Get your art on. Fun to explore the store and get inspired. Blick hires student workers, too, so a great way to support the arts in addition to buying supplies. Try a new project! read more

I approached a clerk, since I had two package of a specific size brass but need at least 10 packages. I ask the clerk if she had more in stock, her DRY response: "What you see on the shelve is what we have." I followed by asking if she could verify if other stores carried this specific size, which she agreed, I SHOULD NOT BE ASKING, A GOOD CLERK ALWAYS HELP THEIR COSTUMER FIND WHAT THEY NEED. By looking through the system, she realized that there was more then 10 packages in a box right over the brass section. IF THIS ISN'T LAZY ASS CUSTOMER SERVICE, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS. I also brought with me a tool which I had bought a few weeks prior. I was not satisfied with the product since the blade was dulling and braking. This is a product I have used in the past, boss and colleges uses the same product and I had never this tool deteriorate so quickly. I ask the clerk if they could replace the product. They refuse and blamed it on my use of the tool. I HAVE BEEN SPENDING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN YOUR STORE IN THE PAST YEARS. YOU CANT EVEN BE LOYAL TO YOUR COSTUMER? YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO LOOSE $20 TO REPLACE A BROKEN PRODUCT AND SATISFY YOUR COSTUMER? I WILL NEVER BE SHOPPING IN YOUR STORE . EVER AGAIN. INSTEAD OF LOOSING $20, YOU ARE LOOSING HUNDRED OF DOLLARS AND LOOSING MY RESPECT. POOR SERVICE. SHAME ON YOU. read more

Good selection. Good prices. Lots of art supplies. Prefer to shop online and this is my go to place read more

Every employee that has helped me has always gone above and beyond to make sure I buy the right products that I need. They also give great suggestions and ideas! read more

I really like this store. I always get the help and answers I need. The staff has always been helpful throughout the years. On one occasion, I sold an old artwork, but the stretcher bars warped. A staff member helped me with all the questions I had about replacing the stretcher bars. It worked out beautifully and I am really grateful! However, I hate how busy the shopping area is, especially exiting the parking lot on weekends. read more

Do you like art? Then creativity? Then you will like this place. You will be inspired by just walking in the door. My partner likes to paint and do charcoal drawing and woodcuts. It is not his profession but just a hobby or more a labor of love. This is always the best place to go to get a little surprise to surprise him or often I will buy his brithday or anniversary present there. The place is also filled with helpful people. I don't know much about art they always point me in the right direction though. I'm knocking off a star because I think it's epxensive but maybe its just me who doesnt have a conception of good art supplies from bad ;-) read more

--New employees start out upbeat and enthusiastic. They are helpful, then..... what happens? --The store is noisy. Definitely not a place to browse if you don't have earplugs or already have hearing loss. --Parking lot is the best things about the store. --Now Blick has a stake in Utrecht's and with Pearl Art Supply gone ...o dear! Less competition. read more

Friendly staff, very helpful, no hovering or hard sell. No complaints about Blick's at all. But let me repeat an earlier warning: IF YOU PARK A CAR THERE, DO NOT LEAVE THE LOT unless you are in a store attached to it. The signs in the lot are legally correct, but be sure to read the small print carefully. I didn't. Didn't know the policy until I came back from lunch and saw something posted in Blick's. Rushed out to the lot -- car booted, $140 to get it removed. Blick's is great. And I can understand the need to police the lot for freeloaders. But we spent over $70 in Blick's, which meant nothing to "CAR Parking Solutions LLC." We won't be back. read more

Great selection of art supplies and a friendly sales team. BEWARE though: if you park in their lot, DO NOT leave the shopping center. I learned the hard way that even if you shop at Blick or any of the other stores in the shopping center, if you step out of the lot, even for 5 minutes to grab coffee at the Starbucks across the street, you're putting yourself at risk for a $140 boot removal fee from some private parking management company. read more

