Best Websites To Buy Art Supplies

A comprehensive guide to buying art supplies online, where to find the best UK prices and which arts specialists offer the best service…

Cheap Art Materials

While I highly recommend supporting your local art stores there are times when we can’t always afford the higher prices and find ourselves turning to online sites for a cheaper deal. I’ve put this section together to help you weigh up where to find the best prices to buy art supplies online. To illustrate the major differences I’ve searched for three different art products at eight different sites. Here’s the results…

For the first search I’ve gone with a low cost item – Winsor & Newton’s Artist Oil paint (37ml tube). Such a low cost item highlights the differences that post and packaging costs can make – and why eBay’s often the best place to get free postage along with a low price. This is especially true since Amazon upped their minimum spend to £20 for free super saver delivery. Quite amazing that there’s a £10 difference in prices across the various art retailers.

Winsor & Newton Prussian Blue Oil 37ml Prices…

The iPhones of the sketchbook world. Loved unconditionally by the artists who draw and write in nothing else or loathed as overpriced and over marketed by everyone else. If you fall into the former camp (along with myself) then you probably want to buy another one at some point. So here’s the best prices I found for the Large Moleskine Sketchbook (hardback) with 104 heavy weight 250gsm pages and a pleasingly useable size of 13cm x 21cm (5″ by 8″).

Large Moleskine Sketchbook Prices…

For the second search I’ve gone with a much more expensive item – Derwent’s multi-teired wooden box of 120 colouring pencils. If anyone wants to buy it for me I’ll draw you a picture using all 120 colours in return! The price differences are pretty huge overall with Amazon just edging it from eBay. Note that most retailers give you free delivery on higher value items (usually over £40-£50).

Derwent Artists’ 120 Pencils Wooden Box Set Prices…

These are just three random tests but I’ve consistently found eBay and Amazon the cheapest sources for art materials online with Jackson’s Art often following closely behind. But do your own tests using our links above and see where you can find the best art supply prices yourself. Don’t forget to sign up for a free 30 day trial of Amazon Prime to save even more!

First port of call for cheap art materials:
1. eBay – Painting, Drawing & Art category
2. Amazon – Art Supplies Category
3. Jackson’s Art – Cheapest Art Supplies specialist

Cowling & Wilcox – Will beat competitors price for paints by 10%
Artifolk – Much loved art suppliers with decent price matching service
Art Discount – Regular sales, bargains and art supply discounts

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Drawing & Painting Supplies

It’s one thing using eBay and Amazon to find cheap art materials but it can be a hassle ordering from lots of different Amazon resellers and eBayers when you could buy everything in one place at a specialist art store. Especially if you’re looking to buy drawing and painting materials in large ranges and quantities. Step in the long-standing art supplies stores – many who’ve been operating for decades and smoothly transitioned their expertise to their online outlets.

One of my favourite art specialists for drawing and painting materials is Jacksons Art Supplies. The London based business has been selling art supplies for years and you can tell from their own brand products that they really know what they’re doing and what artists want.

Case in point: I recently ordered a wooden panel for painting from Jacksons. I wanted something with deep sides and a smooth surface for acrylic painting so opted for their own brand 16″ x 16″ plywood panel (50mm deep). It arrived in a couple of days for just £13.50 plus £1.50 postage and it’s a really well put together product as you can see from the picture below.

Jacksons also have a fantastic selection of brushes for oils, acrylics and watercolour with their own brand versions offering excellent value – same goes for their paints which get consistent five star ratings on Feefo. You can view the Jackson’s catalogue online or order a printed copy for free. I’m a big fan of Jackson’s Art Supplies and hope you find them as good value as I do for drawing and painting supplies without sacrificing on quality.

The other online drawing and painting specialist I can wholeheartedly recommend is Ken Bromley Art Supplies. Based in Bolton Ken Bromley have been selling art supplies for over twenty years and now have one of the biggest art supply websites in the UK. As I was researching this article I also noticed they offer a Price Match Promise and will better a competitor offer by 5% off the difference.

