Central Art Supplies is an independednt business housed within Adelaide Central School of Art…read more Entry is via the laneway just before you get to the school if heading from the parade. It's proprietor is Greg Hanisch and he is a most amicable chap. If you have been there three or four times he will more than likely remember your name. If you are looking for budget supplies it is probably not the perfect place, as Central Art Supplies primarily caters to the proffessional artist and the serious art student. Quality is of main concern here, and although they do stock some student brands, such as Van Gogh oils and acrylics, their specialty is really at the high end, for instance, the Michael Harding hand ground oil paints, which although amazing, can be a bit on the pricey side. Greg is extremely knowledgeable and of great assistance. If you have any queries as to the properties or use of materials he is certainly the man to ask and will often be of much more assistance than one could find at Eckersleys or other big retailers. Unstreached canvas, calipers for sculpture and various interesting painting mediums are on sale here, which can be tricky to find elsewhere. They also have on sale some fine hand crafted easels and offer canvas streaching services.

I had a disappointing experience at the Eckersleys St Leonards branch. I felt I was treated…read moredifferently to another customer who wasn't a person of colour, when my request to have my sheets wrapped in a recycled plastic sleeve was refused, yet another customer received packaging for her items without issue and with extra charges. Instead, my sheets were folded and wrapped only in paper, which got wet from a sprinkler on my way home and damaged part of it. If my request had been followed, this would not have happened.

Eckersleys is on the whole a very good art and craft store…read more I find that Premier Art is cheaper and Central Art Supplies more informative and of higher quality than Eckersleys and would usually use one of those in preferance to Eckerslys. However, they do have a very broad range, stock a number of items which are not available at the other art stores and from time to time have specials on offer which are cheaper beyond comparison when compared to other art supply stores. They have a very broad range of craft papers, as well as a good selection of easels and canvasses. (I recently got a very large italian made studio easel ultra cheap from eckersleys on special.) They stock as a standard item an acryllic paper pad (which I find very useful for water colour painting) which has a great deal more than the standard 12-20 sheets at a very affordable rate. I have not found anything comparable anywhere else. I also picked up a very high quality Kolinsky-Sable brush (a real not synthetic one) from Ecersleys which although expensive is fantastic and has lasted me years of use.

This is my first port of call when I need to restock on art and craft supplies as they really are…read morethe cheapest, have the biggest range and have two stores to choose from..this one and one at Harbourtown at the airport. A friend of mine once purchased a whole carton of decorative picture stands from this store at a even further discounted price, she paid $2 a stand, whereas elsewhere they were going for about $7 each. A few months ago I purchased five cartons of ten slightly bigger than A4 size canvases for a project I was doing and it was the equivalent of paying $3 each...bargain! Now these products and prices are not always available but keep and eye out for specials and grab them...if you need it that is and support your inner Picasso!

I LOVE this shop so much! My imagination runs wild here and I create at least 20 masterpieces…read morebefore I've even left the store. They stock a massive range of art materials including my favourite paint. They don't have all the top end supplies, nor do they make canvases to order (I recommend Pimlott Framing for that), so there are times one might want to visit the likes of Premier Art supplies or Eckersleys for some specialised items. There are a range of craft and gift items to bring out those creative juices for everyone. There is also off street parking and the staff is helpful and will help cart big boxes of canvases to your car (so I've discovered! And also help squeeze them into said car). They also promote local art classes and happenings via a noticeboard in store. My tip is to visit and let your imagination soar!

I have been a model for life drawing for quite some time now.....I mean, it is just me nuding up at…read morehome because the load of washing hasn't finished and I have run out of clean jocks, but the general idea is the same....sort of?! Duthy Street Art has most anything a budding artist would need from canvases and charcoal to various styles of paint and papers designed to meet your specific requirements. There are a couple of stores around that have a better and more diverse selection, but this is a pretty decent store if you are around the area.

Duthy Street Art supplies is a classic looking art shop that has such amazingly friendly service…read morethat it makes me want to make friends with the girl at the counter. They pride themselves on 'old fashioned service' and it really comes through with staff being artists themselves and passionate about what they do. I was lucky enough to get a full size easel for my birthday which was sourced from this shop and the person that got it for me (who has no idea about art or what to buy) came home with a giant grin on his face and relayed to me all the specs and possibilities of the easel he ended up buying me. It is a really good one. When I went in there earlier today searching for supplies for my upcoming Visual Art uni year, I had a big chat with the girl about art, supplies and study. It was extremely comforting and supportive and great being in an atmosphere with others so passionate about art. They have a great supply of good quality paints, pastels, mediums, pencils, easels, sketchbooks and canvasses. Great for advice and a good little quaint old fashioned shop.

