This lovely old-style arts shop is one of my favourite in Bristol. Cheap, cheerful and stocked to…read morethe brim with useful arty essentials. It reminds me of when I studied at Art College - smell of acrylics, hard to manoeuvre around and filled with brushes, paints and canvases. The staff are very warm and welcoming, so if there's something specific you're looking for - they'll be happy to help. Quite far from the city centre, but great for locals to Gloucester Road.

Great little art supply shop best visited for their canvas which is always on offer and with plenty…read moreof choice on sizes and styles. The shop is in that lovely higgledy piggledy style that all art shops should have, and packed with ll the pens, pencils and paints you need.

What a lovely little art supplies shop, with very reasonable prices. It's not like painting has…read moreever been a particularly cheap hobby or profession, but this shop makes it a little easier. They have half price canvases and a few pounds of various items here and there. The owner is a lovely Yorkshire Man (probably, he's defiantly northern), as the best people tend to be, and we had a very helpful chat about painting with oil instead of acrylic or watercolour and they sell everything you'll need to get you started or carry on painting with oil if you do that sort of thing, show off. This is a professional standard art supplies shop and one of the cheapest I have seen in town, so I will definitely use them again. It is independently owned by people who clearly care about what they sell and actually use it and this is reflected in the products they have in stock and advice they'll give you on what to purchase. They also give away free boxes to help you move house or build forts in your living room.

This is a fairly small shop which is well-stocked for all the paper, card, tissue paper and felt…read morepaper you need. I wanted to make my own Valentine's Day card and made it all for less than £2. I bought 10 sheets on coloured paper, including red and pink, coloured felt tip pens, felt paper and a pack of coloured tissue paper to make my card. For a really keen craft enthusiast, they may be disappointed with what they may deem a lack of material. However, for making cards or anything like that, this shop is brilliant for the arts and crafts amateur.

I'm a sucker for arts & crafts and creativity in general and Craft Works ticks all the boxes. This…read moreshop is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and one of the best in Bristol if you discount the likes of Hobbycraft. From the outside you might be forgiven for thinking this is a frivolous, girly shop for bored housewives and old ladies but oh how wrong you would be! There is a large selection of sketchbooks, drawing paper, paintbrushes and Daler-Rowney paints - all essential for art students and established artists alike. The store itself is lined with cards and displays that have been created using products from the shop, such as decopache kits, rubber stamps, ink and stencils. The only thing that limits the possibilities of the products in this shop is your own imagination. Price are reasonable and there is also a framing department at the back of the shop where you can take in your masterpieces to hang with pride.

Craft Works is probably the largest shop of its kind in Bristol. Stocking everything you can…read moreimagine, (and then some), for those with handicrafts in mind. Reasonably priced with knowledgeable staff on hand to explain what everything is for, Craft Works is creativity made easy. They even host workshops in the evening. They also stock resources for those of us who can't quite decide what hobby would suit us best, or for those of us that would like to be a bit more creative but aren't exactly sure how. A full range of magazines is available with comprehensive advice on hand. And just for the record: I'm in the market for a knitted toilet roll cover with a Cindy-type doll miraculously emerging from the middle. There's a commission in for anybody who can master the skills required to make one. I'd like it in shocking pink. Get enrolling now!

Now, I'm going to say 'hand woodworking tools' to you and I'm guessing 90 per cent of you are going…read moreto click elsew.... hey! Well hi there 10 per cent of you, I can see you have perked up a little. If you know of this shop then you will be having a far-away dreamy look in your eyes right about now and if you didn't then you're checking your watch and wondering where to park nearby. Yes, a whole shop of hand tools: gauges, mallets, chisels... including lots of vintage tools for very cheap prices as well as brand new ones. The staff (I feel I should use the word 'proprietor' here) are very very helpful and alway gleeful verging on surprised that other people like to chip bits of wood from a large block of wood. There's a lot of us about, be proud.

Bristol Design is a fantastic shop. It has everything you could ever need for your DIY redesign of…read moreyour kitchen to hanging up a picture. In my case it was the latter that needed doing and I had no idea how to go about it. The staff in here were extremely helpful and were easily able to point me in the right direction as far as picture hooks go. Now that I know what I need, I would probably go to Wilkinson's as it's a lot cheaper but for something a bit more complicated then it's definitely worth a trip here.

Since I was a teenager I have loved the Paperchase chain. Their quirky stationary, their…read morebeautifully designed wrapping paper and their comical cards makes them my number one choice when it comes to birthday, Christmases and Bar mitzvahs. But what I love most about the Clifton branch is how they go to town on their window displays. Situated on the edge of Clifton Triangle, their fairy lights and neon signs shine out from the sea of bland and beige. Paperchase have stayed true to their vision of offering top-end design at a high street price which is why this small shop is always packed to the rafters whenever I go in.

After the demise of Boarders the place to buy Paperchase products narrowed to just House of Fraser…read moreuntil this dedicated store opened up on the Triangle, just a few doors down from where Boarders used to be. I'm a sucker for stationary anyway but Paperchase makes the experience of buying birthday cards or wrapping paper way more fun. The choice of cards and paper in this store is huge - way bigger than in a department store concession, although it can be a little on the pricey side. Having said that, if you like something like a diary or notepad it is worth waiting a few weeks as the sales here are fantastic, with products often being reduced by more than 50%. The travel journals and notebooks are a particularly nice way of showcasing a trip or holiday, though these are not often in the sale.

