An amazing resource, especially Jessica Wolf-the super friendly, super knowledgable technician stationed in the back. They sell everything you need to make ANYTHING. Other than being nice, the staff is honest too-they tell you what they know, and in the off chance they don't know, they will find someone who does! They have been nothing but patient and helpful in my never-ending journey of mold making, and have never tried to sell me anything unnecessarily. No other place like it in NYC. Good to know-if you have technical questions, Jessica does not work there on Mondays, so plan your visit accordingly. read more

The Compleat Sculptor is Compleat waste of time. Besides not being stocked with many necessary items that require a multitude of different techniques and treatments to be done, it's staffed by many pompous people who give incomplete or wrong answers. Unwilling to investigate further with additional answers and often sway you to buy a product that's not correct. Let's not forget about the 10% restocking fee for them to walk that unused/unopened product back to the shelf that's 20 feet away. MY RECOMMENDATION- Spend the extra time and take the 1.5 hour drive to PA to Reynolds Advanced Materials where they are attached to Smooth-On's facilities. Everyone there is wonderful, pleasant, helpful, ego-free and they are fully stocked. I've wasted countless hours and money at CS that could have been spent just taking the ride out there from the very beginning. read more

Very Professional, helpful and talented staff who clearly have worked with the products they sell, the reason that they are extremely capable of making educated suggestions for whatever project you are working on. read more

Had an incredible experience here the owner gave me so much information and how to find the right product took 30 minutes of his time to talk to me and understand the complexity of what I was trying to do and walked me through all of my options. very knowledgeable person. I really appreciate it. The customer service highly recommend this place. read more

I buy many things online and this was the first for this firm. I must say, I loved ordering with them, it was like clock work! Attractive prices, delivery cost wasn't bad and they came in, in a few days. And, I got a little thank you note! read more

Great source for almost any sculpture tool imaginable! Friendly service and curbside delivery. Got some awesome "Red Raspberry" alabaster pieces from them plus a couple of diamond encrusted hacksaw blades. Went back for a few stone rasps. Will definitely be back! Oh, the street side drive-up is a bit hard to find amidst all the construction and their sign is really small (8 1/2 x 11 inches), posted on the wall near the elevator, quite far back. I drove past on my first attempt, so be patient and persistent. read more

The Compleat Sculptor - Red Raspberry alabaster carved thin to heighten translucency. - Art Supplies Near Me - New York, New York

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Our group of 18 had so much fun learning how to sculpt with Marc and his team! :] Marc and his team are so easy to talk to, and they taught us a lot about working with clay and creating facial features! read more

Every time I've been here everyone working is extremely helpful and really knows their stuff.

The staff were very helpful when I was making my order. I was able to get a variety of raw stones for carving. The shipping was faster than I thought possible, under 48 hours, which left me in disbelief. When the box arrived, it was in pristine condition, packed very securely, and my order was reasonably priced as well, which I appreciate greatly. I will definitely be making future orders! read more

The Ultimate sculpture store in NYC. Excellent picking for supplies by the next day. Materials interface on sculpt.com could use a little work-- it can be a little frustrating finding the right materials or accessory, but if you do all your research ahead of time, you are likely to find everything you need and the family run business is always happy to help! I have not yet been an unhappy customer here or leave without something I need. read more

I can't say enough good things about Sarah- the resident material specialist. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the products and the processes to create great work. On top of that she cares about your project. Too often you walk into a specialty store and find apathetic employees, but Sarah fully engages with each person that comes in. Whatever level of maker you are- Sarah's sure to have thoughtful advice or suggestions for a product that will make your project that much better. read more

I placed an order a week ago. When my order arrived I found that I had been charged five times as much for shipping and handling than I had been quoted on the phone. I called right away. After explaining the issue to the sales person she connected me to the owner. He listened to what happened and his major concern was that I, the customer, be happy. He refunded the entire shipping fee and in the process was so friendly and kind about everything. The girl who helped me place my order, Marilyn, went above and beyond to help track down just what I needed. I could not find the foam I needed anywhere else but Marilyn was able to find the last bit in the store and saved me from panicking. I so appreciated it! This is a great business and I will definitely order from them again. I wish I lived closer to New York so I could actually go to the store! read more

