Eckersley’s Art & Craft

To say I’m a novice at art would be a massive overstatement but I decided to express myself through a water colour course at the WEA. They sent me a list of supplies I would need that absolutely boggled my mind (what on earth is a gouache!!) I went to the WEA and began hopelessly searching for the items on my list — when you have no idea what a thing is it makes it much harder to find. A lovely girl approached me and asked if she could help, when she saw my list she not only helped me find the supplies but also explained their use and showed me the options that were on sale. The store is so well set up for almost any form of art and when I went to the counter they told me that I get 10% because I’m studying.
The only reason the store got 4 stars out of 5 is because of the lack in free parking. I had to park at the Rhino Room parking costing a minimum of $ 4 for half an hour — not that it took me any longer than that but it’s more the principal of the matter. The bonus is the Rhino Room is right next door, so if you have a lot of stuff to buy you don’t have a long way too drag your stuff.
As far as pricing goes, I’m really clueless. I expected things to be a bit more expensive because it’s a specialty store and they only sell quality goods — but as I’m a newbie to the art world I really can’t say. They did have a lot of sales on when I was there and they gave me 10% off the overall price — so I think they try to make art a bit more achievable for those budding artists who aren’t making $$$ per piece. As far as store experience and staff attitude goes Eckersely got ⁵⁄₅ for me!

Thank goodness for Eckersley’s! After an art class teaches you a new technique with a different medium all you want to do is stock up on it and go experiment. I searched several art suppliers and could not find drawing ink anywhere, until I found Eckersley’s.
Although a little pricey, this store is stocked to the brim with all the art and craft supplies you can imagine. I could walk around the store all day finding countless items I want to be mine. If you want top quality or something unique, this is definitely the place to shop. The staff is very knowledgeable and can help you find what you need instead of you wasting time looking around aimlessly.
Obviously I mainly go here for the drawing inks, but the craft section and particularly the patterned papers always find me walking out with more than I needed. Be prepared to spend a bit of money but in return you will have the best quality products so you can create the best quality art pieces.

Hello, my name’s Lana and I’m an art supplies addict.
Eckersleys is a great place to get my fix: nice and central just off of Rundle Street, it’s small façade belies a pretty impressive collection of all things art and craft. From easels and acrylics to charcoals and craft supplies — it’s a daydream for peeps like me.
While the stock is top quality and perfect for professional fine artists, what I like is that Eckersleys also caters for beginners and dilettantes. I’ve picked up kid’s paints and paper for my little niece here and they also sell well-​priced packs for the beginner or for gifts.
I also seriously love their paper selection, if you’re an origamist (totally a word) or making your own handmade letters/​invites/​crafts etc they’ve got some amazeballs paper action. The Japanese washi papers are particularly rad.
The staff are always knowledgeable and helpful as well.

5 stars for stocking silk dyes, because no one else seems too.
It’s a little pricey here, but I come for the brushes because they are really good quality and you can’t paint silk with a shedding brush.
There is every paper under the sun as well as painting easels which make life a hell of a lot easier on your back let me tell you, don’t get your easel from here though, go to neds.
The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable on their products which is refreshing. it’s not just an art supply store either, Ekersleys holds workshops for artists who want to learn new skills or improve in certain areas, some are free and others are basically free so it’s a win either way. If you are a student you get a discount which is a nice touch, pity I’m not a student because I’m a regular here.
Great for facepaints too, just don’t tell everyone who has children that you own facepaints because BAM, just like that you’re the entertainment at every kids party.

Eckersleys is on the whole a very good art and craft store.
I find that Premier Art is cheaper and Central Art Supplies more informative and of higher quality than Eckersleys and would usually use one of those in preferance to Eckerslys.
However, they do have a very broad range, stock a number of items which are not available at the other art stores and from time to time have specials on offer which are cheaper beyond comparison when compared to other art supply stores.
They have a very broad range of craft papers, as well as a good selection of easels and canvasses. (I recently got a very large italian made studio easel ultra cheap from eckersleys on special.)
They stock as a standard item an acryllic paper pad (which I find very useful for water colour painting) which has a great deal more than the standard 12 – 20 sheets at a very affordable rate. I have not found anything comparable anywhere else.
I also picked up a very high quality Kolinsky-​Sable brush (a real not synthetic one) from Ecersleys which although expensive is fantastic and has lasted me years of use.

When I was studying architecture, I basically lived at Eckersleys.
They have every kind of pen, paper, coloured marker, stencil etc. you can find!
They can get a little pricey due to their high quality stock, but they also do student discounts, which is a nice bonus.
Located on Frome St adjacent to the Rhino Room, it is accessible and a popular store for art/​design/​architecture students. I believe it is a nationwide brand, and there’s only one retailer in SA.
Things that I couldn’t find anywhere I would find at Eckersleys. The staff are very knowledgeable, most of them being from art/​design backgrounds.
After doing my research, I found that Eckersleys are also active sponsors in the local art/​design sector and supply art and crafts directly to schools and universities.
The store is quite small from the outside and easily missed if you’re not looking out for it. However, once you get inside you will be hooked. Especially if you love fresh sheets of coloured paper and fine point pens, like myself.