Katie is an outstanding employee here. She assisted me with finding the items that were necessary…read moreto complete my intended tasks. The selection was a bit limited and the simple items I purchased were quite expensive. I appreciate the store hours though, being that they owned at 9am. I would visit this location again if necessary.

What is happening to Michaels? I accepted that all the…read moresmaller Mom & Pops art supplies stores have been overtaken by Michaels & that quality arts & crafts are no longer available to buy locally, but now it seems like Michaels has done something crazy. I filled up my cart today with hundreds of $$$ of supplies - as I tend to do once or twice a year... and headed to the check-out. There were a group of 5 employees chatting about life behind the registers, but none of them were helping customers check out. It was 100% self-checkout. I am handicapped & asked for help, but they all told me they were not allowed to help any customers check out unless the customer was paying in cash. I was surprised. I went ahead and paid for everything, then asked for a bag - which they always supplied to shoppers in the past. I would definitely need a bag to take everything in my cart with me to my car. They told me that they don't have any bags for customers any more. I asked if I could pay for a bag & they said they didn't have any bags - they girl just said "We're Out!". I was just shocked at the lack of customer service and this new policy where they are not allowed to help any customers. I will also add that when I first arrived at the store, I asked three different employees where a product was that I was looking to purchase. They all said, "Oh yeah, we carry that", just look around the back corner".. or they would point "just go in that direction". I never found the product & got tired of asking the employees who seemed to make it their 'job' to not help anyone. The only people who seemed to have any sense were the two women in the framing department. They actually were kind & professional & wanted to help me find the product I was looking for, but they did not know where the product was, nor if the store carried it because they were just focused on framing art and photos. All the employees were polite when they talked to me, all friendly conversations. I really blame the corporation - as it seems that they do not care for their employees. When cashiers are replaced by customers doing their own 'check out', they will soon no longer hire cashiers/employees, and the current employees will lose their jobs. I see this happening everywhere & the unemployment rate is climbing along with the price of basic food, etc.. shame on Michaels. I will be looking to find another arts & crafts store. Very disappointed. I wonder if all the Michaels stores have this new policy of not helping customers - even handicapped customers with checkout? Also - no bags? They could have put a sign at the front of the building announcing that customers need to bring their own bags - but no - they just embarrass customers by letting them find out after they have filled their shopping carts & paid for a zillion items & have no way to bring them out of the store. I woudn't be surprised if the next time I walked in there, the only employees were a couple AI robots.

Great collection of art supplies, fabric, yarn, office supplies, teachers classroom materials,…read moretoys, books and jewelry. The staff are very helpful, just ask for what you are looking for and if they have it they will find it. Please review donation guidelines before packaging up you things, sometimes they are overstocked in certain items and they give a detailed list just like other thrifts do. Also, you can call and talk to the donation supervisor to make special arrangements.

THE Place for materials for Bay Area Artists & Teachers!…read more Everything creative, at rock-bottom prices. Stock changes briskly!

I first learned about Jered's Pottery when I had dinner at Rich Table. I make pottery myself so I…read morehave a habit of checking the bottoms of tableware when I dine out. Jered's name was on the bottom of all the pieces and they were all great! I finally had a chance to go visit Jered's Pottery myself and picked up a few pieces to take home. I even got to say hi to Jered and tour his studio. They make all of their clay and glazes in house. I got to see some in progress pieces including parts of a cool hand built sculptural boxed wall art installation. Highly recommend visiting if you're looking for functional pieces for your home!

Great pottery in the neighborhood. They have a big collection and a variety of stuff you would…read morefind. Some of them get sold to bigger brands such as Restoration Hardware so the designs are quite familiar. You can buy those items here that were rejected by such big brands for really minute flaws that I hardly ever noticed. The finish is great in the products. We got a chance to take a look in to their crafting area and it was huge! They had so many unique items that I wanted to buy all of them. They also host team building activities or private sessions for folks interested in learning the art.

I went in with no intention of buying anything. But knowing I would spend money. I have a…read morecompulsion of spending money at craft stores, but can't help myself. I've never been here before, and just wanted to check it out. There was a great selection of pens, markers, pencils, paper. Jelly cats lol I had been wanting a fountain pen for a long time but never bought one. Perfect timing I guess? The JT? TJ? Super knowledgeable about the products on hand, and even the ones they didn't have on hand. I'm excited for the Lamy pen, and sailor ink I purchased. The price of the pen was comparable to what I've seen online, so I'm glad I was able to shop local. I also ended up getting some cute stickers and washi tape.