One product I can totally vouch for is Ken Bromley’s Perfect Paper Stretcher which will “stretch your cartridge, pastel or watercolour paper (up to 140lb) and dry it ‘tight-as-a-drum’ in minutes.” I’ve used the 13.5″ x 20.5″ version with for years and it works brilliantly with the 140gm Bockingford Watercolour Paper.

Established in 1855 Cornelissen & Son is an enchanting throwback to the art stores of yesteryear. It’s not the cheapest online art supply shop but it’s arguably the most specialist art supply store around with a range of pigments, gums, resins (to name but a few) that will make you feel like you’re part of a living history of great artists through the centuries.

Mix your own oil paints with Naples Yellow Dark Pigment, booklets of gold leaf, or traditional calligraphy inks.

Browsing Cornelissen & Son’s website is like opening a cabinet of wonder on a world of art expertise and traditions that are fast disappearing. Highly recommended and be sure to visit their beautiful store if you’re in London.

1. Jackson’s Art – Own brand products are great value
2. Ken Bromley – Will beat any competitor’s price
3. Cornelissen & Son – A cornucopia of traditional art materials

Russell And Chapple – Specialist shop for artist’s canvas, stretchers and fabrics
Atlantis – UK’s largest art supply store in East London
Lawrence – Providing all manner of art supplies since 1859

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Sculpture, Glass & Pottery Supplies

With only a handful of dedicated specialists selling sculpture materials online it’s not too difficult to select the best of the bunch. Some sculpture stores specialise in carving materials while others cast a wider net from pottery to glass to mould making. The selections below cover all these categories and more.

First up is Tiranti – the London based family business that’s been selling sculptor’s tool and materials since 1895. Read about their fascinating history here. With sections on Woodcarving, Stonecarving, Pottery, Modelling, Mouldmaking, Casting & Restoration Tiranti is a pretty extensive website for sculpture materials and studio equipment (such as the Shimpo professional potter’s wheels below).

Or if you fancy trying out some body moulding or lifecasting Tiranti have put together tutorial videos with links to all the materials you need to put them into practice. All in all Tiranti is a well respected UK based supplier of sculpture materials that is more than likely to have what you need as a working sculptor or budding enthusiast.

Tabularasa is a specialist sculpture materials worth mentioning too – they have an English language website with some good deals to be found.

They’re only ‘the worlds leading supplier of ceramic materials and equipment’. So I kind of had to include them here. Scarva’s website also lays claim to ‘the best prices online’. We checked a few prices and indeed they were cheaper than competitors but you can always contact them at their Northern Ireland base if you see something cheaper elsewhere.

Scarva’s website is really well laid out and their vast ranges of clays are a breeze to navigate and incredibly informative. Aside from everything you’ll ever need to work with ceramics they have a fantastic selection of books from Raku firing to slipcasting.

In business for over 10 years Warm Glass is ‘the largest UK retailer of quality glass fusing supplies and accessories’. They sell everything from glass kilns, glass slumping moulds and glass tools to glass brits and billets. UK Delivery is free for orders over £40 and they also offer some generous discounts for students, schools and colleges.

Warm Glass also has a handy knowledge base on topics such as choosing a glass kiln as well as an extensive range of free tutorial videos and online education courses.

Visit Warm Glass at their store in Wrington (outside Bristol) where you can also sign up for training courses and buy all the glass equipment you’ll ever need.

1. Tiranti – Specialists in mouldmaking, carving, casting & restoration
2. Scarva – Potter or ceramicist? This is the shop for you
3. Warm Glass – Supplier of glass artist’s materials

Tabularasa – Italian based sculpture supply store with high quality tools and gear
Bath Potters – Huge range of supplies for potters and ceramic artists
Harbro Supplies – Tools for working with stone, marble, granite and concrete materials

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Printmaking Supplies

After dabbling in etching and screenprinting at art college I decided to go back over the last few years to brush up on my printmaking skills and enrolled in some excellent classes at Edinburgh Printmakers. Needing to invest in some printmaking materials I turned to the old trusty sources of Amazon and eBay but if I wanted specialist materials or expert help I would have turned to the printmaking suppliers below.

