Amazing selection. Frida, the owner, is so kind and helpful! Will definitely be back.read more

New favorite place for crafts! Picked up basics like staplers, staples, glue sticks, glittery pom…read morepoms, Lunar New Year decorations, crepe papers (including the kind for decorating piñatas) , ribbons... this place is delightful for artists and kids crafts.

I love going to the Berkeley Blick Art Materials store. It a pilgrimage for me. I remember crossing…read morethe Bay from SF when I was young going to a "giant" artist supplies store on Univeristy Avenue. This is the next best thing to that. Now that I'm relatively speaking "Old" I take my joys where I find them. If you ask me to go out for a good time, first take me to the Berkeley take me to 10th St. Blick and then to Berkeley Bowl West to pick up something great for dinner. You think I am joking, but I am not. I had a wonderful time and got loads of goodies. I would say the real value at Blick is immediacy. We old school folks like to touch the merchandize. We have respect for the time saved, finding what you want when you want or need it. The people that worked there were very lovely and helpful. The were probably humoring us. Three old ladies touching everything, laughing having some kind of celebration at the Art Store. It was a sort of special occasion and my choice was to go to Blick. It isn't far from home but it can be a challenghIt is a beautifully equipped establishment The only problem I had was at the colored pencils. The font size on the labels was so small could only guess. My.only difficulty at home was am individual Prismacolor green pencil. Broke so many times during sharpening it left the beloved Color just slightly over half the size.

Prices are high. Variety on hand is low (much easier to Buy online )…read moreStaff at the cash register was nice, the older gentlemen , the one younger floor attendant was short with us and not very helpful. Bad shopping experience.

My son just attended a birthday party in this little hidden gem. The space is inviting and the kids…read morehad so much fun . The instructors were so kind and engaging with the kids . My little boy is already asking to go back again ! Definitely recommended !

We just had our 10 year old's bday here! Every thing was great, and the kids really got in to the…read moreproject we picked (felt succulent gardens). Planning to come back soon for an adult night (or another private party with my girl friends!).

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.

There is no place like this place. It's such a beautiful store, filled with all sorts of absolutely…read moreexquisite things, nothing like typical Mexican import places. You feel like you're in a museum surrounded by artifacts, except the prices are so reasonable. Talavera Ceramics brings the real Mexico to us. And there's no one like Lilia, the amazingly knowledgeable gal who has run the place for 20 years. She and the store are truly Bay Area treasures!

We are so happy to have our wood burning oven finally completed. The tiles we chose were special…read moreorder, but work the wait. This oven has been used for years and we finally got our tiles done, long over due. There were so many options, it was hard to choose.

Just a simple spot. Basic paints and pens. Some paper and general writing supplies along with a…read morevariety of canvases and art books! Overall, good if you know exactly what you're looking for (which most artists do).

As independent art supply stores have shut across the Bay Area over the last few years, Ink Stone…read morehas remained a paragon of affordable, convenient, intelligent retail. And it means you don't have to give your money to Blick.

What a magical little shop. I'm a fan of Theatre of Dreams in Crockett and saw they recommended…read moreTinsel Trading. Finally got a chance to visit and wish I could've stayed longer to explore every nook and cranny of the shop. I was immediately attracted to the doodahs section which had buttons, metal pieces, glass pieces of tile, cameos, buttons, etc. Grabbed quite a few of these items. They have a selection of ribbon, old and new, by the yard or spool. Since it's Christmas time, they have all sorts of ornaments and decorations. Recommend for any fans of crafting and/or John Derian. Will come back!

This was such a super cute store!…read more I came in browsing for gifts and found Tinsel Trading to be jam packed with so many fun gift and scrapbooking items. They had decorative items for hats, or to antique props, and great items to finish off your gift. They even had some local artwork for sale! The service was was friendly, helpful, and wearing a mask, and it was fairly easy to traverse the space, even with as many items as they sell. I'll definitely return during the holidays to add a little holiday cheer to my gifts!

Stone Mountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley has a stellar reputation in the sewing world, so I…read morehad to see what all the buzz was about when I was visiting Berkeley last month. While there was definitely a wide variety of fabric, the overall store felt a bit chaotic, cluttered, and unorganized. The upstairs has some discounted bolts but nothing really caught my eye. While browsing, I checked their website and spotted Ruby Star Society's selvedge/letter fabric but of course I couldn't find it in the store, so I had to ask. And while the staff helped, the service was just okay. The selection is decent but I think my expectations were higher given the hype.

Amazing collection of pure cotton, wool and linen materials for different types of garments. People…read moreare very helpful with selecting fabrics and how to use them for your needs.

This is easily the best art gallery in the Bay Area. I have been shopping here for years and have…read morealways enjoyed the diversity of craft for sale here.

Acci Gallery in Berkeley is a light filled space. It's our first visit, although it's been here for…read more65 years, housed in a brick building near the Gourmet Ghetto that feels like a throwback to an earlier Bay Area art scene. The gallery is a good place to find ceramics, jewelry, and canvases by local artists. I noticed a collection of precise woodblock prints featuring mushrooms and fungi, and a small collection of arresting portraits by local artist, Stephen Maffin, reminiscent of Italian frescoes but also unmistakably contemporary. I miss seeing genuinely authentic, quirky art venues like this around the Bay Area.

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."