Love it here at TCS! The tech support is a godsend, and their selection of tools, mold making and casting products, clay, stone, and stuff is second to none! As a sculptor who lives in NYC this store is so important. The "new" location on 19th street though not as big, but it is so much easier to get to and is close to the 1, FM, C and NRW train lines! This is especially useful when having to lug home tons of plaster and gallons of resin! Even if you are not a sculptor, the place is basically a museum full of cool stuff. read more

After reading several positive reviews, I thought CS was a creditable supply company worth my patronage: FALSE. Not only did they incorrectly tell me I was purchasing oak wood (they sold me maple), but the charged me 3 times the market price. I was in a hurry and had no time to haggle with what I thought was an honest retailer. Finally, to add insult to injury, I was forced to sign a waiver of customer rights saying that I wouldn't return the product (the incorrect product) they sold me. I checked my receipt when I got home and the numbers were wrong, off by $10 on the low side - but still. They managed to charge my credit card the correct amount. Is any of this legal? I wish Mayor Bloomberg would arrest these crooks and send them out to jersey where they belong. 2 big thumbs down! Stay away! read more

Hey I've used this place for years but your photo of a dude over-joyed to be applying compound to woman's behind is so OFFENSIVE! And you have an EQUALLY OFFENSIVE image on your website of a similarly over-enthused man applying molding compound to a woman's Breast and her mouth is muzzled! SO OFFENSIVE - I don't know why you would think this was a good idea. Did your 12 yr old son pick these? I tried calling to talk to you directly about but after I explained to the woman that answered she said I needed to talk to owner abd I was put on hold for 5 mins - and im too busy to hold longer. Think about it. read more

This place is the place to go if you want any kind of specialized modeling or molding compound in NYC, they definitely have the best selection around. However, my personal experience getting help and advice with a project from their sales assistants was terrible, and they were either out of or had low stock of everything I wanted. I came in a couple of weeks ago to purchase some sort of compound for a project that would let me create large fake blocks of ice with objects imbedded in them. I didn't know exactly what to get and I talked to three different sales assistants, all of whom had a different opinion, and they finally called someone who I assume was the manager out of the back and he told me to get a specific product (smooth-on sorta clear 40), of which I bought two large kits. The product I initially wanted to get I was talked out of, everyone insisted it couldn't be unmolded and would fall apart instantly (encapso-k). Needless to say the product they sold me looked terrible and was completely unusable, I wasted $140 on one kit and returned the other one the next day and bought all of the the encapso-k they had, which wasn't a lot since they were low in stock. It worked perfectly and looked amazing and I had no trouble with unmolding or stability. I also checked the encapso-k website later and they have a video tutorial where they put an inclusion inside some encapso-k and then unmold it and carve it to look like a block of fake ice! I hope that someone else can learn from my expensive lesson: do your own research first because the 'experts' in the shop do not necessarily know all. read more

Well, the only respectable resource for stone carving supplies and stone in the city. This NYC staple has a great selection of Italian Carving Tools, an ok selection of stone, (It rarely changes) and tons of sculpting supplies. Sign up for there mailing list... They offer free monthly seminars on new products! Plus Classes for students and additional seminars! I recommend frequenting or calling there store to see what they have coming up soon. They are pricey... read more

This place is an amazing place if you make stuff. I wandered around for long time just looking. Never was approached for help, mind you, but when I did check out, the girls at the register were friendly. Lots to look at. Their website is really bad though - ugly and incomplete. read more

This store is my mojo. I want to buy every single item and explore. The selection is fantastic, and the samples you can see and touch are super helpful and save yourself a bit time to go through the tedious process yourself. The owner is amazing and I doubt there is a question he can't answer. I only took some intro workshops for now but have learnt so much already. Can't wait to take more classes. Everyone in the store is really nice, including the cat. I wish he could expand to offer space for artists, I sculpt in wood and stone, make lots of noise and dust and have a hard time finding a studio in NYC. Anyways, go to the store, and inspiration will strike you. read more

