Great family run art supplies and framing shop. They specialise in bespoke framing stretcher bars…read moreand canvas stretching. You will fine many professional items here. The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

I have some really warm memories of Ink Spot from when i was a kid. It was always the place i…read morelooked forward to coming to when my mum and dad took me shopping to Hamilton. I loved crafty stuff and it sold some pretty cool toys too, like the Anne Geddes Babies i used to collect. It sits apart from the main cluster of shops and the shopping centre, on the way down to the big Asda. This place is an Aladdin's Cave of stationery. Need an HB pencil? Come here. A pink Filofax with kittens on it? Second shelf on the left madam. Biro that transforms into a deckchair? Yup, you'll find one here. But be warned , you'll pay for it! It really isn't cheap, so if you only need the basics i would suggest trying somewhere else first. However if you are a crafty connoisseur, or you're looking for something very specific, Ink Spot is the place for you! (Disclaimer: A transforming deckchair Biro does not yet exist. I made that bit up. So you may get a funny look if you ask for one here.)

So I must confess - I have a bit of a stationery fetish. Nothing quite like the smell of a freshly…read moresharpened pencil or like rows of coloured pencils lined up by shade (yes yes I did and still do crave the entire set of crayola colours!!!) Anyway, this place has so many cool art supplies that even the most non-artistic, non-creative person in the world will be compelled to purchase some funky craft paper or some random modelling clay or engineering grade pencil. School projects and Brownie badge work has been aided with supplies from here and I can never resist popping in when I have a minute and I am nearby. They have, in the past few years, got a range of fancy dress costumes as well - so they are branching out somewhat from merely traditional stationery supplies. I don't know if that is a direction I am really loving, but in this economy, anything that helps local independent businesses is fine by me. This place is NOT cheap though and is its main failing. I would seriously doubt if art students would actually buy their supplies from here, If the prices were a little bit lower and the staff didn't look at you as if you were about to shop lift then I would love it even more. It is definitely a stationers as opposed to a full on specialist art store I reckon. As an art shop for true artists (although clearly I am not, and am just surmising, I would definitely give it a 3. As a place to find cool knick knacks, gifts and pens with a good motion (see told you I was obsessed!) then possibly a 4. On the whole it is a pretty shop with lots of lovely goodies and some luxurious stationery. With slightly lower prices this would be a 4 overall, bit as it stands a solid 3!

As a lady who likes to paint I have in the last year or so been hoofing it all the way into Belfast…read morecity center to buy my paints, brushes and cleaners - I needn't have bothered as there is a really decent art store right in the middle of Holywood. I have driven past a few times and mistaken this shop for a home decoration or wall paper place it was only after a coffee in the amazing Yard Gallery across the street that I decided to take a closer look. They stock a really great range of canvas sizes, oil and water colours, in fact they have a really great collection of everything you could need. I was after outlining lead for painting on glass and they had run out but the really helpful girl behind the desk offered to order it in for me. Throughout the shop you can also find paintings by local artists which are framed and ready to be sold. This is one of the only shops I have seen that stocks Decopatch - a thin tissue paper like product that can be applied to surfaces to cover or decorate them - the patterns are really cool and there is a huge cow in the shop fully decorated showing you the effect that can be achieved with the paper. I would have browsed for longer but there was a really loud man and really loud kids in the place so I left - I'm a grumpy old hag sometimes!

From the owner: Art & Home is a two storey Art Store, Gallery and bespoke in-house framing service. Established in…read more1978, Art & Home is accredited by the Fine Art Trade Guild and is a founder member of the Brititsh Institute of Frame Makers. Our Art Department, is an Aladdin's Cave, packed with topb branded art materials for professional and hobby artists. We supply Michael Harding, Winsor & Newton, Daler Rowney, Schmincke, Sennelier, Unison, Golden, Liquitex and much much more.

I LOVE this shop. They have everything from wool, to paint, to precious stones…read more The staff are all really nice, and helpful. The only down-side, is that the shop's too small for everything in it, so it's a bit difficult to manoeuvre my daughter's pram around the shop (only the bottom floor - no lift).

This is a great little traditional shop stocking all the wool and cotton you could ever want…read more A dying breed, this is a gem of a shop which should become protected! They stock a number of different brands of wools in every colour you can imagine. They also sell some knitted products including baby products and shawls. The owner will also knit to order!