Kozo Fine Art Materials

Art supply stores are getting harder to find these days. With customers going online to find art supplies for cheap it’s becoming more important for brick and mortar stores to offer incentives to get customers in their doors. Kozo Fine Art Materials is just that art supply store.
Kozo is a small art store located off South Broadway and Ellsworth Avenue that offers a lot to its customers.
Owner Patricia Branstead has worked as a printer for 25 years and is skilled in book arts and papermaking. Being a passionate artist herself, she knows what artists want and need.
When you walk in, you’ll notice a lot of art materials packed into a cozy space. There is a plethora of painting supplies from canvases, acrylics, watercolors, oil paints, and any type and style of brush you desire. It’s enough to make Picasso weep with happiness.
If painting is not quite your forte, Kozo has an impressive selection of printmaking supplies for you, too. From a multitude of inks and tools to different types of papers from around the world, Kozo offers an interesting and lovely selection.
The folks at Kozo can help you find anything regardless of the style. Whether it’s intaglio, screen-​printing, or linolium, Kozo has the supplies that will help you finish any project.
For the drawing fanatics out there, Kozo has a surplus of pens and pencils, all of varying textures and widths. Also, don’t neglect the exhaustive paper offerings.
Having a lot of product is only one side of having a successful art supply store; you also need great customer service. Patricia and the employees of Kozo are always helpful and knowledgable. If you have any questions they will make sure you are getting the answers you need. You can also ask them for suggestions on how to do something and if you need a professional opinion on your project they are more than happy to help; you can’t say the same about
and other online retailers.
Kozo has recently expanded its quaint shop to include a studio that offers workshops. So if you ever want to learn a new technique or hangout with a bunch of people that enjoy making art, a workshop might be just what you need. Taught by professionals who have worked in the art world for many years, you can be assured that they won’t steer you wrong.
Kozo is a nice reprieve from the big box stores and over-​priced internet shops. Friendly service, great value, workshops to make sure you are on the right track, and a convenient downtown location make Kozo an artist’s dream come true.
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Matt Osier, 1÷23÷13

Awesome art supplies, great selection of cool paper, definitely coming here for all my art supplies.

The owner Patricia is very friendly and knowledgeable about paper. She attended conferences and travel all over the place to find the best paper for her customers. I needed some paper to make origami boxes. I told her what kind of paper I was looking for and she immediately went to the back and found some samples for me to choose from. I am impressed by the selections of the paper and how beautiful everything is. Price can be high but a lot of papers are handmade with traditional techniques, so I am willing to splurge once in a while.

I love this place, closer to my house than Meininger’s (close to ice cream) and has everything at a good price. The owner is really nice and worked with me on pricing when I wanted to buy a large quantity of paper.
They have everything an artist could need (brushes, pens, ink, paint, canvass, all kinds of paper (including hand made), pencils, etc…
It’s a small store, but don’t let that fool you, they carry A LOT of stuff. I really enjoy the personal touch/​attention, especially when I am using a new medium. They are knowledgeable and helpful.
There is street metered parking, so bring change.

Their site says they open at 10 AM. on Saturdays but they don’t answer the phone until 10 after. No big deal. But I go in looking for something specific, white ink. They have it in the brand less-​preferred but not in the one I’m looking for. Fine. Everything is covered in dust, OK whatever, the ink still looks fresh enough. So I go ahead and buy the ink because it’s cheaper than Meininger’s.

While looking for a parking place somewhere near Sweet Action (I needed comforting ice cream) I pulled off onto Ellsworth and spied this darling little art supply store. I wandered in and the owner was very friendly and offered to help me find anything. She kinda looked at me like I was a crazy person, but I expect you’d want to size up anyone that just wandered into your store off of Broadway (and I do have crazy eyes today).
The store carries canvases, brushes, paints, pencils, pens — if you can make art with it, you’ll find it here. Now the store isn’t very big, so there aren’t 15 different brands of paints to choose from, but I’m cool with that as I often become paralyzed when presented with too many options.
The store specializes in fine art paper and here is where they shine. They are currently having an impressive sale on three different kinds of very nice paper, including a handmade tissue paper finer than angel toilet paper. Any of these papers are perfect for collage, origami, homemade cards, scrapbooks or any other paper art expression.
It’s not like I’ll never go to Meininger’s again, but I like knowing that I have another option close by. I’m a big fan of small independently run stores, so will most assuredly return.