The 5 Best Art Supply Shops in York

June 17, 2026

The 5 Best Art Supply Shops in York | Discount Art Supplies

Written by Paul Worrall

York is one of those cities that rewards artists just by existing. The Shambles, the city walls, the light that falls differently on limestone than it does anywhere else in England — there’s a reason painters have been drawn to York for centuries and a reason they still come. The medieval streetscapes, the river, the Gothic verticality of the Minster, the way the whole city feels like it’s been arranged for someone to paint it. What York doesn’t quite do is supply the materials to do it justice — the art supplies scene here is thinner than you might expect for a city of this cultural weight.

I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for ARTdiscount, one of the UK’s largest online art retailers, and I now run Discount Art Supplies — a price comparison platform used by over 36,000 UK artists every week. Here’s the honest guide to what York actually offers. If you’re planning visits to nearby cities, also check out our guides to the best art supply shops in Manchester and the best art supply shops in Leeds.

1. Hobbycraft York

Hobbycraft York is the most comprehensivley stocked art and craft destination in the city — and if you need a broad range of materials in one visit, it’s where you’ll find them. The York store carries the full Hobbycraft range: acrylics, watercolours, canvases, brushes, drawing supplies, craft kits, fabrics, sewing supplies and a seasonal section that rotates with what artists and crafters are working on at any given time. Staff are consistently praised for being friendly and approachable, and the layout makes it easy to navigate without assistance if you know what you’re after.

I’ve covered Hobbycraft honestly in other city guides and I’ll say the same thing here: it’s not where you go for professional-grade specialist materials and it’s not a fine art specialist. But for everyday consumables, beginner sets, craft supplies and the kind of restocking run where you need canvases, brushes and a few tubes of acrylic without spending a morning hunting around — it’s genuinley useful and priced fairly. The 10% student discount via Student Beans and 15% Blue Light Card discount make it particularly worth knowing about for students at York St John and the University of York. Check our Hobbycraft discount code guide before every order for any current codes.

York is confirmed on Hobbycraft’s current store list — not affected by the closures that hit some other UK locations in 2025. Find Hobbycraft York →

2. York Art Gallery Shop — Museum Gardens

The York Art Gallery shop isn’t a conventional art supplies destination but it earns its place in this guide for what it offers alongside the gallery itself. The gallery — which holds a significant collection of European Old Master paintings, studio ceramics and the celebrated Centre of Ceramic Art — has a well-stocked shop covering art books, prints, ceramics, cards and a curated selection of artist materials and gifts. For artists visiting the gallery, the combination of the collection and the shop makes for a genuinely productive afternoon.

The gallery is worth visiting in its own right regardless of the shop. The ceramics collection is one of the finest in the UK and the temporary exhibition programme is ambitious — the Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition opening in July 2026 is worth timing a visit around if you’re in the area. For an art supplies trip, the shop is a secondary consideration; for an inspirational day out in York, the gallery is the main event and the shop is a worthwile addition.

Located in Museum Gardens, a short walk from the city centre. Visit York Art Gallery →

3. The Viking Loom — York City Centre

The Viking Loom York weaving textile craft shop

The Viking Loom is a genuinley special shop and one of the most distinctive art and craft destinations in the north of England. A specialist in weaving, knitting, spinning and textile craft, it stocks a comprehensive range of yarns, fibres, looms, weaving accessories and textile art supplies that you simply won’t find in general craft shops or art supply chains. The range of hand-dyed yarns in particular is extraordinary — the kind of colour depth and fibre quality that serious textile artists travel specifically to source. The shop’s roots in Viking-era craft traditions give it a distinctive identity that’s more than just a marketing angle — York was a significant Viking settlement and the textile heritage of the city genuinley runs deep.

For painters and fine artists, The Viking Loom may not be the first stop. For textile artists, weavers, knitters, mixed media practitioners and anyone working with fibre as a creative material, it’s a destination worth travelling to. The staff knowledge is exceptional — this is a shop run by people who weave, for people who weave, and the quality of advice available is correspondingly high. If you have any interest at all in textile craft, this is the reason to visit York beyond the obvious tourist attractions.

Visit The Viking Loom online →

4. Ramshambles — The Shambles

Ramshambles stationery paper shop York Shambles

Ramshambles sits on The Shambles — York’s most photographed medieval street and one of the best preserved examples of a medieval shopping street anywhere in Europe — and is one of those paper and stationery shops that makes you feel that independent retail is going to be fine after all. A genuine paper lover’s destination with a range of notebooks, journals, writing instruments, washi tape, cards, gift wrap and stationery that balances the practical with the beautiful. Not a fine art supplies shop in the traditional sense, but an essential stop for anyone who cares about the materials of writing and drawing.

The Shambles location is both the shop’s greatest asset and its most obvious characteristic — browsing Ramshambles on a quiet morning, before the tourist crowds arrive, is one of those York experiences that rewards planning. The quality of the paper goods is high and the curation is thoughtful rather than generic — this is not a tourist souvenir shop that happens to sell some stationery. For journalers, illustrators who work in sketchbooks, and anyone with a serious relationship with paper and stationery, Ramshambles is worth seeking out.

Located on The Shambles, York city centre. Worth checking current stock and opening times before visiting.

5. The Works — York City Centre

The Works York city centre art and craft supplies

The honest version of The Works, as I’ve said in other city guides: not specialist, not deep in range, but genuinley useful for what it is. Canvases, starter paint sets, sketchbooks, pencils, colouring books, craft kits — all at prices that make experimenting affordable and make buying supplies for children completely painless. My kids Zach and Nancy have both benefitted from a Works run when they’ve needed craft materials quickly and I didn’t want to spend a fortune on things that would be finished by teatime. For parents, teachers, beginners and anyone who wants to try a new medium without a significant financial commitment, The Works in York city centre serves a real purpose.

I’d always recommend checking our current deals and price comparisons before any physical shop visit — but for grab-and-go basics in the city centre, The Works earns its spot without apology. The art world is better when more people can participate in it, and The Works helps with that more than it gets credit for.

Find The Works York →

A Note on Art Supplies in York

York is a city with an extraordinary visual culture — the architecture alone is a masterclass in how human beings can arrange stone — but its art supplies provision doesn’t quite match its creative ambition. The independent specialist scene that a city of York’s stature and tourist footprint might support is thinner on the ground than you’d hope. The Viking Loom represents exactly the kind of specialist independent that makes a creative community genuinely interesting, and Ramshambles does the same for the paper and stationery world. But York lacks a dedicated fine art supplies shop with serious range — a gap that the online market has largely filled.

For professional-grade materials and the best current UK prices across all major art retailers, Discount Art Supplies compares prices in real time — so you can always find the best deal before buying anywhere.