Intaglio Printmaker opened in London in 1981 and offer art materials and papers for etching, screenprinting, relief printing, lithography and more. You can download their latest catalogue in PDF format from the bottom of their homepage.

Intaglio have a huge variety of printmaking papers from Japanese Papers to Fabriano Mediovalis Cards. They sell papers in individual sheets or printmaking paper packs of 10-100.

The Intaglio Printmaker store is located in Southwark, London so pop in if you need some expert advice on printmaking techniques and materials. They’ve also been running an Artist in Residency scheme for over 10 years – that’s my kind of art store.

Though Lawrence Art Supplies specialise in more than just printmaking they have one of the widest selections of printmaking materials in the UK. For a taster of what you can expect check out their relief printing sets from Japanese Woodcut tools to a Printmaker’s Selection Box.

It’s becoming a bit of a theme of the best sites to buy art supplies online that Lawrence Art Supplies was founded in 1859 with over 150 years of experience in the trade. It’s heartening to see experts in printmaking materials making such a successful transition into the digital age and bringing decades of in-house skills and knowledge with them.

A special mention should also go to Great Art’s Printmaking Supplies section. They’ve a wide range of printmaking products and while their prices aren’t always the most competitive they have frequent sales and discounts where bargains can be picked up.

Hawthorn Printmaker won’t win any awards for the best website design but what they lack in style and usability they make up for in their own brand printmaking inks and supplies and a huge range of professional printmaking equipment.

Hawthorn also have their own lines of rollers, Carborundum Grit (for graining litho stones) and Lincoln Wash (a white spirit water based alternative). If you don’t mind the clunky website then you can pick up some quality printmaking materials from a company that knows what it’s doing.

1. Intaglio Printmaker – If you want it they’re almost guaranteed to have it
2. Lawrence Printmaking Supplies – Art supplies specialists with vast printmaking section
3. Hawthorn Printmaker – High quality own brand inks and materials

Pyramid – Huge range of screen printing supplies with same day delivery
Hunt The Moon – Devon based supplier of new & used screen printing gear
George Weil – Vast printmaking supplies, Selectasine pigments/binders etc

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Graphic Design Supplies

There’s a great deal of crossover between fine art supply stores and graphic arts suppliers but I’ve done my best to seek out the shops that understand the products and materials that graphic designers really need. Like most other categories on this page if you’re after the cheapest graphics arts materials I’d include Amazon’s Graphic Design category and eBay’s new and used offerings in your online search. You might not get the expertise and wisdom of the specialist shops below but you might well get the lowest price.

It’s not easy recommending a graphic design store that has such a cheesily designed logo but in the interests of design snob neutrality I hereby give my backing to Graphics Direct as one of the best places to buy graphics supplies online.

For their sheer range of graphic design essentials and specialist tools at decent prices Graphics Direct are hard to beat. Throw in a their Rewards Scheme and you’re looking at a serious competitor to Amazon and eBay for cheap graphic design supplies.

One feature I really love on Graphics Direct is their University College Kits service. Just click the link, find your university and see a complete list of everything you’ll need as a new student on your graphic design, architecture, interior design course etc. Simply add the discounted products to your basket and it will all be delivered to your door (with free delivery if it’s over £100). Nice.

London Graphics Centre has over 40 years in the trade which reflects in its well designed online store for buying what every good designer needs – stuff for making designy stuff!

Students also get a very generous 15% off at any London Graphic Centre store and online with the London Graphic Centre Student Card (though the student discount doesn’t apply to products already discounted or on offer). Bulk orders can be eligible for a discount too.

Whether you’re looking for lightboxes to drawing projectors, fine liner pens to London Graphic Store carries a good selection of them all.

According to their website Refuelled is ‘where designers come to fill up’. It’s an apt description as Refuelled supplies a range of products that other graphic design supplies websites could do with stocking up on. Most notably the the range of tech products that define the life of today’s designers more and more.