So, here's the skinny (heh, I feel cool)....you are in the Central Market, getting some set to get…read moreyour food on and you get a text from your main squeeze that it is her mums Birthday and you are late for dinner. Firstly, bummer that you have to bail on the crazy bowl of noodles that you were about to order, and secondly you need to suss out a pressie pronto! Head on over to the Global Village a pick youself up a carved wooden elephant and a couple of groovy candles, problem solved! I only just noticed the name of this place yesterday, before hand I just knew it as the funky-hippie place with the tie-dye stuff and incense sticks. It really is a bit of a treasure trove of hand made 'fair trade' nick nacks, clothes and the odd bit of furnature, definately worth a look...but be warned, you will probably end up buying something whether you need it or not!

The global village is a pretty cool hippie store in the central markets…read more Lots of the products for sale here are sourced directly from local crafts people in developing countries. The owners of the store also contribute towards several community projects in developing countries, largely Nepal and East Timor. In stock is the complete get up you will need to fit in, in any drum circle, a bunch of home wares are more nick nacks and paddy whacks than you can poke a stick at. Some of the craft work is really fine and, although much more expensive than if you were to buy direct, some of your contribution will still reach developing communities in the end. Of particular interest are hand painted vietnamese bamboo doors and curtains and also, my favorite, the singing bowl.

As far as Bead stores goes, this offers plenty, but nothing out of the ordinary. It has a cosy feel…read moreabout it and if it weren't for the special/discount baskets on the ground outside the store, you might not know it's there. The store pride itself on great service and the staff are certainly passionate about their craft. You can wander in peace or pull up a spot at the worktable and start creating. Staff will get involved and offer advice if you ask. One bonus is you can bring in old pieces and ask them to help you fix them up or modernise them. Definitely worth stopping in if you're in the neighbourhood. It's at the playground end of the Parade Mall, diagonally across from Coles Norwood. If you're on Facebook, it's worth liking their page where they list all their new stock and specials.

I love beading, I hate paying for beads though because it just seems so unreasonable what the…read morebeading places charge for little bits of plastic. Ok some of them are glass and some are Swarovski crystal and some could be actual pearls, still. If you haven't the faintest idea about beading then I'm just going to give you a little bit of know how so that you don't feel like a complete idiot when you walk in, never a good feeling.You will need crimps (soft metal rings), catches, threading material and finally beads, probably some flat pliers too for crimping. I know that you can make jewelery instore, not a bad idea to talk to the staff and even get them to demonstrate anything you're not sure about, I know these guys are always happy to help.

Where oh where have all the Lincraft stores disappeared to?? The Marion store has closed, and this…read moreone has been cut in half in the last few months! Previously I would have given Lincraft at least 3-4 stars ... but my last couple of visits have left me cold. I would have thought that they would be doing OK, considering the current 'handmade' trend. But this store has been reduced to half its size, with only one service counter. Where the Lincraft staff used to be friendly and helpful, now they are more like skeleton staff ... even if you're at the front of the queue, you are guaranteed to have to wait there at least 5 minutes, with only one person at the counter. So what has happened to Lincraft? Their stock is still of a higher quality than Spotlight, but I must confess they will no longer be my first stop when I need crafting supplies.

One of my favourite things as a kid was scouring through Lincraft and Spotlight for materials to…read moresew cushion covers, finding puff paints to decorate my jumpers with and jewels for bedazzling and painting wooden photo frames. Yes we are talking the 80s people. Unfortunately it seems Lincraft has failed to catch up with the crafting movement and instead was shoved up in the forgotten Dazzleland of the Myer Centre. With one service counter you won't find service in the aisles and be prepared to wait, even on a quiet afternoon. Spotlight always won the battle over Lincraft prices but there is more of an organised and premium feel to the products and materials available here. I have been in here searching for special buttons, wool, boxes to paper mache before and always found something, but the range of material and slow/tumbleweed service is a huge downfall. BONUS STAR: Did you know Lincraft have awesome online YouTube tutorials for "how to" arm knit a scarf, scrapbook or mattress stitch? Some of the videos are pretty dated looking, but it does win a point in my book back for the store.

This store is mental. What is it? Where did it come from? Why?…read more I have actually never heard of this chain before, but apparently it is all the buzz overseas. There are a crazy amount of stores all over asia and now they are branching overseas. It has Chinese origin and is jam packed full of stuff. Yes, stuff. Lot's of stuff. I don't know where to begin? Stationary, mugs, slippers, bags, pillows, toys, scented sticks, jars, things... things.. and some stuff. There is also a whole section devoted to gigantic toys. You know the ones that you see at the Royal Show for prizes when you win alley games. Those ones. I think if you are looking for cool little jars and storage containers you might like a few things here. But, otherwise just be prepared to be overwhelmed with things. Actually, I know who will love this store. High school students. This is a store for kids that want cute little toys to hang off their school bags, cool stationary and shiny objects to decorate their rooms. Don't get me wrong, there are some cute things here. Like a whole lot of cute stationary items. Loved the note pads and pens. But then I saw a flower bouquet of rabbits and teddy bears. I mean, who wants that? But, in all honesty, you should probably go have a look. It's not like any other store in Adelaide.