Southville is such a great little area in Bristol and it just got better! Recent addition Paper…read moreVillage is a gem for everyone. Its appeal to crafters is obvious but it also offers so much more than your average shop. get making with courses of all kinds such as t-shirt design and sewing, interesting items for sale including little fun things for all the family. Owner Vic is very helpful and brightens up your day as much as the shimmer and sparkle that can be found in this aladdins cave!

dj fak says this a fab shop and a lovely experience. you will will leave with a smile on your face.read more

This brings it all back! I remember the days when a 7UP pencil cas was a must have, when if you…read moredidn't have an earaser and corrector pen you were nobody, and when your rubber was a statement of your personality! What a hayday of stationary, and when you speak about your stationary past to your friends you all seem to share that glint of pleasure in your eye... wonderful! Stationary world is a more adult version of those wonderful childhood experiences, you can get some fantastic artistic materials, like mini canvases, binded drawing books and a wide array of paintbrushes. But have no fear, if you head in there are still many things your inner child will appreciate!

Back in the day when the first week of September was set aside for being measured for school…read moreuniforms and buying a new cartridge pen, my childhood self would often be found in Stationary World. But that was over 10 years ago and with the increase of Paperchases, Whsmiths and Scribblers I thought my much loved stationers would be just a distant memory. That was until I came across this little beauty on Park Street. As soon as I walked in I was taken back my school days, where having a cool pencil case was extremely important and buying glitter pens was considered to be very chic. I loved the fact that it was exactly how I remembered it - full to the brim of watercolour palates, colour pencils and sketch pads. All their items are reasonably priced for the quality, but are probably a bit higher than the average high-street stationers. I'm pleased it's still going strong for future generations. But sadly, I'd probably pop along to Paperchase to pick up my stationary these days.

I don't know what it is about art shops that make me want to spend all my money, sack off my job,…read moregrow a goatee and start painting again! Do one rent, sod you bills, who needs money! And this shop is no exception. I went in today for some more practical bits & pieces and didn't think I would find anything useful at a reasonable price (for some reason this shop has a reputation for being quite pricey) but I was very pleasantly surprised, not only did I find a great selection of the sketch books I was looking for, but the prices were very reasonable and I bought a pen. If it is possible the man who served me was too helpful. I mean as I walked in the front door the sales assistant was stood right in front of it and asked if he could help, which is fine, I said I was just looking, then he asked again and sometimes, especially in lovely little art shops, you just want to potter around looking at all the bits & bobs. Nevertheless he was very friendly and being helpful isn't a crime.

Bristol Fine Art is a one of those really good shops that i probably have walked past a hundred…read moretimes without realising it was there. I first noticed it when we were in the 2 hour queue for the Banksy Exhibition . We were feeling creative and wanted to try out our graffiti skills so went in search of somewhere that sold Spray Paint. Weirdly Bristol Fine Art didn't sell any which was disappointing, nonetheless we had a snoop around and they sold some really great arty stuff. Prices were pretty reasonable and I have since noticed that they have started to stock spray paint. A great shop to pop into for any arty things, but also for some great gifts as they sell crafts too.

You might have seen the warehouse next to the organic supermarket in St Werburgh's and wondered…read morewhat it was. Behind the doors is a fiesta of paper and fur fabric and bright bits of card. A scrap warehouse charity where people donate all sorts of bits and bobs of craft resources for local schools and youth groups to utilise. You need to sign up for a membership card to shop at Artrageous, but if you have an NUS card you can sign up. Pick up some bargains - perfect for theatre groups, art projects or even a fancy dress party! Despite not being a student, I recently helped out at a local festival, so was allowed to buy some resourses from the warehouse. It is a gigantic treasure trove of foam, plastic pots, tubes and tubs, netting, fabric, books, CDs and a whole load of oddities. I even discovered a job lot of fake Christmas trees and fake fur jackets somewhere in the depths of the place! The suggested donation for a trolley of scrap is only £13.25 - that can get you a whole lot of fun. The best thing about this colourful wonderland is that all profits from Artrageous go back to the children's charity.

There's a little corner in St Werburghs where there's a higher than normal level of wholesome…read morenutritious energy buzzing out the foundations. Downstairs is the Organic Supermarket bashing out more than enough delicious and healthy meals and food stuffs (check out previous Yelpers' reviews). Upstairs is this place, an outrageously extravagant art store. The by-line is 'art and crafts for all' and this is a claim easily reached. Once inside expect to find all the materials that you would actually use if you were an artist or craftsman. That is to say, don't expect the cellophane wrapped tools and items from a high street store - but rather the raw materials in the basic form. Big tubs of PVA glue, blank masks for painting, wire framed sculpture sets and big packets of clay and modelling putty are a few examples. Face paints, colourful chalk and internal mechanisms for various models are on hand for the serious artist. For those a little less keen there's a good kids section for musical instruments, bouncing balls and finger puppets. With a big car park and an adjoining scrap store this is a perfect one stop for all your creative and artistic needs.