My girlfriend is a designer/artist (I believe there is a subtle difference) which inadvertently makes me a design critique and art supply carry horse. After traversing London and trying out London Graphic Centre and Atlantis for supplies, it was now the turn of Cass Arts to be scrutinised for inexpensive quality goods. We ventured to the flagship store in Islington which is laid out over three artsy feeling floors. First thing is that Cass Arts is the cheapest out of the three major art stores due to the sheer amount of deals and offers they run. They have good quality easels starting from £10.95, all manner of writing, drawing, painting implements and the parchment to decorate starting from less than a pound. For sheer range of product although impressive, they do not quite reach the dizzy heights of London Graphic Centre or Atlantis. The Islington store is new and not only claims to be the biggest store in Cass Arts portfolio but the largest arts store in London. Hmmm! Whether this is true is debatable. The Islington branch seems to have made a healthy start with helpful staff and stunning discounts. I also applaud their drive to encourage younger Londoners to explore their artistic selves by offering them free art goody bags. read more

Cass Art - Art Supplies Near Me - London, XGL

This is Cass Art's flagship store, and 'London largest art store' spanning over 3 floors in a converted warehouse building. This particular shop in Islington is very well designed, and with lots of airy space. It is also off Essex road, tucked in a much quieter street which makes the shopping experience slightly merrier. The unfortunate thing with most art products is that they can be expensive, especially for struggling students who wont necessarily be able to afford. Cass Art prides themselves with the best materials and the best prices. And even better if you're a student as you can get a card which entitles you to 15% off on most products. There are also always special offers about where a decent selection of products are slashed down to half price. Each of their central London shops holds over an impressive 20, 000 good quality art products. They are a shop which 'believe in art' and you have a strong sense of that as soon as you enter the shop. This is reflected from how everything is laid out, the attentiveness to the products they have, and their staff, who are all extremely knowledgeable with art and all seem to hold a passion for it. A highly reliable store which never seems to let you down! read more

Cass Art - Art Supplies Near Me - London, XGL

This shop has everything you could possibly want in the way of art and craft supplies. Well, expect for an A4 envelope that is. Three members of staff mounted a search for me but unfortunately their efforts were fruitless. Nonetheless, this demonstrates how lovely and attentive the staff are. I've watched them spend ages with individual customers, talking them through paper thickness' and charcoals. Not being the arty type myself I'm mostly interested in the basement level which holds all manner of glitter glue and pipe cleaners. Call these toys for kids if you must but I love them and think that they are perfect for customising birthday cards. One of the sale's assistants agreed with me and we had a long chat about the addition that googly eyes make to a card and whether it was more fun or scary for the recipient. This down to earth sales technique makes Cass a great place to come, even if you are as naive about art as me! Staff are friendly, prices are reasonable and there really is something that everyone will like. read more

Cass Art - Art Supplies Near Me - London, XGL

One of the cheapest art stores in London, and this is the flagship-mother-of-them-all. Really friendly and helpful staff- if you can't find something you need in the store they're guaranteed to have a good suggestion of where else you might obtain it. Excellent student discounts (15%!) just ask in store, and check out the paper cards they shove in your bag with any purchase, often great deals are to be discovered (just got a 2 for 1 Whitechapel Gallery offer) so look before throwing away! Top floor has 101 types of paper pads and sketch books as well as specialist papers. Middle floor (on to which one enters the store) is a mixture of paints, pens, brushes and various other artsits tools. In the basement is kiddy-fun stuff, stencils, architectural modelling materials, rulers, cutting knives, decoupage, patterned papers, ink pads and stamps. And much much more of course. If, like myself you could easily lose half a day trawling through the wonders of an art store leave ample time for your exploring, there will be many wonderful discoveries! read more

Cass Art is a big, warehouse style art supplier. It was recommended to me by a friend at the start of the year, and has since become my favorite art store. The good thing about going to Cass, as opposed to a smaller art supplier, is the prices. Not only is everything quite well priced already, they also have little bargain bins full of paints, and sets of 3 canvases for a ridiculously discounted price. The top floor is canvas land, with just about any size you could ask for. And don't be afraid to ask, I have always had a really good experience with the staff there. read more