Refuelled stock a wide range of marker pens, pencils and drawing materials and paper and pads.

1. Graphics Direct – Competitive prices for graphic arts supplies with 12% student discount
2. London Graphics Centre – Selling graphics materials since 1973 & 15% student discount
3. Refuelled – Design supplies and tech gear from 3D printing to monitors

Cass Art – More of a general art store but lots of design materials too
Cult Pens – Brilliant site with the widest range of pens on the planet
Graphic Air – Airbrush supply specialists

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Photography Gear

When it’s time to buy photography gear online my process usually begins with reviews. From there I narrow it down to the main contenders within my budget. While I used to turn to DPreview first I’m increasingly going straight to Youtube. That’s where two guys from Canada (Evelyn & Dave) aka TheCameraStoreTV do some of the best photography gear reviews around. Then there’s the ever popular DigitalRev channel where Kai W adds some levity to the oh so serious world of camera buying. Imaging Resource is my favourite camera review site for checking image quality, screens and settings.

Once I’ve narrowed it down to two or three contenders I’ll check Amazon’s Camera & Photo Section for a baseline of prices and to get a broader feel for the equipment in daily use from user reviews. Next stop is usually eBay’s Camera & Photography section where I’ll order results by ‘Buy it Now’ and ‘Price + P&P: lowest first’ to get a feel for the prices of the camera both new and used.

Then the real hunt begins as I trawl the corners of the internet looking for that rare animal – a good deal from an online photography store I can confidently trust. I know too many photographers (myself included) who’ve been burnt by buying from dodgy eBay sellers and grey import sites that I’ve finally learned my lesson to stick to trusted retailers. So here’s my recommendations for the best places to buy camera equipment online…

Wex Photographic was voted joint best online shop in Which?’s 2020 survey of over 7,000 members beating much loved stores stores like John Lewis. It’s wide range of products was one of the main reasons members gave – in the words of one member: ‘Wex is helpful and efficient, with good prices and a huge range.’ Wex has a TrustPilot rating of 4.9 out of 5 from over 26,000 reviews.

Established in 1997 Wex Photographic is the UK’s largest independent online photographic retailer (even larger since merging with Calumet Photographic). Voted ‘Best Online Retailer’ 12 years running by Camera & Photo magazine readers. This is the kind of trustworthy vibe that makes spending a few hundred quid on a new camera or lens that bit easier. Even better is the fact that Wex prices are competitive with Amazon and eBay and there’s free delivery on orders over £50.

You also don’t need to worry about unwittingly buying grey imports as every item sold from Wex is from UK stock only. Reassuring when it comes to warranties – not to mention their 28 day return policy. Throw in the option of interest free credit and their part-exchange service and you can see why Wex are so popular.

If you’ve been stung buying used camera equipment from eBay then you may want to give MPB a go. Sourcing used cameras from across Europe and the US they also offer a 6 month warranty, pretty decent for the second hand market. Their sole focus is used camera gear and they test everything thoroughly before sending it out.

Like Wex, 97% of TrustPilot reviews rate MPB excellent or great so you’re in good hands. All the big hitters are stocked from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Red to BlackMagicDesign and PocketWizard. MPB are based in Brighton, UK with aUS store in New York.

With a Trustpilot reviews rating of 94% excellent or great and a 2020 Good Service Award Clifton Cameras are a safe pair of hands for buying your photography gear. Throw in a 2 year warranty for anything you buy from them and you’ll get so much peace of mind you may end up living on a commune.

If your budget can’t stretch to the mammoth range of new camera equipment Clifton also stock a wide range of used cameras and used camera lenses. Clifton are based in Dursley, Gloucestershire and sell only official UK stock.