Got an email that the Oakland location will close soon. Stopped by to get pen refills for my…read moreforeign pens. Cruised around the store, picked up a few calligraphy pens and a 2026 calendar. The pen Manager explained the specific refills in detail. Bonus, she wrote down the details of each model on the back of her business card. She was very helpful and detailed oriented and a pleasure to converse with. We'll definitely miss Flax, but in the meantime, we'll make sure all of the items we need, we get 'em here. The staff that we interacted with were friendly, professional and very helpful. Super bonus = off-street parking lot in rear of store

Took two great sewing classes so far and can't wait to take more. This is a great business.read more

I have had several quilts quilted by Hello Stitch. They are helpful and do high quality work.read more

Very cute store in cool area of Oakland. The have a variety art supplies, books, and stationary for…read morekids. Perfect to find gifts and school supplies.

From the owner: Drawling is your one stop shop for artful all-ages gifting! Not your typical toy store, everything…read morein the shop is curated to enable creativity in some way. We have art supplies, craft kits, fun gadgets, notebooks, pencils and pens, a selection of beautifully illustrated kids books and so much more!

I love blick. this location is great in particular and in a great spot. I like how they said "good…read moreluck on your project" when I checked out. I really needed that luck

They have everything one needs to complete their artistic endeavors. I use acrylic paints…read more Obviously much easier to use than oil paints. And, they have every color imaginable. I also appreciate their sales force. Their associates are very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Don't need to look anywhere else.

Incredible selection of colors, fibers, lengths, weights! They have local brands and brands from…read morearound the world. A comprehensive browse of the offerings would probably take an afternoon. The staff member was friendly and helpful. Outside of yarn and tools, they have a lot of fun knick knacks, purses, handmade items, crafting kits, kid-friendly crafts and toys.

I visited ImagiKnit in San Francisco many years ago and was thoroughly impressed with their huge…read moreyarn selection. Yesterday I visited their new-ish location in Berkeley and once again was impressed. It's a fairly large space (for a yarn shop) and in addition to yarn they offer lots of books, bags, and accessories, including craft items for kids. Their yarn selection doesn't seem to be as large and varied as the one in their SF location, but I could be remembering wrong. The shop was very busy on this Saturday afternoon. It was the end of the 2025 Bay Area Yarn Crawl, so they were offering door prizes and free homemade cookies. My sister won a prize of two skeins of Cascade yarn, a bag, a couple patterns, and a sticker. It was also fun visiting the cute neighboring shops on College Ave. and having lunch across the street at In the Wood. Don't forget to pay for street parking with a credit card; there aren't any signs to let you know it's required.

This is my second time coming by to get my waist beads done here! I am so happy to have my new…read morebeads added they just added to the cuteness of my old beads! I'm loving these! I even had enough left over for an anklet! I really love this new location I have not been back since they moved from their Bay Street location 2 years ago. I am going to have to come back again now that they have better parking which makes it easier for me to want to shop around! The prices are very reasonable and the customer service is top notch!!

Thank you Mohamed! Mali owned and operated! First time going to this store and learned a bit about…read morethe culture, the history and origins of this location. Bought a dashiki and some accessories and will definitely be coming back. Highly recommend. Amazing customer service and quality of pieces in the store. Tell a friend to tell a friend. Sincerely, Jojo

Very recently I witnessed Urban Ore stop staff placing thousands of CDs into the trash. I asked…read more"why"? and was told "the cases were cracked or the discs were scratched". I went to the front and offered to take the CDs they were sending to the landfill. I stated I had boxes with me - the staff seemed amenable however when the manage Claudio was asked he overruled them and stated "no" - the CDs are now on the landfill - I have a machine to resurface discs, a press to flatten creased artwork and thousands of cases - however a company who's catch phrase is "zero waste" dumped" thousands of perfectly salvageable items. I contacted Urban Ore via email, via messaging and tagged them in social media as well as posting on their own FB page - no response. People donate items to Urban Ore thinking they think they are keeping them out of the landfill - the behavior of Claudio shows that this is a lie and Urban Ore appears to be a scam.

Came by this past weekend, and I was amazed by this place from the moment I stepped inside. It's a…read moregiant warehouse space organized into nicely labeled sections, and there's a massive yard out back with even more secondhand products for sale. The diverse offerings include bicycles and bike parts, furniture (sofas, tables, and more), lots of chairs, rugs, luggage, tools, electronics, speakers, musical instruments, CD's and records, remote controls, items that make you feel like you've gone back in time (like cassette tapes, vhs tapes, and floppy disks), books, toys, model trains, light fixtures, baskets, kitchenware/appliances, board games, crutches, building materials, doors, windows, bathtubs, toilets, garden sculptures, mirrors, cabinets and shelves, decorative items, artworks, plumbing hardware, door knobs, plastic cups and bottles, hats, shoes, and clothing. They even have scrap glass for mosaic or stained glass projects. We ended up purchasing some drum rings, as well as an awesome tote bag for just five bucks. The line at the front counter gets long at times, but it moves quickly with helpful workers making sure everything goes smoothly. You can even cut the line if you're paying with cash. No returns are allowed on items such as electronics and clothing. Dogs are welcome inside, with countless signs posted noting that it's not a poop and pee zone. There's also a sign near the toy section stating "unattended children will be given candy and a free puppy."