Written by Paul Worrall
Stirling punches above its weight for history — the castle, the Wallace Monument, Bannockburn just down the road — and it’s got a genuinly lively creative community for a city of its size, largely thanks to the university and the arts centre on its doorstep. What it doesn’t have, if I’m honest, is much in the way of dedicated art supply shops. I want to get that out the way early rather than stretch four decent options into something they’re not.
I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for one of the UK’s largest online art retailers before starting Discount Art Supplies, a price comparison platform now used by artists across the country every week. I’ve never actually made it up to Stirling myself — it’s on the list — but I’ve spent long enough watching what artists buy and where they go looking for it to know when a city’s options are genuinely thin rather than just under-documented. Stirling’s the former. If you’re planning a trip further afield, our guides to the best art supply shops in Dundee and Aberdeen cover two of the stronger Scottish options within reach.
1. The Works — Thistles Shopping Centre
The Works, tucked into the Marches Mall section of the Thistles Shopping Centre, is the closest thing Stirling has to a dedicated art supplies retailer on the high street. It sits alongside its usual mix of books, stationery and craft materials, but the art section is properly stocked rather than an afterthought — paints, sketchbooks, pencils, the sort of everyday consumables that most hobbyist and student artists actually need week to week.
It’s not going to satisfy anyone after professional-grade materials or a specialist brand range, and it never claims to. But for parents buying supplies for kids, students stocking up between term, or anyone starting out who doesn’t want to commit serious money before knowing if a hobby’s going to stick, it does the job consistantly well. Check our paints and mediums deals page before you go — the same lines are sometimes cheaper online.
Open Monday to Saturday 9am–5.30pm, Sunday 10am–5pm, in Unit LSU3, Marches Mall.
2. Made in Stirling — King Street
I want to be straight about this one: Made in Stirling isn’t an art supplies shop. It’s a concept store representing over 100 local artists and makers, selling finished work — original paintings, prints, crafted gifts — rather than the raw materials to make your own. So if you’ve come here for canvas and gouache, it’s the wrong door.
But it’s genuinly worth knowing about if you’re an artist in or around Stirling, and not just for browsing. Places like this are how a local creative scene actually stays visible — a shop window for makers who’d otherwise be selling only online or through the occasional market stall. Anyone building a practice locally is worth having on your radar, and this is where you’ll find them.
Open seven days a week, 10am to 5pm, at 44 King Street, right in the city centre.
3. MacRobert Arts Centre & University of Stirling
A different kind of entry, but one that matters more here than in most cities I’ve covered — because Stirling’s real creative infrastructure sits with the university rather than the high street. MacRobert Arts Centre, based on the University of Stirling campus, runs exhibitions and a programme that brings a genuinely wide range of visual art into the city, alongside the University Art Collection on the same doorstep.
It’s not a shop and it won’t sell you a tube of paint. But for anyone serious about developing a practice rather than just buying materials for one, courses and exhibition access matter as much as stock on a shelf. I’d always rather see people investing in skills alongside supplies — it’s what seperately marks out the artists who improve from the ones who just accumulate materials.
4. Hobbycraft — Falkirk (nearest specialist option)
There’s no Hobbycraft in Stirling itself, which is part of why this guide is shorter than most I write. The nearest branch is in Falkirk, about ten miles down the road at Central Retail Park — close enough that it’s worth the mention for anyone in Stirling who needs a proper craft superstore rather than a high street top-up.
It won’t replace a specialist art materials shop, and I’ve never pretended otherwise in any city guide I’ve written. But for everyday consumables — canvases, basic acrylics, craft essentials — at accessable prices, it’s the honest answer to “where do I actually go” if The Works doesn’t have what you need.
The Honest Verdict on Stirling
Stirling’s art supplies offering is thin — genuinly thin, not just under-covered by other guides. A city with this much history and this strong a university arts scene deserves a proper independent art materials shop, and right now it doesn’t have one that I could verify as trading. That’s not a criticism of Stirling so much as a reflection of how tough specialist retail has become across smaller UK cities generally.
Online remains the most practical route for anything beyond everyday consumables, and at Discount Art Supplies we compare prices across the major UK retailers in real time, so you can find the best current deal without needing a specialist shop on your own doorstep.