1. Wex Photographic – Top customer service, great prices and a vast range
2. MPB – Trusted site for used camera gear with 6 month warranty
3. Clifton Cameras – Good to customers and 2 year warranties on all products

Park cameras – Huge store with camera trade in deals on new purchases
Jessops – They’ve been around the block and a price match promise too
London Camera Exchange – Award winning store for new & used camera gear

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Filmmaking Gear

I’ve dipped my toes into the world of filmmaking at various points in my creative career. Alma Ha’rel’s mesmerising documentary Bombay Beach inspired me to hunt down the exact set up she used. Thanks to eBay.com a used Canon Vixia and letus mini adaptor winged its way over from the States with an enormous customs charge and a note to self to buy from the UK next time.

Nowadays I’ll browse Amazon UK’s Camera & Video category then search eBay’s Camera & Video section to get a feel for new and used prices. Philip Bloom’s video gear reviews are a good place to start before checking prices and video gear suppliers. Here’s my favourites…

CVP (short for Cine/Video/Photo formerly known as Creative Video) have been in the business over 25 years and are the most popular broadcast and professional video retailer in the UK. With stores in London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Warwickshire and Salford you might not be too far away to stop by in person.

95% of 3,000 customer reviews have rated CVC excellent or great. In one producer’s words CVP has an “easy website with comprehensive ranges of (tempting) professional products, uncomplicated checkout system, fast next day delivery, total courtesy throughout”.

Now that you’re convinced the guys at CVP will treat you better than your favourite auntie let’s get on with what else they offer. A big plus for me are their CVP.tv video reviews of the latest filmmaking gear and accessories. There’s also a good chance that CVP will be able to price match another UK retailer (excluding Amazon and eBay) just look for the price match guarantee on the product and fill in the details if you’ve seen the product cheaper elsewhere.

CVP also have a used & ex-demo video gear section for those times you can’t quite afford brand new kit.

Proactive Broadcast Solutions are a UK supplier of broadcast and professional video equipment. Based in Hemel Hempstead with a fantastic 1,500 square ft showroom that’s invaluable for demo-ing video gear before you buy it.

Proactive have a TrustPilot rating of 4.8 out of 5 from over 1,200 reviews – that’s some pretty happy customers. Don’t forget to check them out on Twitter for updates and offers or to contact them directly.

Based in Hertfordshire (with a 1,000 square foot showroom) Production Gear are official UK distributors for many well known video equipment brands. Filmmaker and blogger Daniel Haggett thinks they’re great – on a visit to their showroom… “Edward actually told me one of the products seemed a bit overpriced and searched for a cheaper alternative and ordered it for me – this is not the kind of service you get everywhere”. Indeed.

Production Gear have a blog with news and reviews of video equipment and offers – well worth a look. Like many of their competitors in the camera and video world Production Gear offer a price matching service so give them a call if you see an item cheaper elsewhere.

1. CVP – The leading video equipment retailer in the UK for good reason
2. Proactive – Great website, vast range of products & top customer service
3. Production Gear – Informative blog, price matching and know their stuff

Visual Impact – Nice website, price match promise & part exchange
PEC Video – Soho based video equipment pros working for over 80 years
Hire A Camera – Renting DSLR & Video cameras online since 2003

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Digital Art Gear

There aren’t many artists and creative professionals who don’t use some of kind of digital equipment in their creative process. A friend who paints murals spends the majority of each project surrounded by traditional artist’s materials of brushes, oil paints and mediums. Yet he still uses Photoshop to plan his design, a laptop and projector to map it out on location and a printer to show the client mock ups of the final work. Grayson Perry says his Wacom Cintiq Interactive Pen Display has revolutionised his drawing.

Illustrator Joel Stewart writes insightfully about his own awkward transition from so called ‘hand-made’ to making art on the screen…

“I’m fond of pulling people up when they refer only to the non-digital as being hand-made, as though those of us working with Wacom tablets or Cintiq screens made the computers do all the work with our hands tied behind our backs.”

When the dust settles on the last few decades digital art equipment will be regarded as just another tool available to artists to utilise. As ever it’s up to creative communities to utilise these tools with imagination and skill to determine their effectiveness and staying power.

