Pearl Design Ctr

05/20/09

BEWARE of this RIP OFF- NO RETURNS ALLOWED!

by picturenyc at Citysearch

Imagine buying a frame taking it home, opening it and realizing it is the wrong color or size. You bring it in to exchange and there should be no problem. NOT AT PEARL PAINT. Where else in the world is the customer wrong. And they offer no assistance - just point at the sign that says no returns on opened goods. Just because that is a store policy does not make it right or fare. I suggest anyone looking for frames or art supplies try any other places and make sure you demand help from these salespeople cause if they were more helpful in the first place you may be able to make a better decision that you won't regret later.

other better places

aifriedman

utrechtart

• Pros: they have stuff you need, but can get anywhere else
• Cons: You open it - you can't return it

04/22/08

The best art store in the city of New York

by DavidJang at Citysearch

My name is david jang, and I go to Pearl Paint when I need paper. I go here when I need pens. I go here when I need high quality French-made notebooks, Clairefontaine, hard to find but i'm completely addicted to them. They've got the best per pound paper out there. I go here when I need new watercolor paints, colored pencils, oil pastels, charcoal pencils, you get the picture. It's the best art store. They give 10% discounts to students. You can make origami, scrapbooks, all kinds of pretty paper in all kinds of big and small sizes, etc. Also, they have tons of things for someone who wants to make crafts as well. Right behind the store are three other crafts stores. One sells frames, another beads and a third sells wood for crafts and hobbies. I love Pearl Paint. I get the artist out of my heart here.

• Pros: huge selection of art supplies for every creative effort you could imagine
• Cons: crowded and bit small, but there's 5 stories

A New York institution, with prices that cater to starving artists.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
Pearl is, for most New York artists, the only place to shop. It was ideally situated when the art world was in Greenwich Village and then Soho, but today the prices and selection manage to draw the Williamsburg crew, especially when it comes to essentials like rolls of canvas and jumbo tubes of oil paint. The only problem is the crowded, harried atmosphere and the time it takes to track down everything you need, often an odyssey that takes you all over the store's five floors.

The Goods
Every material an artist could possibly want or need is here somewhere: drafting boards, gold leaf, airbrush paints, brushes of every shape and size. Just be prepared to stand in line--usually several lines, since Pearl requires customers to pay for things within each department before moving on to the next.