Went here for some framing help . . .I'm not in the art biz, but folks are said they were very helpful. And I'm sure they are, in the art world, when the employees are within their comfort zone. But I learned that there's a big difference between polite/friendly and helpful. Employees were very polite, cheery and friendly. But they weren't terribly helpful. At the risk of sounding too Seinfeldian, they excelled at OFFERING to help, they just weren't really good at ACTUALLY HELPING. I needed some help with custom framing that I wanted to do myself, and that pretty much got met with blank stares and a vague referral to the custom framing department, with no assistance on what to do, how to do it, or what might look good when I did it myself. So I went to custom framing, where I learned that cutting a square in some matting would take 10 days to two weeks. So I purchased the off-the-rack stuff that they showed me (of course, as above, the cashier was FRIENDLY, making sure I found what I needed and when I said I hadn't, expressed what seemed to be real regret, but with no offer to help rectify that). So I went to Artist Frame Services on Clybourn, where helped me design the custom matting and framing, measured and advised, and then they cut it while I waited. And they had in stock much of the framing stuff I got at Blick, so I should have just gone there. read more

DO NOT GO HERE! HORRIBLE customer service and you get the boot n your car even if you do nothing wrong. I got booted because they said I left when I didn't. I showed them my receipt from Blick and they still made me pay. THIS PLACE IS A TOTAL SCAM! AVOID AT ALL COSTS! read more

I love Dick Blick. I especially love this one because it has a parking lot. I am usually standing in front of the Old Holland paint thinking of ways to pry open the locked cabinet and steal the $66 tubes of my dreams. The staff is friendly, they have the paint brands I like, good prices and they have the 29 pack of sharpie fine point markers. Its like getting a new big box of Crayolas but way better. My companion bought a drafting table there yesterday at an absolute steal and I managed to get some stuff for myself. The only bad thing is that this store is a sad reminder of how the total retail price of all the art supplies I've bought during and since college adds up to more than the price of my car. read more

all I can muster are bullet points: . expensive, predictable selection . slacker staff exist to be artsy, pierced furniture not to serve the customers read more

I used to love Blick for all their fine art supplies, but after I learned how they treat their staff I'll look elsewhere. I know firsthand they encourage lying to customers. Associates are expected to b.s. their way through a customers questions. There are some people there that are artists and know what they are talking about, but stay away from the managers, they have no artistic knowledge. They flat out lied about what a product does, and then gave me a very hard time (they called me a liar!) when I asked for a refund. They treat their staff badly, they treated me and a friend of mine badly, and i will not shop at that Blick. read more

Just walking through this store gets my (wannabe) creative juices flowing...start dreaming up more ideas and projects to start and eventually leave unfinished. Have also recently discovered their amazing collection of handmade and screen printed papers. So pretty, I am tempted to stray from Paper Source. Helps that the sales people are so nice too! Only wish that had more crafty supplies, but I guess they make their intentions clear with the store name. I've just gotta stop wanting it all. read more

I love this place. You can feel the creativity flowing through you as you walk in. When I walked in for the first time I felt like I walked into an art store from London. Plus the guy in the check out line was britsh so that pushed that feeling even more. They never asked me if I needed help but to me that's a good thing. I hate the feeling of people breathing down my throat. But I did ask for help and they answered some questions I had. All in all this is a great store and I can't wait to go back. I have found my art store in the city we call Chicago. read more

Me, my husband, and brother had a horrible experience. If I could give zero stars I would. There is an Old Navy across the parking lot so we had gone there before coming to the art store. We had bags because we had made purchases at the store. The second we walked in we were followed as though we were going to steal. Every single employee, and I mean every single employee, came to us. They followed us through the aisles, they walked past us to look into our bags, all the while not saying anything to us. This is racial profiling to a T. I was disgusted by the experience and I will never be going back over there. I've told all my friends and family to avoid the store too. I hope it spreads to all the people they know. What bothered me the most was there other people with Old Navy bags, because again it's across the parking lot, and they weren't harassed like we were. I'm no fool; I know why we were harassed and not "others." Blick is known for having quality art supplies and that was the whole reason for us coming in there. But we will be finding other art stores because I will not give Blick $1 of my money after the experience I had with them. They text book profile and clearly have no shame in doing so. read more

Decent selection of the regular art supplies, paints (oil, watercolor, and acrylic), canvas, sculpting, papers, pens, pencils, markers, etc. The prices are reasonable. They give a discount to students sometimes. Pearl has a better selection and usually better prices. read more

