasn't clearly listed. Upon my way out I realized there are slips of paper you can carry around or snap a pic of, which probably helps keep pricing down & merchandise getting on the sales floor faster. Almost everything is priced by the pound. Buggies & baskets are available. My own items were; glass baby food jars, some bigger unique ones for organizing & some really cool bottle tops, beads, pool balls, bar coasters - a perfect edition just as they are to any at home bar, a vintage radio, as well as a few things that nudged my inspiration. Two big paper bags full, these will be repurposed, came to about $34. It should be noted there are more expensive things. On customer service, which is super important to me, they didn't mind answering questions on pricing (even though we missed the price sheets up front, they were patient), they were not walking around, they were sorting incoming items & if you're an enthusiast this is just as important to you as it is to me. I visited on a Sunday so this could be different during the week. The "Employee Only" section where they were mostly gathered is an open room in the middle of this - as well organized as it can be for what it is shop - it's not messy but there's quite literally a huge array of things & some not so easily arranged & adding to that people digging through things not that I blame them. Employees aren't rude or bothered by any questions. I regret not getting pictures but there are plenty from other reviews & stock is constantly changing, another plus. There is some artwork not for sale, however, I only saw two of those pieces & some art for sale but mostly this store caters to creating...

Texas Art Asylum is, without doubt, THE MOST FUN place you will ever find if you're doing any type of creative project... anything from helping your child create a Valentine box for school to painting the next Mona Lisa... you want it, Texas Art Asylum has it. You'll find everything from broken china for mosaic, art supplies (some in original package), the most fantastic selection of hundreds and hundreds of old photographs, frames, boxes, doll parts (OMG... you have never seen so many doll parts!), fabric, do-dahs, old jewelry, toys, toys, toys, gardening 'stuff', boots, games, telephones, lamps, every 'Happy Meal' toy ever made, wood, needlework supplies, tin, scrapbook paper, small antiques, BOOKS, beads, BUTTONS, wire (rusted, new, tangled, neatly wrapped, and every way you can think of), and...and...and... you name it, they have it.

They also offer Saturday sales for school teachers (and other non-profits only) where they offer art supplies @ $5 for whatever can be placed in a large brown bag (provided by Texas Art Asylum). These sales have been a tremendous boon to art classes in the public school system as teachers usually pay for art supplies out of their own pocket because of school budgets.

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The two women who own the place are funny, helpful, friendly and just generally make shopping at Texas Art Asylum a delight. Try Texas Art Asylum... I know...

First off, I want to say that I love animals, and they had two cats that I got to pet, so bonus. As far as art supplies go, this is the equivalent of an art thrift store. They charge you by weight, and I don't remember very well, but I think there is a minimum you have to pay if you use card (it was not that much), so you might want to use cash. India ink is super expensive for someone like me, and I literally got like 6 things of Indian ink for less than $10 (it might've been less than that, I just don't want my fuzzy memory to be too inaccurate). Place is a little disorganized in my opinion, but I like to think of it as organized chaos. I got a cool sticker that I don't remember if I paid for or not (I think it was free). Staff was helpful and understanding! Will definitely be coming back. They have a lot of kooky stuff. Had a wonderful experience just browsing...