I have had such an amazing experience with Compleat Sculptor that I felt the need to get on here and write a review. I have been going there for about 3-4 months now for the sculpting classes. I came to Elieen and Bill with a very unusual project I was trying to accomplish, and they have been such great help and support with helping guide and assist me along the way! Elieen is a rockstar. She knows her stuff, and she really cares about her customers - and it shows! It's a great space to work in, and they also offer casting & molding classes, among many awesome stones & artist supplies. I would highly recommend this place!! read more

This store is chocked full of different clays, Tools , resin , Mold rubber & special effects equipment . The staff is also friendly and knowledgeable ! . Sarah helped me on my last visit and she was a gem . read more

I cannot recommend this store more! The new location is fabulous!! I had a challenging project and impossible deadline, but thanks to the wonderful and extremely helpful staff at The Compleat Sculptor, I nailed it! I can't thank Sara and Marc enough. Check this store out for any and every possible material/ tool you could need (not to mention all the patient guidance and expertise)!! read more

I recently visited NYC and made time to check this place out. It was so worth it! Unbelievably kind and helpful, super knowledgeable staff paired with extensive inventory make this the only place I want to go for any of my creative needs! read more

i've had to visit this lovely establishment 4 or 5 times in the last two weeks for a project i'm helping with.. this place has it ALL when it comes to sculpting, carving, playing, painting etc. they carry anything from Fimo to make earrings with, to expensive plaster to build a statue out of. my favorite are all the displays they make using the materials they sell.. there are buckets with things spilling out of them (except the goo is solid), there are heads, animals, a pregnant belly, and a lot of other random stuff mad out of plaster. foam, limestone, etc. the only tiny complaint i have is that sometimes the staff doesn't know when you need help and when you don't... i wandered around aimlessly for a while before anyone paid any attention.. and the register can take a while too. i guess its what you get from a mom and pop place rather than wal mart :) read more

Just walking in this store is inspiring. Unlike any art store i have been in, everywhere you look there is art work, sculpture, hanging, leaning or standing. artwork that demonstrates why you can make with the infinite variety of materials they have. the staff is remarkable friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. read more

THE store for sculpting materials. The girl in the back is very helpful. I do a lot of work with smooth-on materials and they have a really great selection. Best of all? They have high turnover, so their product is fresh (sometimes stores that sell the stuff have it sitting around and it doesn't work anymore). They carry almost the entire line of smooth-on products (including the gallon jugs, awesome) lots of sulfur-free clay (awesome) and big-ass boxes of ultracal. They also sell silicone pigments (hard to get) and have a vast array of sculpting tools. If you sculpt you can get what you need here. Only con is that they do not sell at discounted prices. They sell at MSRP. That's not too bad, because you get what you need and don't have to worry about it exploding during shipping. read more

Nice that NYC still has some authentic art supply stores. This one's been around for a long time and the staff are very helpful. I purchased ceramics tools which were not so easy to find and fairly priced. read more

Shockingly rude service. I walk in, say hello to the first employee I see, he blinks at me and walks away. The woman who did end up helping me was no better. Admittedly, I am a novice and just wanted to look at materials, but that is absolutely no excuse for her condescending behavior. She openly rolled her eyes at me and scoffed at my questions. Then, when a man came by to ask a question while she was talking to me, her tone and attitude changed completely. Perhaps this is just how she behaves with women? Bad experience. I'd rather give my money to someone else! read more

This place has saved my butt so many times. Run out of task plastic in the middle of a snow storm and have 5 castings to finish? They'll have a backup. I'm not too sold on some of the smooth on rubbers I've gotten, like dragon skin and oomoo, I prefer polytek which they rarely have, prices are ok and the website could use some polish. But I've had great experiences with their corporate accounts ordering, same day delivery and enjoy perusing the shop for random tools every now and then, especially as sculpture house casting moved out to long island. read more

complete sculptor review I have to agree with the bad reviews.They tell you one price then charge another. They do have a lot of inventory which is really great.... But the atmosphere is bad....They seem very unhappy, sort of angry with the exception of the girl in the sculpture department who is always helpful.. I wonder who owns this place. If they are aware of or one of the reasons people who work there are pressured to fast talk and take advantage of people... I find myself feeling bad after I leave the place. What they have I can find on line. Their way of being with people is bad for business. They lost a good customer. read more