Cass Arts London HQ only misses out on a five star rating from yours truly because I recently discovered Atlantis Arts in Whitechapel, where the range is slightly bigger, slightly cheaper and ever-so-slightly less branded. But that's not taking much away from Cass, which consistently tempts me to break my overdraft every time I slip through it's front doors. Everything is here for the artist, the wannabe and the casual still-lifer. There are professional Pantone pen sets, frames and canvases large and small, gift ideas, and every conceivable type of pencil, paintbrush, stencil and scalpel. Plus, the shop always seem to find an excuse to throw a 75% discount sale - fine by me!! read more

Cass Art - Art Supplies Near Me - London, XGL

See all

This is the flagship store of this large arts supply shop, set in an old warehouse near Angel tube station. And it is huge! They have a wide selection of materials, with a specialist framing service available too. The best thing about CASS is that they always seem to have sales on. Amazing sales too, at all times. half price tins of paint, they also have a great fabric dye and paint section. If you're an artist, of fancy saving yourself some money and making presents and cards for people in these hard times, hot foot it to Cass and unleash your inner Art Attack. read more

Hidden away on a side street it might be hard to find the first time but I never forget that it's there when I walk by. I always have to go in to see what sales are on. There's an artsy fartsy floor and a basement full of fun craft/hobby supplies and age appropriate craft kits (funny enough I've never been upstairs...sorry about that). I can't help but find something that I've always wanted to try my hand at downstairs. They have a %15 student discount card that you can apply for and use if the item isn't already on sale. I love perusing art stores. I like this art store a lot. read more

This is a handy art supplies shop selling a wide range of products for all your creative needs. The range is perhaps not as extensive as other art shops, but decent enough and the staff go out of their way to help (even when it means recommending another art shop). Their prices are more reasonable than you would expect, so all in all a good little shop! read more

Full of offers for newbies and cheap quality material for pros, is like heaven on earth for art lovers. They have a huge variety of stuff and brands, the staff is really nice and helpful and the smell of paper is delicious. You can let your inner kid loose in the lower floor full of super cool stuff and books for kids. read more

Dear Mark As CEO I think you might wish to know below, which runs counter to your stated ethos of democratising art I was in your Islington shop Friday for a last minute urgent purchase. It was for a speedball silkscreen kit £49.99, which I needed for Saturday for a community event I do for free for local kids. I had a very unpleasant experience at the till. First there was two similar products, I took to the till and ask for the difference. Your staff cannot tell the difference, so initially he made up to say one is for fabric and the other for paper. I questioned further, seeing that they look very much similar and it was not stated on the box. He then retracted and say they are actually the same screen, one package with ink included, for the same price! I would have been mis-sold if I did not question your staff un-informed response. Then I was told that the 10% reward for joining the card scheme cannot be granted until after 24 hours - this was not told to me when I visited last time, when I had spent over £100! At this point my purchase was taken away, and I was asked to wait for a manager The manager told me to come back in 24 hours, or buy online and wait 3-5 working days for the discount, which, given that I have already explained for the urgent purchase, I cannot possibly oblige. I was in store, in front of the till, ready to pay, yet your manager told me to come back in 3-5 days. Is that helpful to customer or conducive to customer retention .... or democratising art ? Your manager was rude, abrupt and told me her name as well. but I cannot remember... I had a good experience last time, where I spent over £100. This time, being a repeat customer, not so much I had also just noticed that after registering for the reward scheme the 10% offer was for a limited time. If I knew I would not have register so soon as I wish to plan my purchases in time with the scheme then read more

Cass Arts is the place to go for discount supplies. As a design student, I frequent the art stores almost daily and have a soft spot for just about anything that I haven't heard of before. On my first visit to Cass, it was the markers that drew me in. I had been reading about the media standard for markers and how it's a big deal what brand you use. Every Tom, Dick and Harry appears to have a theory about why their favourite is the best. In any case, I dragged Leon C. through the experience of choosing and settled on a Tombow creative collection that was conveniently half price. I had, of course, tested the colours on the back of my hand and looked like a palette by the time a smiling store clerk brought me a testing pad. The store offers many price cuts, my entire basket was full of discounts (which may be a trick to make me buy more) but it was definitely a deal. Cass Arts paper selection could be a little wealthier but their sketchbooks are good quality and cheaper than anywhere else I've seen. They have a student discount but only on regularly marked goods. My favourite was of course the eco-friendly bag. It's great advertising for them and it now carries my library books! read more

