Janoff’s Typewriter & Stationery

Very convenient location. Went to purchase a (very particular) brand & color of notebook and a pen & a roll of tape that most stores have stopped stocking. They had them. Beats the hassle of shuttling downtown in order to look through aisles and aisles only to be disappointed.
Glad this place exists – just wish they’d carry 18×14″ Strathmore 400 series recycled paper pads.

Pros:
(+) They have tons of art supplies
(+) Some selection of Filox fax refills
(+) Paints, markers, color pencils, paint markers, etc
(+) Next to Columbia University
(+) Calligraphy pens & nibs
Cons:
(-) Way overpriced!
(-) Some of the paper & notebooks look like they’ve been shelved for a while and are yellowing
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For any artist, this is a haven if you are in need of art supplies that you don’t have time to order online for. From the front, It looks like a very small shop, but it goes deep into the back with more supplies. They’ve managed to creatively stock a huge selection in such a tiny place. I have found tons of art supplies here that I have only been able to order online before. But they are rather expensive so you have to ask yourself if you’re willing to pay the extra bucks for convenience and buy it here or wait a few days and order it online and just wait on shipping. They do have a small selection of Filofax refills and some washi tapes. Not the best selection in washi tape, but they have some. They have moleskin notebooks in different colors, but again, they are expensive. The classic moleskin ranges online for $ 13 – 17 depending on size but here it was $ 23, yikes! I get my calligraphy pens and nibs here as well, not a huge selection, but a few especially for beginners.

This is a fun store with all types of stationary, board, pen, crafty needs etc… It also has great basics like brushes, glues, rulers, protracters, sketchbooks, different mediums and much more. The prices are decent, they try to keep it low therefore there are no student discounts. Employees are very kind and professional.

I came in here a few weeks ago and it felt like I was in «pen heaven». Yes, I’m a pen addict! I collect all kinds of pens and markers lol so when I stumbled upon this store by accident, it literally made my day! Although I really didnt need any more pens I spent about $ 30. They sell all kinds of office supplies so if you’re looking for a somewhat like «staples» store, this is definitely it. I will definitely be back!!!

I’ve been shopping here for over 20 yrs, and am very glad it’s in the neighborhood. They have everything, the service is helpful and friendly, and yes, it’s pricier than big box stores but IT’S OKAY because you’d have to pay for transportation to get to one of them, so that would render the savings moot, right? You’re paying for convenience, which is worth a lot sometimes. I’m happy to support small businesses, especially this place.

Jam-​packed stationary store full of lots of pens, pads, and art supplies. Prices are comparable to the «bigger guys,» so why not support a small business in the neighborhood?
I’d love this place even more if they had greeting cards; I feel like this type of store also needs some good, clever cards.

there’s a reason people refer to them as JackOffs. it hurts my soul to shop here and I am forced to under deadlines. otherwise, I highly, highly recommend taking the subway for $ 5 roundtrip to any utrecht location for a much nicer and happier experience– not to mention you’ll save half the money you would otherwise spend here.

It’s a small store, but very dense so they manage to have a good selection. Cheaper than some other office supply stores, but still pretty pricey. It really annoys me that they put little orange price stickers on a lot of the paper products in the store. Often, you can’t remove the sticker without damaging folder it’s on
In summary: I don’t like this store, but I go there because I have to.

The only Art Supply around!

I’m torn. It’s like a love/​hate relationship. I hate that I need them but love that they’re here. They really are so convenient — great location and they have pretty much everything you’ll need. But they are so pricey! Sooo pricey! Before I go, I typically spend a few minutes weighing the pros and cons of going here or alllll the way down to Pearl. If it’s not urgent, I’ll usually pass on Janoff’s. Though I’d probably need another reason to head down that direction to justify the $ 5 RT subway ride. Sadly, more often than not, it is urgent. In which case, like Heather H. said, «thank goodness it’s here.»
Some other pros:
–everyone that works here is really nice and helpful
–because things are pricy here, it hinders impulse shopping
–it’s a small store so no trekking up all those stairs at Pearl or spending hours waiting for the elevator

janoff (verb) slang; vulgar.
1. The act of buying too many art supplies
2. Artistic masturbation
–antonyms: janon
The best response to Janoff’s was best put by Heather H.: ‘Thank goodness it’s here.‘
There have been too many times when I was preparing an oil painting and realized, after prepping the canvas and pouring out the paints, that I was missing a crucial component: I ran out of turpentine; I spilled my linseed; my cat ate my fan brush (yes, he did that). It’s these times that I’m glad Janoff’s is in the hood as I have some place to grab supplies on a whim. Even though I’m not the artist I once was, I still get that kid-​in-​a-​candy-​store feeling when I arrive, and I daresay I often leave with more than I need.
This is troubling as their prices aren’t exactly competitive. They don’t need to be, of course, as they have a monopoly in the area. Even so, the store reeks of Columbia Student Exploitation, and I don’t care to be dragged into the CU circle-​jerk any more than I have to. I find it amusing that they don’t have a student discount. Isn’t that a staple of college art supply stores?
That said, it’s tough to review them too poorly as they certainly keep everything I could need amply stocked despite their tiny size. That and I can’t see myself going to Michael’s, no matter how cheap they may be.

Science peeps like to draw too, y’know. So, I was buying a sketchbook and some charcoal pencils. Trying to at least. Only, my card wouldn’t swipe. I have a very finicky debit card. I suggested to the two guys behind the counter that they work the old plastic-​bag-​over-​the-​magnetic-​strip trick. One guy clearly had no clue and I don’t think the other guy was too familiar either. Through a bit of teamwork they managed to figure it out. Low and behold, it worked like a charm. The best part was how excited they were by this and they even gave me props for offering the suggestion/​instruction. «Brilliant!» Ha!
So, 3 stars for having a wide selection of sketching paper, pencils and such. 1 star for the staff getting excited about increasing the signal-​to-​noise ratio in the magnetic strip of my debit card. Form and function; a beautiful thing.

What to write about Janoff’s? I guess, «Thank goodness it’s here.»
Because sometimes, it’s early in the morning and you’ve been in the studio all night and you realize that you need to do one more drawing, but you’ve run out of mylar and you sure as hell aren’t going all the way down to Pearl Paint because it’s far, far away and, anyway, you don’t have enough time before the noon review, so begrudgingly you walk to Janoff’s and by their perennial «Pen Sale» sign and you pay the huge mark up on a couple sheets of mylar and maybe some leads and a .01 pen, but at least you’ve got your work done in time for your architecture professors to rip on it at the review.
Yeah, at least you’ve got that.