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Blick Art Materials
We support artists at all stages of their artistic journey. As a leading art supply company, we provide artists, educators, students, and our associates with the tools, assistance, and training needed to grow, innovate, and reach their creative potential. BLICK Art Materials is family-owned and serving artists since 1911.
With excellent service for a quality shopping experience, we want to ensure you find the best art supplies at the lowest prices. Our goal is to make your shopping experience easy and enjoyable, so you can find the quality art supplies that you need quickly and affordably. With one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry, we hold true to continuously providing the most competitive prices by monitoring them each and every day.
Our commitment to excellence is supported by a team that's friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable in all areas of art supplies. We proudly work with local artists and arts organizations across the country, and support a variety of national events as well as local community events.
How It All Began
Built on innovation and creativity, BLICK is a company of firsts. Dick Blick's first catalog originated in 1911 in the form of a small pamphlet issued by the company's founders, Dick and Grace Blick. Our first product was a lettering pen, the Payzant, which quickly became a bestseller. The Blick's first warehouse was their kitchen, and their first shipping department was the Galesburg, Illinois post office where they would send out their daily shipments.
As an advertiser and show card writer, Dick Blick traveled frequently from Galesburg to Chicago to study the newest designs in window displays and merchandise. While shopping in 1910, he noticed an odd-looking craftsman pen and immediately had the idea of adapting this pen for those in his trade. After developing the writing tool, news of the Payzant was picked up by popular publication, The Dry Goods Economist, and word spread quickly. The pen sold well and shipped fast, as Dick Blick fulfilled orders each and every day from the attic of his home complete with a typewriter, an ordinary kitchen table, and his stock of lettering pens ready to ship.
Determined for success, Blick soon added other familiar advertising industry items including sign writing products, paintbrushes for signage, and other lettering tools. He later added paints with additional colors, poster paper, inks, cardboard, and just about everything both the traditional and sign artist would need. Above all, he made sure his quality art supplies were always available for immediate shipment.
Today, we are in our third generation of family ownership and have become the largest and oldest provider of art supplies in the United States. Our products cater to the full spectrum of artists — from a child scribbling with a crayon, to art students in training, to well-known art professionals. Our excellent customer service, extensive selection, and competitive prices make us the best choice for seasoned and new artists alike including art educators, architects, designers, students, and hobbyists.