First up comes Adobe’s online suite of digital tools Creative Cloud. For over 25 years Photoshop has been at the heart of digital creativity from the special effects on Star Wars to Shepard Fairey’s iconic Hope poster. In almost 20 years of using Photoshop myself I’ve created art for screenprints, designed graphics for websites and manipulated photos. There’s not another creative tool (outside of a pencil or pen) I’m more comfortable with.

If Photoshop’s all you need then you can subscribe to Adobe’s Photography Plan with Photoshop & Lightroom for £9.98 a month. If you want to get access to the full suite of Adobe’s creative tools then keep reading…

If you want to use more creative software than just Photoshop and Lightroom then you’re probably considering paying for the full Creative Cloud experience. Let’s mention the elephant in the room first. Businesses are used to paying large amounts for software licences but if you’re a freelance artist, designer, photographer, filmmaker or weekend hobbyist then Creative Cloud doesn’t come cheap. The current price for an annual plan for individuals is £49.94 a month. That’s an outlay of £599.28 a year. Ouch.

Let’s take a deep breath then zoom out for take a long view perspective. Before that there’s some very good news for students and teachers who can save an almighty 65% and pay just £16.24 for the full Creative Cloud experience. But what about the rest of us… is it worth it?

When I think of the money I make a year from art and design work created with Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and Dreamweaver then £50 a month is a pretty small percent to pay for the digital tools I use every day. Plus, a Creative Cloud subscription keeps those trusted tools sharp as I’ll always be using the latest versions as they keep evolving and improving. Throw in all the fonts I need with the bundled Adobe Fonts, the ability to use Adobe’s apps on my tablet and phone and Creative Cloud backing up all my files across all devices and it looks a much better deal.

I’m currently experimenting with Affinity Apps as a cheaper solution and will update this guide if I decide to make the switch.

Having worked as an artist and designer since dinosaurs roamed the internet I’ve gone through my fair share of digital art equipment.

After all this time I’d like to think I’ve figured out an essential gear list for a creative freelancer on a budget. So if you’re thinking of setting up your own business as a graphic designer, digital artist, illustrator or web designer then the list below is a good place to start.

While I’ve called it an essential gear list there are a few things you could probably do without the monitor and tablet if you splurge on a good enough laptop. Even then I’d still consider hooking your laptop up to a large monitor for creative work. Here’s a scary thought – you’ll probably spend more time staring at your monitor than you’ll gaze at any of your loved ones so you might as well make it a good one!

If you do decide to go for a lightweight laptop to stay creative on the move – don’t skimp on a good graphics card, lots of memory, a fast hard drive (or two) and a speedy processor.

But sometimes a laptop just won’t cut it and you’ll need a high end desktop workstation for heavy duty film editing, 3D animation or large photoshop files. Buying all the digital art equipment below can be a bit daunting but most of it will last for years and you can stagger your purchases in line with your income.

For each computer arts category I’ve included links to buying guides or reviews while the links on the right take you to the appropriate category on Amazon, eBay or Wex photographic. I hope you find it useful and whatever you buy becomes a faithful tool for creating beautiful work for many years.

