The Best Art Supply Shops in Plymouth

June 25, 2026

The Best Art Supply Shops in Plymouth | Discount Art Supplies

Written by Paul Worrall

My only visit to Plymouth was back in 2002, and even then I was barely there — passing straight through to catch the ferry to Roscoff. I was with my then girlfriend Clare, off on a holiday to a lovely little campsite near Carantec called Les Mouettes, and the thing I genuinly remember most clearly about Plymouth itself is almost nothing about Plymouth at all — it’s watching 40 Days and 40 Nights on the ferry crossing, which tells you exactly how much attention I paid to the city on the way through. Twenty-six years later and researching this guide properly, I rather wish I’d looked up from the boarding queue.

Plymouth is one of those cities whose creative identity has been genuinly reshaped in the years since — Plymouth College of Art turning out serious working artists, The Box opening as one of the most ambitious museum and gallery projects outside London, and a waterfront that’s been part of British seafaring and exploration history for centuries. It’s a city with real substance behind its art scene rather than a tourist-facing veneer, which I clearly missed entirely on my way to a ferry twenty-odd years ago.

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 full honest picture of what Plymouth offers, and there’s more here than the standard five-shop format usually allows for. If you’re planning visits to nearby cities, also check out our guides to the best art supply shops in Bristol and the best art supply shops in Southampton.

1. The Art Side — Mayflower Street

The Art Side is the only specialist art retailer in Plymouth and it’s been supplying the city for almost 40 years — a genuinly serious operation with over 7,000 lines in store from brands including POSCA, Daler-Rowney, Winsor & Newton, Faber-Castell, Derwent and Staedtler. The range covers acrylics, oils, watercolours, gouache, drawing instruments, airbrush supplies, canvas, calligraphy materials and what’s reportedly the largest variaty of sketchpads anywhere in Plymouth.

What makes The Art Side particularly useful beyond the materials themselves is the printing and binding service running alongside it — photocopying, large format printing up to A0, dissertation binding with gold or silver foiling, and a trade account option for businesses and students who need printing and art supplies regularly. For art students at Plymouth College of Art in particular, this combination of materials and printing under one roof, from staff who genuinly know the subject, makes The Art Side the obvious first stop in the city.

2. The Box

Not a supplies shop, but genuinly one of the most significant cultural developments in Plymouth this decade. The Box combines museum, gallery and archive in one ambitious building, with exhibitions covering everything from natural history to major retrospectives — the Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy exhibition has been particularly well recieved, showing a fuller range of her work including embroidery pieces that visitors describe as a genuine revelation. There’s a proper shop on site supporting the museum, and the building itself is worth the visit independent of whatever’s currently showing.

For artists wanting inspiration alongside their materials shopping, or simply to understand what Plymouth’s cultural ambition actually looks like in practice, The Box is the proof.

3. KARST

KARST is Plymouth’s largest independent contemporary art space, running a programme of exhibitions and projects featuring national and international artists and curators. For anyone wanting to see what serious contemporary practice looks like outside the major London galleries, KARST is exactly the kind of independent institution that gives a city’s art scene genuine credibility rather than just retail infrastructure.

4. Hobbycraft Plymouth

The honest version of Hobbycraft, consistant with every city guide I write: not specialist, not deep in professional-grade range, but genuinly useful for what it is. Hobbycraft Plymouth is praised in reviews for knowledgeable, friendly staff, a well-displayed and easy-to-navigate store, a lift, a spacious car park, and an efficient click and collect service. For everyday consumables and restocking basics without ceremony, it does the job reliably.

Check our Hobbycraft discount code guide before visiting — the student discount and Blue Light Card discount are both worth knowing about.

5. The Works

The honest version of The Works, as I’ve said in other city guides: not specialist, not deep in range, but genuinly useful for what it is. Canvases, starter paint sets, sketchbooks, pencils, colouring books and craft kits at prices that make experimenting affordable. For parents, teachers and anyone wanting to try a new medium without significant financial commitment, The Works in Plymouth serves a real purpose.

6. Epideco

Epideco has built a genuinely strong reputation specificaly around resin — customers consistently highlight the quick curing time and lack of odour, which matters enormously for anyone working with resin regularly in a home studio. Resin art has grown significantly as a craft discipline in recent years and having a dedicated specialist supplier based in Plymouth, with prompt delivery and competative pricing, is a genuine asset for the region’s mixed media and resin artists.

7. Bora Beads

Bora Beads recieves genuinely warm praise for its range and personal service, with the owner Amanda repeatedly singled out for friendliness and helpfulness — including personalised touches for children’s parties built around bead and jewellery making. For jewellery makers and mixed media artists incorporating beadwork into their practice, this is a proper specialist destination rather than a token craft aisle.

A Note on Art Supplies in Plymouth

Plymouth’s art scene runs noticeably deeper than its size might suggest, and certainly deeper than I gave it credit for back in 2000 with my eyes firmly on a ferry timetable. A genuine 40-year specialist with serious range, one of the most significant new museum and gallery developments in the South West, the city’s largest independent contemporary art space, and dedicated specialists in resin and beadwork alongside the inevitable Hobbycraft and Works — that’s a comprehensive picture for a city of Plymouth’s size. Plymouth College of Art clearly feeds genuine demand for quality materials, and the city’s retail and cultural infrastructure has responded properly.

Maybe one day I’ll go back and actually look around properly rather than queueing for a ferry to Roscoff. 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 always find the best deal before buying anywhere.