See Blick Art Material's All Current Promotions
(ongoing offers)
=====================================================
Save 10% on orders of $69+ plus FREE Shipping on orders of $150+
(expires Dec 31 11 or later)
====================================================
Save 20% on orders of $169+ plus FREE Shipping on orders of $150+
(expires Dec 29 11 or later)
====================================================
Save up to 82% on Select Items!
(ongoing offer)
==============================
Save over 50% on Clearance Items
(ongoing offer)
==============================
Visit the NEW Blick Holiday Gift Shop
==============================
My Dick Blick Review
As anyone who has ever purchased an artist’s brush will tell you, art supplies are expensive. And getting quality supplies can be difficult. Here is a company that guarantees to sell high quality at the lowest possible price.
Dick Blick is a family owned premium art supply store for professional artists, students as well as teachers who look forward to a wide variety of art materials, at affordable prices. It started in 1911 with their one product: a lettering pen. From that single best-selling item that a husband and wife (Mr. and Mrs. Dick Blick) were selling, Dick Blick has grown into a company that employs hundreds, and has stores located throughout the U.S., presently in 18 states and about to be in Florida, which will be their 19th state. All their stores are company owned.
They publish extensive catalogs of supplies for artists and schools. The 2011 edition of the Blick School Catalog is 648 pages. In it can be found paints, mediums, brushes, canvas, papers, frames, airbrushes, screen printing, sign making, woodworking, sculpture, and ceramic supplies, easels, art furniture, books, DVDs and more. And their 2011 edition of their Blick Studio Catalog is 568 pages, which they call “The Big Book” of artist’s resources. It features new products and old for those who are painting, drawing, designing, sculpting, throwing, carving, casting, framing, presenting, storing, or transporting.
Blick buys in bulk directly from manufacturers. This allows them to pass along the savings to their customers.
Is Dick Blick Worth it? – Key Features and Benefits that Differentiate Dick Blick from Other Art Suppliers
My research shows that Dick Blick is worth it for the following reasons:
- Dick Brick offers an impressive video library that educates students and teachers on a wide range of art topics, from how to make Picasso-inspired soft sculpture to how to prepare coil paper baskets. These educational videos make art easy and fun. I enjoyed watching the following video that explains how you can make acrylic paint "skins".
-
Many of their products are eco-friendly. Even their distribution center in Illinois is “green”, consuming only a tenth of the energy required to heat and cool a building of its size. This allows them to maintain sell their products at a lower cost passing the savings on to you.
-
Their site is arranged by departments, such as brushes, printmaking, screen printing. This allows the user to quickly find the product they are looking for.
-
The front page of their site offer “Hot Deals of the Week” on a variety of products. Some of these deals offer a saving of over 60% off the list price.
-
A Clearance Section offers incredibly low prices on items. If you find what you want in this section, you may save more than 50%. You can also search this section by Department and by Price.
-
They offer a wide variety of payment options. In addition to Blick Gift Cards and Gift Certificates, they accept PayPal, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Optima, Diners Club and JCB credit cards.
-
They guarantee 100% satisfaction with their merchandise or you may return it for a full replacement or refund within 30 days. This policy removes the risk of ordering from them.
-
They provide a very active online forum for artists called Wet Canvas. Any question you may have about anything to do with art and artists is answered by knowledgeable forum members.
- Blick supports young artists and makes a difference for students like Bridgette.
My favorite feature of their site is a listing of Blick Lesson Plans for teachers which can be searched by grade level, discipline, and includes video lesson plans. This is a real help for teachers.
Dick Blick Cons—Disadvantages
Their site does not provide live chat, which could be of great help when looking at so many similar products.
What Stores Might Be Better Than Dick Blick?
How Does Dick Blick Compare to Similar Merchants?
I selected two art supply stores to compare with Dick Blick.
The first store I selected is Utrecht Art, a Brooklyn business that makes its own premium artists paints and gesso. Additionally, they supply an extensive list of materials from the leading national brands and they helpfully list them as links to their product listings. Another feature of their site is Class Lists where you can get all the supplies you need for a class with one click. I checked on their prices for easels and they ranged from under $20 to just under $3000. Their price for a Best Kelley Easel is $899 while Dick Blick’s price is $862.
The second store I selected to compare with Dick Blick was Art Supply Warehouse, a California based company that sells an extensive line of art supplies. Their listing for the X-Acto Paper Trimmer with Laser was $70.99, considerably more than the Dick Blick price of $52.60 for the same item. They offer free shipping on orders more than $150. In general, their list of products for sale was not as large as Dick Blick’s.
What is The Cost?
Because the site is so extensive, I have concentrated on one kind of artist brushes to give an idea of the prices. Here are the prices for Da Vinci Kolinsky Red Sable Oil Brushes:
- Bright, Size 00 Long handle, 1.6mm width, 3.4mm length $7.69
- Bright, Size 12 Long handle, 12mm width, 12 mm length $24.90
- Filbert, Size 0 Long handle, 1.8mm width, 6.5 mm length $10.60
- Filbert, Size 24 Long handle, 25mm width, 26mm length $149.99
- Flat, Size 12 Long handle, 12mm width, 18mm length $28.10
- Round, Size 30 Long handle, 10mm width, 32mm length $194.99
What Are Others Saying? Testimonials—Feedback-- Comments
With a single exception, the feedback on Dick Blick is that they provide what they claim and that they are easy to deal with.
Any Promotional Coupons for DickBlick? How to Buy at a Discount
As affiliates of DickBlick, we regularly check for coupon codes and promotional deals that work so that you will get the best prices. If there are any Dick Blick coupon codes or discounts available today you will find them at the top of this page.
Leave a Reply