Product	Category	Buy
	1. Laptop I ditched my desktop PC a few years ago for a 15″ Macbook Pro and I love it. Even after 5 years video editing and multi-layered Photoshop files are a breeze. PC Advisor: Laptop Reviews  |  Wirecutter: Best Laptops	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	2. Monitor My Dell UltraSharp U2412M has been an excellent monitor for art, graphics and web work and well worthy of Wirecutter’s Best 24″ Monitor accolade. TFT Central: Monitor Reviews  |  Wirecutter: Best Monitors	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	3. Tablet Seeing Hockney’s iPad art at his RA show made me want to go straight out and buy one. So I did. Apple’s iPad Pro 12.9″ & Pencil have been fantastic with Paperlike’s screen protector. PC Advisor: Tablet Reviews  |  Wirecutter: Best Tablets	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	4. Printer I’ve been really happy with my Canon ix6850 A3 printer for art, design and photography prints. Use these links to find the best printer for your creative needs too. PC Advisor: Printer Reviews  |  Wirecutter: Best Printers	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	5. Scanner For a cheap A4 scanner you can’t go wrong with the Canon LiDE 220 it’s great for scanning artwork. Check our review & shop links for A3 scanners and more… Expert Reviews: Scanners  |  Wirecutter: Best Scanners	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	6. Graphics Tablet My Wacom Intuos S Graphics Tablet has completely replaced my mouse. If you get a sore wrist from using a mouse then seriously consider switching. Creative Bloq: Reviews  |  Concept Art Empire: Guide	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	7. Colour Calibration Getting the colours right from monitor to printer to paper is no mean feat. Thankfully tools like the Atomos Atom help your colours get along nicely. Creative Bloq: Guide  |  Digital Camera World: Guide	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	8. Creative Software If Adobe’s Creative Cloud is outwith your budget, try the much cheaper Affinity Apps or free digital art applications like Krita or Gimp. Digital Arts: Guide  |  Creative Bloq: Best Software	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex
	9. Paper & Ink I’ve always used Canon printers and am a big fan of their glossy photo paper for photography prints & high resolution paper for art & graphics work. Amatuer Photographer: Inkjet Papers  |  Which: Cheap Inks	Amazon
		eBay
		Wex

Don’t forget our top recommendations for filmmaking and photography gear above too.

1. Wex Photographic – Great for Mac gear and everything else on the list too
2. Amazon – There’s no escaping it, they gots lots of stuff
3. eBay – First port of call for cheap digital art gear

Overclockers – Much loved retailer of high end computing hardware
Scan – If you want something fast go to these computer equipment specialists

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Graffiti Supplies

Okay, confession time. Back in the day I used to have aspirations to be a graffiti artist and my graffiti moniker (known only to a select group of friends) was, erm… The Wizard. Thankfully most of The Wizard’s graffiti writing remained safe from public view in sketchbooks with only the odd tag and artwork on local run down buildings. It was the late eighties and hip hop and graffiti culture were winging their way to the UK via films like Wild Style and Style Wars (watch full doc on Youtube) not to forget the UK’s own Bombin’ documentary (entire doc also on Youtube).

As I drew graffiti letters on the backs of jotters little would I know the impact spraycan art would have on the art world and wider culture over the coming decades. Its ripples reverberated in the groundbreaking work of Jean-Michel Basquiat to the present day street art of Banksy. Yet compared to many of the art disciplines on this page most of graffiti’s tools haven’t changed (spray paint and markers) and remain accessible to most and relatively cheap. Here’s the best places I could find to buy graffiti supplies online…

Graff City is the daddy of all UK graffiti supply stores. A Trust Pilot rating of 98% excellent or great (from over 6,000 reviews) shows they treat their customers the right way too. Customers can collect Graff Points with every purchase with a value of 3p for every pound spent.

Graff City have over 80,000 spray paint cans in stock from the US based MTN to Chinese brand Ironlak. There’s a wide range of graffiti themed clothing, graffiti books and magazines. Perhaps my favourite thing about Graff City is that they give away some Free Stuff with every order. That’s my kind of art supply store.

For once in this mammoth post I’m turning to a US based store instead of a UK one. Sometimes you’ve just got to take the postage hit (and possible customs and duty charge) when you want the best gear. So my second choice of graffiti supplies store Art Primo, a Seattle based art supply company who aims to “arm you with the best tools to create revolutionary artwork”. Where else can you buy the best graffiti materials alongside cheap Brooklyn Billboard Model Kits for miniature experimenting.

Art Primo also stock some really nice skateboards (at decent prices), clothing, backpacks and just about anything else you can associate with graffiti culture. I haven’t even mentioned their huge stock of spray paint, spray paint caps, markers and ink. Some of the best clothing I’ve bought has been shipped from the US (thanks TurntableLab) and every time it’s been worth it so if you see something you really want at Art Primo then just take the hit and enjoy it!

After Writer’s Bench closed AlFresh stepped in to take our third place title. In their own words AlFresh.co are “one of the UK’s leading graffiti spray paint suppliers.” Same day dispatch and free delivery on orders over £75.