Another strange place, I just happened to walk into, while looking for a local cafe. There are many art material stores in London, but either very pricy or useless. This once is quite fantastic. They have a lot of stuff and much of it is discounted. London Graphic Centre might possibly have a better selection of stuff, sometimes, but Cass Art has better prices happens to be in my neighbourhood. read more

Great shop offering a wide range of specialist art stuff for arty designer types. They sell a very competent range of stuff for canvas and paint monkeys and offer some good discounts. And with north London almost entirely populated by creatives wanting to really express their true creativity they should do well in this design epicenter. On a less loaded tone they have a kids art section which I thinks a great idea. They sell graph paper for retentive types like me and the staff have a sense of humour. Good good. read more

They have every type of art supply you could ever want, and everything is all organized and nice. I like it here because it makes me feel artistic when I buy paint or whatever. They have spray on snow for the holidays - cute! read more

My go-to art place. Have nearly everything you can think of and more! Three floors of things that you didn't know you wanted to buy! That can be dangerous, but I also find they have the best prices around. There is even a kids' space downstairs for them to play at. Staff are exceptionally knowledgeable and just generally love arts and crafts. read more

Nice helpful staff, and the best if you're looking for cheap but good quality art materials.Their products range from paint in every colour known to man, to the largest collection of sketch pads in the world. read more

Extremely helpful and lovely staff, great selection of products - not too many that it's overwhelming but still a good amount. And rewards program is fantastic, £10 for every £100, and doesn't need to be in one purchase! Wish we had on in the US...or wish they'd ship here. Can't wait to go back! read more

If you're looking for an affordable place to fuel your creativity, you should definitely give Cass a try - especially this one as it's their flagship store and has the biggest range. I'm in my third and final year of an Animation Arts degree and their reduced prices have been a lifesaver. read more

Bring your kids here, a real goldmine. mind the steps though, hard work with a buggy.

CAREFUL HOW YOU HANDLE THE PRODUCTS OR YOU MAY BE SCOLDED!!! Until today I have been a happy Cass customer and bought many products from them over many years. However, this afternoon I was given a telling off by the assistant for opening the polythene packaging of a portfolio case (very carefully using the seal) for closer inspection. As it was an expensive item, without any label and I wanted to check if it had ring clips inside and to get a feel for the handle, I couldn't find an assistant to help and there wasn't a demo on display. I assumed they had a shrink wrap machine in the back or I could put it back into the wrap as I had opened it carefully. I must point out here, this was no special packaging. So when I went to pay for it, the assistant started telling me off! Apparently, Cass loose thousands of pounds each year because of 'people like me', as they cannot sell it after it has been opened. The manager said that they had signs up to say don't open, but I couldn't find them when I went back to look. Surely Cass should implement the policy of 'don't open' more sensitively. If a customer opens something, it is their fault for not displaying the signs properly. Or they should have more demo products for people to handle. It is quite important to do this when buying an item such as a portfolio. I apologised for opening it but still the girl went on. Then I thought, what am I doing here?! Why do I feel so bad?! In a SHOP! I won't be shopping at Cass anymore. I used to work in a shop as a student, and under no circumstances were we to speak to a customer like that. Times must have changed and shops like Cass don't value the people who visit their stores. read more

never order something online!!! worst service ever , they cancelled my order , the money was taken from my card plus I haven't received my money back .. Costumer services are not helpful at all . I regret the moment I did my purchase online read more

I love this store! I enjoy hanging out in art supply stores as a general rule, but Cass is particularly enjoyable. The staff are lovely and helpful, the merchandise is incredibly affordable and of very good quality. Highly recommended for serious artists, casual doodlers and mums with bored children (the bottom floor is all kids stuff and crafts). read more

I wouldnt say that Cass Art is one of the cheapest art stores anymore. they used to have good deals, but now they've put their prices up so high. you think that the 15% student discount makes it cheaper, however, they have increased their prices so much that the discount doesnt really make anything very cheap at all. read more

The Apple store of the art world - I love going here. Friendly, youthful staff with good product knowledge and usually have what I'm looking for. read more