I went to The Compleat Sculptor today for the first time and it was a very good experience for me. The salesperson on the floor asked if I needed any help, which I did, and she proceeded to show me products which she thought I could use. The manager of the shop also volunteered information on products that would help me as a beginner. I got the feeling that this is a place that I will be able to rely on for creating a mold from scratch and that I'll have all the help I need from their able assistance. I'll definitely go back to this shop over and over again as I become more proficient at sculpting and molding. read more

I had a good experience today at the Compleat Sculptor - I needed help with dragon skin and they had every size and flavor. It took me a minute to realize what I needed and Evelyn helped me figure it out. She even figured out the sizing of the amount of dye for my dragon skin. Evelyn was very helpful, very knowledgable and patient in helping me get what I needed and I saved a couple of pennies coming here instead of shopping online. very pleasureable experience and love all the sweet sculptures in there - its like a museum. Excellent store! read more

This place is incredible. Helpful & knowledgeable staff. Went out of their way to explain the ins & outs of a product I needed but hadn't used before. The owner Marc, even did a demonstration for me. Don't know of any other place like it. If they don't have it- they'll get it. If they're not familiar with it- they'll learn all about it. Wouldn't go anywhere else! Prices are fair and selection 2nd to none. read more

I was walking by one day and decided to stop in, what a helpful staff and wide array of products... I was not only able to buy supplies for my hobby, but also stuff for my kids! read more

I love compleat Sculptor, but this new location change has left a lot to be desired. I am happy they have expanded and got a new large sparkly new space to sell more stuff, but they need to hire people with a better knowledge of what they sell. For a store with a monopoly on sculpture materials in one shop in manhattan like they do, they should have a more knowledgeable staff. I am an artist and educator that has worked in casting for years, and after asking a simple question about a smooth on product I had to sit there and be lectured by the cashier that ended up being all the wrong information about what I was interested in buying. It would be great if the people that worked there were less blow hard sales people and simply had more experience and knowledge about what they are actually selling. If they don't know they should at least be helpful in how to solve the problem by pointing out the best resources for the consumer to research, like literally the smooth on spec sheets for each product that clearly have all the information you need to know about the product. What happened to the old staff at Varick Street? They knew what they were talking about! This new staff is still learning the ropes. My policy is if you don't know what your talking about, you should admit so, and don't try to sell a product with half-baked ill-advised information and experience. New location is great and I'm happy for them, but you need to know what your looking for and be an educated shopper before walking in here. Sad I had to take 2 stars off for customer service! read more

The store looks like a science experiment, in a good way. They have tons of clays, shelves and shelves of about 30 different rubbers and discount tools that are pretty good quality. I guess the staff was 50/50 because the guy behind the counter was super nice/knew nothing about art(by his own admission) and then the girl teaching classes seemed mostly annoyed with me and my compatriot asking any sort of questions. I don't know if I'll be back here for classes or advice, but it's one of the only stores that has all the things I need in a crisis, so I'll see how next time goes. read more

They were extremely knowledgeable and resourceful and were able to answer all my questions! I strongly recommend going , they also have a wide range of materials available! read more

Yes, a piece of real old(er) NY. Impressive variety, quality & clearly catering to people who know what they are doing. Beautiful tools, supplies & a chamber of curiousities & inspiration. Glad to know it exists. read more

Shipping policy should be updated so that the customer knows what they are getting into. Ordered were a small set of plastic tools and two wire modelling tools for a total of $52. The customer is informed on the website that here's no way of knowing how much the shipping charges will be, so one doesn't know until the package arrives. $17 for shipping and handling? I find that rude. read more

The staff is very friendly and knowledgable. I needed help with finding material for mold making and the staff lead me to the correct supply. The staff was very patient with me and they have so many brands and amazing products for sculptors and makers! read more