It's corporate and I love it. The staff is hit or miss, but I still love it. They do not carry every single art supply in the world, but whatever. There's a parking lot, a ton of frames, and it's a place I can get lost in. It's sort of a Target experience - I walk in to get a sketch pad and walk out $200 later. My new tactic is to make a list and find a staff member to hunt the stuff down for me. I haven't experienced any resistance from them when I do this, and on a couple of occassions I've even engaged in nice conversations about my projects and what the best supplies are for my budget. read more

Blick Design Center is the best printing and framing store in Chicago!!! The staff is very well knowledged and very friendly. I've been printing with them for over a year and I would never think twice about going anywhere else in the city. Very reasonable prices and they have a quick turn around on orders. I have never had any problems with the quality of their work. Furthermore, they have printed and stretched many canvases that have come out perfect for several projects of mine. They have a wide variety of fine art paper and frames to suit all your needs!!! Delly, Maira and Alex are the absolute best. The design staff team has an incredible knowledge of art in general which makes the process even more helpful! Please don't think twice about going anywhere else. If you want the best, go to the best. You will not be disappointed! They are the best! read more

Yess! Blick is amazing. They have everything, the staff is super helpful, the store is clean and easy to manage. I think the one downtown is bigger, but no matter I always find what I need and more at this location. Plus they have a parking lot. read more

Yeah yeah you should probably go to the local mom and pop store in your neighborhood. However, when you have a 5 page list of crap and plan on cleaning the place out it just doesn't make sense. Anyway, any time I've come here I've always had a giant list. I'm getting used to where things are, but the staff is RIDICULOUSLY helpful. I really can't say enough there. Guy with the beard, I'm terribly sorry to watch you move pallets of paper up and down a ladder so I could get the one on the bottom for what seemed like a long time.... even though you didn't complain at all. On a side note, they have Kokeshi doll wrapping paper here. read more

I could easily get lost in this store. The sales people are really nice as well and leave you alone unless you ask them questions, which is wonderful. read more

This store should take action to change the practices of their parking attendants. I went to two stores in this plaza. I had a fussy one year old with me and needed to go to a store across the street. Rather than battle my daughter into the car, we walked to the other store. We came back to our car booted and had no choice but to pay $170. The guy said he saw us go to the two shops and then walk away. I asked him why he didn't say something and he said he wasn't his job. I respect the right of these shops to protect the parking lot, but you don't need to extort your customers. The attendant could have the decency to say something. This would still allow the stores to free up the parking spot if they really feel that is important. By the way, the lot was no where near full. I used the lot for its purpose and visited two stores in the plaza. If Blick Art thinks it's okay to treat customers that way, I have no interest in buying anything from this company. read more

I don't care if this place is overpriced, all the art materials I ever wanted sans glass cutter is in one place and I could't be happier. Students get a discount and the staff is really helpful. I try not to go here too often or else I'll just have a bunch of craft/art supplies that I won't use for awhile. read more

Although others are larger with probably better supplies, this is my favorite art supply store in the city. Super convenient to shop, a very large parking lot directly in front and some helpful and knowledgable artists/sales associates ready to help with your project. I love their canvas sales in the fall (or whenever they are) and I stock up on the museum quality. A true artist haven. I have never walked out empty handed. read more

Sometimes there's nothing like wandering through an art store - and this one's a big one with almost anything you would need - to juice up your creativity. The staff I've encountered have been friendly and informative. And I appreciated that they didn't hassle me when I took my time looking around. I used to go to this very store simply to generate ideas. However, when I actually started to buy large quantities of mats, x-boards and frames for my photography, I found much better prices (almost HALF off) on their website. And I received my stuff within two days. (Free Fedex shipping over $200.) I was very impressed. read more

What a great place. They go out-of-the-way to help. Store manager Wil has fantastic customer service skills. You would think he owned the place. Well played Blick read more

Dwayne helped me find everything I needed, and they gave me a discount because I'm a student! I felt like I had a great experience and was helped promptly and excellently. Thank you, Dwayne! read more

The most important thing about Blick is its stock. I always find what I need for myself or one of my art class needs. Here's the beauty part: you can find things you didn't know you needed. Prices are reasonable or better if you are a student or teacher. The help is, well..helpful! There seems to be always someone who knows the answer to your questions. The manager, Anne, is very helpful and knows how to get things done. It's always a pleasure to shop there. read more

