Kid in an Art Shop

Kid in an Art Shop

About five years ago, I was on a business trip to New York. Staying in the SOHO neighborhood through a weekend, I had some time to relax and entertain myself. I asked someone where I might find an art supply store or somewhere to buy a sketchbook and pencils.

Such a simple question. How would I know that I was about to stumble into what must be one of the most complete, funky and 'candy-like' of art stores? I was directed to Pearl Paint on Canal Street.

At that point, I hadn't even been doing any sketching (but had been painting for years), and didn't know what I would sketch. I didn't even really know what I was looking for. But this old building, with staircases that lead to more and more art supplies, was oddly intoxicating.

I truly felt like a kid in a candystore.

There were supplies of every type imaginable. Thousands of brushes. Paints. Papers. Everything.

I grabbed a sketchbook. A pen or two. Some colored pencils. A graphite pencil. A leather pouch for holding pens and pencils.

When I went to purchase the items in my basket, some were rung up, and then I was instructed to take other items to a different floor. Pens were tracked and sold on a separate floor from the pencils.

This seemed ridiculously kooky and perhaps a bit sophisticated.

It is a gigantic, magical mayhem:

"Pearl is a gigantic store

(an entire building, in fact) that offers everything from origami paper to portfolios; they sell hundreds of different types of paint, drawing utensils, and other art supplies. If you are overwhelmed by the bounty of goodies, their helpful staff will show you where to find whatever you are looking for. " http://www.ny.com/shopping/art/pearl.html

"There’s no art or craft supply you won’t find on these floors of mayhem. Most stores have a few shelves of pastels; this place has half a roomful of them. " http://www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/977.htm

It's been a while since I've been to NY, and the last few trips haven't included a trip to Pearl. (There's one here in SF, but it doesn't carry the magic.) Sometimes I wonder if a repeat visit would live up to the memory. In some ways, I suspect it would. But, in others, it simply couldn't. That initial discovery and surprise, upon finding each floor of what seemed to be never-ending art supplies. . .

Yet, seeing others' enthusiasm....
(http://www.yelp.com/biz/GfP4vWcc3TN_YMfFafcMXw)

• "Pearl Paint is Art Student Heaven. If Pearl Paint doesn't have it, it doesn't exist...."
• "Fun to romp in, sometimes buy."
• "My absolute favorite thing about a trip to Pearl Paint is climbing the rickety, hideous stairway all the way to the top and visiting the tiny room where they keep the most amazing array of papers I've ever seen. "
• "Each floor is dedicated to a specialty and each floor has the specialists to sell it to you. A NYC institution. . ."

. . . I will have to make a point of revisiting Pearl on my next trip to New York. In the meantime, I'm shopping in online candystores, where the art supplies are probably as comprehensive, but the experience isn't quite as funky.

The online version: http://www.pearlpaint.com/. Other online stores: http://www.dickblick.com/, http://www.misterart.com/. And my little neighborhood store (which isn't big, but often has most of what I'm looking for): http://www.maggiesarts.com/index.html.