An artist's playground in the middle of the city. The selection is huge across two floors. I…read moreespecially love perusing the pens, pastels and pencils. I recommend stopping by even if you don't have a project in mind. Dillydally a little.

Fun, and inviting display and atmosphere. If you're looking for light, entertaining gifts even for…read morethe non-artsy person, you'll find something here. It's relatively small so you won't find a full range of supply like they did back when they where on State street. Friendly staff.

I love going to Blick to look at all of the supplies! There is a lot to choose from so it is easy…read moreto get overwhelmed with their available choices. On my last visit I was recommended a paint that would be easy to manage for my daughter's project for school. The associates here are always so kind and helpful.

Forest was so helpful!! I'm starting a painting class and had a list of things i would need and…read morewasn't sure what some of the dimensions and materials would be- they were so helpful! Knew exactly which aisles to take me and gave me all the time to go through the list with me and make sure I had everything! GREAT customer service!

I brought my 5 year old son here for the Paw Patrol play event. Overall, I would say it was a…read morepositive experience. When we entered the store, the staff greeted us and checked our tickets. We were booked for 10 AM on a Sunday and were the only ones in our group. Inside the play area, there are five stations for five of the pups, plus the "lookout" area. Marshall does not have a station, just as an FYI. Rocky's station was partially broken when we visited, but ultimately my son still had a good time. There were 3 slides, a magnatile/block area, a recycling game where you toss recycling into different baskets, an obstacle course, and a go-kart area. Most areas skewed a bit young - more like 3-5. The go-karts were a huge hit with my 5 year old, though I imagine this would be a hard activity if you went at a busy time. The whole thing was just an open play session. You can get stamps for completing each of the "missions" (really just playing at the different stations), but largely your kid can be left to their own devices. Staff were mostly nice. Some were a bit aggressively trying to joke with my son and couldn't quite pickup that he was NOT into it. I had to just escort him away. For the most part, however, everyone was very helpful and welcoming. The toy store itself offers a decent selection of toys, and they have lots of things out to play with. There is also an area to create your own slime and various crafts you can do as well (for an extra charge). The Paw Patrol area is $35 per ticket (adults must purchase a ticket as well) plus a $7 fee when purchasing online. This felt a little steep for a one hour open play session, but my kid had a great time. I'd say for a special outing it was worth it, but I don't know that it offers enough to warrant repeated visits.

The experience was fine but for the price I expected a lot more. We went for the paw patrol event…read moreand it seemed like each character had its own room when it was all in one room. I also thought there would be more guidance and organization and it was really a free for all. The staff was nice and the area was clean but I wouldn't do or recommend another experience there. We were also only limited to an hour in the space and again it was fairly expensive for being very limited on the allotment of time.

This place is awesome with a money back guarantee. Talented, friendly and provocative proporierers…read more You have got to visit next time you are on Wells.

From the owner: Transactional relationships, existential experiences, requests, and shitty art. $5…read more We’ll let you color your own art for $6, and even buy that art from you for $1. And then we’ll sell it. For $5. Hours are ish. No obligation. No change given, change comes from within. Now available: the bucket, the wheel, mask things, shitty tarot, a pretty solid cootie catcher fortune teller, guest work, and name tags.

This place is crazy unique. One of the best fun/funny gifts stores anywhere. High quality stuff,…read morebeautifully curated, great interesting and hilarious. And if Dame Joan Cusak is there, you will have a quintessential Chicago experience. 10/10, would recommend!

Super neat shop! We loved the greeting cards, art books, pins, Chicago postcards, and especially…read moreloved the more unique objects for sale, like the NASA-patched toddler bomber jacket and wooden tree swings! Staff was super friendly and helpful. Everything was displayed beautifully. Very tidy and organized. I bought a funny greeting card and it was packaged up in a cute paper popcorn bag! A lovely touch.

Such a fun experience!! First time doing pottery since high school and Essy made the environment…read morenot intimating and welcoming! She was super hands on and helped with recommendations throughout the pottery class. I am so excited to pick up my mug and would recommend this for a fun girls night or date night!

First time going to a pottery class and Mar was amazing!!! Thank you so much and I'm so excited to…read morepick up my piece!!!

I adore this spot…read more The only thing that could make this place better would be more fabulous things for me to buy. Although I'm pretty sure my husband would disagree. The staff is so kind and helpful. I do wish they had a bathroom. But really. It's okay. Cuz my guys just went to Starbies and brought me back a drink. I also wish they had a lot for parking. I don't care... they still get five stars from me.

Paper Source is a good place to find nice, thick wrapping paper, stationery, cards, and all the…read morethings you need for gift giving purposes (you might even find the gift itself here). I'd been to the ones on Southport and on Wells but it was interesting to see the difference in merchandise here. It makes sense--this location seemed to have more office-type merchandise, and for a location in the Loop what better place to sell office supplies? Heck, I even had to stop myself from buying some of the cute office stuff they have here, and I only work two days per week in the office and still don't have my office space fully set up at home. If you need a last-minute card, even if it's beyond the standard congratulations or birthday, this is a great place to stop. And it's directly across the street from the Clark postal station, so may as well get it in the mail immediately before you forget! They had several board games. I'm a board gamer but usually don't play the ones that get mass market attention, and I saw some more niche ones like Steam Up which was truly surprising. I'm not sure who's coming here to buy them but I am totally in favor of stores supporting small publishers. I also saw journals, notepads, coffee cups, and so on. There's no parking here given its location in the loop. Train, bus, and/or foot will be your options.

Came for sip and paint! The selection of what to paint was pretty good. I picked the cactus which…read morewas $16 and then there's the $8 painting fee. All the other items seemed more than $16. Their color selection was kinda limited and you have to do 3 layers of each color or else it comes out splotchy. You come back 7-30 days after to pick it up and my pickup was smooth! (I'll upload and after pic later)

They are so rude here. They dont want anyone coming in. They want an empty studio where they dont…read morehave to do much work.

Oh yarn, looks like this store is one of the best places to buy yarn in Chicago!…read more This shop is right next to Jones College Prep. The entrance is a bit confusing, just use the directory and they will buzz you in! The selection was great- everything from larger brands like Rowan and Cascade, to local hand dyers like Leading Men! I also thought their prices were pretty fair for a local yarn shop (e.g. skein of Rowan Made Alpaca Haze was $10 vs online is ~$8.80). The staff is super friendly and very knowledgeable. They will point you in the right direction but also let you browse alone (when choosing colors I need full concentration). They also offer a range of classes too! Overall, would definitely recommend this yarn shop!

This is such a cute store, tucked away in downtown Chicago. It was a little confusing at first…read moretrying to find the store entrance, since you have to be buzzed in. I was visiting and was looking for a yard that would match my current project, and they were so helpful! I was able to find what I needed and found some additional yarn for a future project. They had a large variety of options, and the prices were reasonable. I look forward to visiting it the next time I am in the area.

Definitely one of the more organized craft stores I've been to! And really friendly staff that…read moregenuinely want to help- a rare find in the city. Some stuff, like command strips, have a heavy markup compared to something like Target, but you can't beat Michael's for fun seasonal decor.

I haven't had a bad experience in this store. While the staff has changed a lot since they opened,…read moreI have found them for at least the past 2 years to be very helpful and welcoming. I was looking for something very specific a couple of months ago and the associate took the time to track it down for me. The store is also really well organized. I appreciate how clean it is as well. Love this location.