I just took my niece to get some pen, pencils, journals and the such. She loved the choices and the selection of all those items. I spent some time checking out the RISD inspired items like t-shirts and mugs and I loved the designs and the colors. Very bright and colorful. The staff was helpful and friendly and there was always someone close to ask questions read more

RISD Store - Art Supplies Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

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I arrived at the store today, Thurthday, 1/22/2026 at around 11:00 am to purchase watercolors. The saleswoman at the main desk remembered me from previous visits. Suddenly, the police were called. Two Risd police officers arrived, detained me, and demanded my ID. I had no idea what was happening and was completely shocked After speaking with the store manager, the officers told me that about two years ago, when I purchased earrings at this store, I HAD TRIED THEM ON, WHICH WAS APPARENTLY NOT ALLOWED TO TRIED THEM ON! .. The same saleswoman who sold me the earrings at the time was at the desk today and she/or the store mange called the police today. she disappeared immediately when the officers arrived. The police officers themselves seemed surprised by the accusation. I am still struggling to process what happened today. I do not recommend purchasing anything from this store--mainly of course because of the disturbing and behavior and ridiculous accusation made by the saleswoman/manager , as well as the store manager's entirely lack of judgment, also of the exorbitant and unrealistic prices of this store. Therefore, I returned the set of necklace and the earring. The entire incident caused me significant emotional distress, and I remain shaken and upset by the injustice event I experienced due to the store manager's poor handling and poor judgement It is a shame and a disgrace... He/She showed a complete lack of judgment and caused me trauma for no fault of my own. If the saleswoman had asked me not to wear the earrings, there is no way I would have worn them.I complied immediately, after she asked not to wear the earrings.I am confident that the store's security cameras will fully corroborate my account of these events. The decision to involve law enforcement over an alleged incident from about two years ago about trying on earrings that, In addition, I would like to clarify that I purchased the earrings, and returned them in full compliance with the store's return policy. After the incident, a third party who heard about what occurred speculated that the saleswoman may have lost her commission on the returned item. Its raise the possibility that she made sure to inform the store manager that I was in the store, Since almost intentionally the moment I arrived at the store until the police arrived, she was busy texting on her phone. What deeply concerns me is that despite the fact that approximately two years had passed since that purchase and return, the saleswoman appeared to act in a retaliatory manner. Her behavior felt targeted and disproportionate, as if she were deliberately singling me out or "hunting" me, which ultimately led to an unfounded and humiliating escalation of the situation.This whole Spiel were not in my awareness when the officers approached me. This was and still shocking, absurd, unjustified and demonstrates a serious failure of managerial judgment. This action caused me undue distress, profound public humiliation and emotional stress, for which the store bears responsibility! The police made me sit on a chair at the store entrance while questioning me, as all customers watched, causing me public degradation and personal shame! I expect an internal review, and apology from the store manager. This is serious and troubling enough and on its own, and it raises the concern that it could happen again to any customer! The question also arises as to whether calling the police over the wearing of earrings on my ears is lawful and legitimate??? The store manager's actions constituted intentional harassment and abusive conduct! There was no legitimate basis for the manager's action, He abusing his authority and exploiting his position. I believe the manager targeted me as an immigrant, identifiable by my accent, believing I was easy to haras, as well racially motivated, despite my being an American citizen with 40 years in the field of education. Such behavior from management is unacceptable and warrants attention! read more

I went here for first time while I was walking thru the neighborhood as I'm not from Providence. I went to see what they had at the store because I love making art and I wasn't even in there for 6 mins I got asked if needed something 3 times by 3 different people. I felt so uncomfortable and felt racial profiled like they was watching me to see was going to do something out of the ordinary. Other then that awesome art supplies but weird employees read more

The RISD store is a great place for gift shopping. They also have nice cards. The main reason I frequent the RISD store, however, is for their reasonably priced, lightweight and well fitting tee shirts. The shirts feature the RISD logo and are available in a variety of styles for about $15. My favorite is the black shirt with the white RISD logo. They also have a nice assortment of hats and bags. Note that there is a discount on some items for those with a Brown affiliation, but the discount apparently is not valid on the tee shirts. Sad. This is also a great place to grab any art supplies you may need. The art supplies are located in the front of the store and the gifts and tee shirt items are in the back. read more

The RISD Store, quite literally, has every one of your art supply, college supply, and convenience supply needs. You can get lost in aisles and aisles of dreamy art supplies, or stroll down the hall into the Bookstore with its quirky red walls and checkerboard floors, featuring gift items and RISD apparel, as well as boasting a variety of drinks and snacks. The atmosphere is unique and fun, usually brimming with college students darting in and out, grabbing their last minute art needs or visiting the cafe on the second floor. (Which is delicious and also open to the public!) The staff are extremely knowledgeable, and if one person does not know the answer to your question, they know which other staff member would and point you in the right direction. They also don't just answer your questions and walk away, they are genuinely curious about the art you're making and want to help you make it the best it can be. Or, it's at least a fun tourist stop if you're across the street at the RISD museum or visiting Brown University just up the hill! read more

Cool store, small but full of great items for artists and wannabe artists. Parking can be a hassle. read more

Great store, passing thru with my niece looking at colleges and was pleasantly surprised with the cool items I found. Yes usual college paraphernalia, but i found some great retro coasters and a really cool bag. The young woman at the counter was also very nice and helpful! read more

The RISD Store is the place to go for all your professional art supplies. Sure, you can pay less for some of the stuff at the big box retail stores, but for high quality, specialty, and extensive variety of items, this place is tops! Which figures, as it is the campus store for RISD, so one shouldn't expect less. My girls, avid aficionados of high quality pens, pencils, pastels, book-binding materials, drawing papers, journals; and my wife, who appreciates all the gadgets and a good set of French curves (as do I but the other kind), putter and browse to their hearts' content at the cornucopia displayed. There is also attached a more typical university store that has art books, t-shirts, mugs, RISD souvenir items, and snack foods as well. Well worth the short stroll of a couple blocks down from the RISD Museum to check out (unfortunately, there's no discount available even if you're a Museum member; however, RISD students, faculty, etc. get discounts.) read more

RISD Store had the portfolio I wanted for 28.00 plus tax, at Dick Blick it was 35.00 plus shipping, at Jerrys it was about the same (35ish), but out of stock for 2-3 weeks, with no shipping charge. Only problem with RISD store is poor availability to easy parking. Blick was uppity about the shipping charge, it was annoying, no doubt they should be able to ship to the store with no extra charge. read more