1. Graff City – The leading video equipment retailer in the UK for good reason
2. Art Primo – Great website, vast range of products & top customer service
3. AlFresh.co – Cambridge based store with wide range of cans, pens and markers

Bombing Science – US based Graffiti Store & one of the biggest worldwide
4Graffiti – UK online store run by graffiti writers with decent prices
Fat Buddha – Clothing store with a select range of cans, pens and markers

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Craft Supplies

Researching the best website to buy art and craft supplies online has been the most labour intensive category so far. There’s several huge craft shops online (often with high street stores) and hundreds of specialist craft retailers tailored for their particular niche. So how to choose the best three from so many options?

Well I’ve gone with a mixture of my own experience using each website, comparing searches for range of stock, reading customer reviews, overall popularity, value for money prices and an overall sense of trustability.

While I’ll be focusing on craft supplies specialists most of my research for the cheapest arts and crafts prices were usually Amazon’s Arts & Crafts section and eBay’s Crafts section.

So if you’re primary concern is getting cheap craft supplies then check eBay or Amazon but if you’ve a long shopping list (and don’t want to order items from lots of different Amazon & eBay resellers) then you might find The Works almost as cheap with everything arriving in one order.

If I could only use one online craft store that would give me the best chance of finding a random craft material I’d go with Hobbycraft. With dozens of craft stores across the UK Hobbycraft has been at the forefront of UK arts and crafts supplies for over 20 years and have the widest range of craft supplies and some reasonable prices. Winner of the Best Craft Chainstore UK Craft Awards in years gone by but does that high street success carry over to Hobbycraft’s online store?

In my opinion it’s a yes while Trustpilot currently has 85% of Hobbycraft customers recommending the site as great or excellent (with a score of 4.4 out of 5). The site is cleanly designed, easy to use and often has the largest range of products on searches compared to the competitor sites I tried.

At the time of writing you can also get a tidy 15% off your next order (in-store or online) as well as member’s offers and discounts if you join the Hobbycraft Club here. There’s free delivery for orders over £30 and a click and collect service at your local store for orders over £10.

Something I always like to see is a student discount and Hobbycraft offers 10% off for students if you register via Unidays. Don’t forget to check Hobbycraft’s clearance section – there’s with lots of stuff under a £1!

A close runner up to Hobbycraft for general arts and crafts supplies is Create & Craft who frequently top polls of the best online craft retailer so I’ll leave the final decision on the top choice battle with you!

While Etsy (and Folksy) are many people’s first choice for buying and selling handmade craft goods but have you ever thought of searching Etsy for craft supplies too? Turns out there’s loads of arts and crafts materials on Etsy at some really good prices too. What’s even better is the money you spend on Etsy is often going directly to a fellow crafter creating a virtuous circle of craftiness or something.

Shopping on Etsy for craft supplies can be a refreshing change from mainstream shopping. With creative people selling (and often making) the supplies you can find some really unique craft materials you’d never find from a high street store.

A quick browse of Etsy’s Craft Wood section gives you a feel for the uniqueness and variety of craft materials on offer. From pear tree slices to lobster trap driftwood. Have a wander round Etsy’s craft supplies section for yourself but don’t blame me if the next two hours of your life vanishes in the process!

1. Hobbycraft – An almighty big range of crafting materials at good prices
2. Etsy – Craft supplies with a handmade and pleasingly quirky touch
3. Jewellery Maker – Best store for jewellery making supplies

Sew And So – The UK’s largest online needlecraft shop is huge for the right reasons
Abakhan – Supplying fabrics, yarns and crafts supplies for over 70 years

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Well done – you made it to the end of the longest article I’ve ever written! Hopefully you’ve found some of it useful and if you did I’d really appreciate if you could pass it along to your friends, family and creative colleagues!

Oh and if you liked this you might also enjoy my 10 Ways To Sell Art Online article too.

Lastly, for those looking to buy art here’s 10 Ways to Buy Original Art Online.