This place is great to hit up for painting needs and some scrapbooking ideas and crafts. Customer service here is excellent - great place in the city to hit up for art supplies. read more

Suhweet. I just went here for the first time the other day and I love this store. It has everything from kids crafts to a really great selection of pens, brushes and even silkscreening supplies. I went to art school in Florida and I seriously wish I had this store at my disposal then! Yes, the materials are expensive but that's because most of the things you can find in this store are pretty high quality. Every time I want to get inspired, I'll be coming to this store from now on! read more

life without blick: wake up, go to work, come home, watch tv, go to bed, repeat. life with blick: wake up, go to work, go to blick, get inspired, buy millions of things for trillions of projects, create, go to bed too late, wake up refreshed and excited by color, pattern, texture, and all things artsy. repeat. (one star off for priciness) read more

The staff helped me get the stuff I needed to start painting again. He seemed enthusiastic and was quite patient. Since, it has been over 10 years, he had to remind of all the stuff I needed and also pointed me into the right direction. He seemed to know what selections were worth paying more and where to save. Thanks! read more

I'm not an artist, but was shopping for a gift for a friend who is a painter. Zach helped me and he was incredibly helpful. He walked me around the store and helped me put together a grab bag of painting supplies for my friend. Showed me the range of pricing, quality and then made specific recommendations. He made the whole shopping experience very easy and quite pleasant. read more

I'd never been in but when I had a whole weekend with 3 little girls (ages 7, 9, 11) Blick was my savior! We stopped in Saturday afternoon, picked up a few crafts and the rest of the day was filled with gluing, glittering and laughter. The store was clean, well-light (I hate bad lighting) and everyone was super helpful! Bless you Blick, bless you! read more

I haven't created any kind of art project in over 7 years. So I stop in Blick not really knowing what to expect and walk out with a ton of stuff. It was nice to see there was a decent selection varying in styles and price (for just about anything). Got an oil pastel set for $10 and was able to test them out first. Staff was very friendly too. Some of it I didn't understand but they were able to explain what goes with which and which type of what to get. Also: they have gifts. As in GIANT sidewalk chalk and sushi magnets. read more

Maira, manager of the custom framing department, is really great. I had a slight problem with my order but she took care of it immediately. Love going to Blick! read more

I like its layout better than the Loop store really -- it doesn't feel cramped, just very spread out, with high cielings and a lot of employees about to help you out, which is nice. As with any Blick though, it's expensive and prices can be ambiguous. Also more than a little miffed that they don't have a bike rack ANYWHERE. More than a little miffed. read more

This is specific to the framing/printing part of this store. I love shopping at Blick for art supplies but will never use their printing service again. Quality of print: Decent. I'm not sold on the brand of paper they use or the Epson machine they use to print. Better results can be found online. Files must be in tiff format and in AdobeRGB. High resolutions are wasted here since the Epson they use has a max input resolution of 360dpi. Moreover, the computer they use to import the file can barely handle the program they use to open it. It also lacks disk space to handle anything higher the 20Mb or so. Turn around: I came in on a Thursday and they said my single 16x20 print would be done Tuesday. This turn around time is actually longer than my usual online printer if I choose next day delivery. Moreover, the machine wasn't running the few times I came in for other reasons. This makes me wonder what the real reason for such a long delay was since they obviously weren't swamped. Price: The price for a print is insane. If you are a competent photographer and decent post processor then you can easily get your prints from reputable online printers that specialize in photo prints. I only used Blick because I needed a large format print done quickly. With shipping, almost every online company specializing in professional photography will be half as much. People: This was the worst part. When I went in, the desk was occupied and only had one person working it. He took my name and said he would call me over the intercom when the desk was free and he could take my order. I walked around and 30 minutes later I wandered back over to the desk. He was in the back portion laughing with a coworker then came out, saw me, and went about tidying up the space. When I asked if I should come back later he said sure. When I asked when a good time to come when he wasn't busy would be, it finally clicked in him that he had forgotten I was waiting. He was apologetic but still, I had lost a fair chunk of time. Furthermore, the manger for that section was very dismissive. She didn't even have a hint of customer service. As a first time shopper in this area, good customer service alone could have earned my trust. read more