I'll start off by saying I absolutely love the selection and the owner, Mark is the best. HOWEVER, they are constantly closed when they're supposed to be open. Staff runs off and closes the store at peak weekend night hours. Went down tonight at 10pm. Store was closed, big surprise. Note on the door said they'll reopen at 11pm and stay until 1am. Went back down at 11:30pm, store is still closed. And the staff, except Mark, is extremely rude and unfriendly. They act like ringing you up for your purchase is a huge inconvenience to them. I can't understand why Mark, who is amazing, keeps these people employed. It blows my mind. Mark - PLEASE hire new staff. People that actually want to work in your store, help customers, and have a friendly customer service demeanor. read more

Wonderful place! I love the Customer Service and especially the owner Mark! I have learned so much about myself and more by simply going by and having a chat with the staff. read more

Brushstrokes is many things. Let's face it. After the video rental era died they became more known for their novelty and adult themed items. Mark Jackson one of the owners could be hot or cold as the owner but rarely in between. Sometimes I just go in there to reminisce about the good old days. For people who are new to the ATL, they might find it intriguing. I personally look for cards & novelty items for years when they branched out and had a second shop called Capulets. I never bought into the toys. Then they apparently downsized one more time and became Brushstrokes Pleasures in recent years. Regardless, you cannot really knock them until you try them. I typically go there once every 1-2 years. It's not as fun as it used to be. The store has gone through reverse gentrification or at least the staff has. I give the store a 4/5. It's kind of like Bulldogs meets Club Mixx on a nearly dead day when most folks are at home watching something big like the Superbowl. The crowd will likely be steady to none unless its PRIDE or some other holiday. read more

Again, second time in weeks I've had an issue with staff. Your guy with dreads is not the friendliest guy to deal with. If he stays, I go. One more tOtherwise, I love your business, but address your staff. Update 6/28/20 -- it's a love hate with this place. Assortment ok, service horrible with the exception of the last time I stopped in a month ago. He was amazing and helpful. Tonight, I walked in and got a "we're closed" 17 mins before they are. read more

Brushstrokes Pleasure - Closed before time posted. Why? Just want to go home? Shame, I'll take money elsewhere. - Books, Mags, Music & Video Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

A friend of mine had always mentioned Brushstrokes and I never visited as I usually buy online. I stumbled in this past weekend with a friend, and was SHOCKED at how much merchandise they offer. Literally this place is like shopping online without the wait. They have a huge assortment of toys, lubes, clothing, tanks, shorts, undies...You name it! I definitely will be back and I think this place may be my new store for freaky items...lolol ;) read more

Don't shop here. Horrible customer service. Literally at the time of purchase the guy working told us to see the owner if an exchange was needed, but now the next day the owner refuses to exchange the items. read more

They had a nice selection to choose from but not much for bigger guys. The workers there was busy watching tv then asking if we needed help but they did help when I asked for help read more

Took someone there for the first time and Mark was amazing in helping both of us get the right size clothes for ur bodies. Was very friendly and open. He also talked us into getting a color for the other person that normally neither of us would wear. The color was spot on. read more

Hey Mgmt- Mind giving your customers a bag that's more discreet than a friggin' clear plastic shopping bag?

Odd. I was there today 10/22/17 at 4:00 at GBC and it was closed. Not Sure if it is closed for good. When I asked at the adult store, I got a weird response from the clerk. -- There again 08/14/18 at 8:50pm and both operations were closed. The gift store GBC(?) was dark and a sign said "For help, come three doors down". The other adult location had the door locked even though someone was in there. Pass on this sketchy business. read more

I stepped in Brushstrokes today to just browse the store for a minute. The owner greeted me and things were fine. It occurred to me that someone had mentioned that this store might carry a "Murder Kroger" t-shirt. I asked the owner did they have these. He proceeded to speak to me in a condescending manner of "Oh, we would never carry something like that which is blatant copyright of the Kroger logo. The Kroger logo is a copyrighted logo, etc..." I was not expecting an answer like that. It made me feel stupid and humiliated. I looked over to the left of him and there was a shelf of about 75 bottles of poppers. Technically, these are an illegal drug to sell, but he seems to have no problem selling these with a BS legal loophole of them being called a leather cleaner and not identifying them as what they really are. This seems so hypocritical that it makes me laugh. He could have handled by my question with humor and compassion, but he decided to take a cruder logic. Brushstrokes? No thank you. read more

Like, whoa!! Was online searching for spots to get all gussied as a volunteer for Pride and found Brushstrokes. First of all, I've been making the wrong turn into Ansley Mall?!! I had NO clue this whole rainbow strip existed behind the usual suspects. Moving on, Brushstrokes was so home grown on their website, I had to check them out in person. Walked in and immediately went into overload mode. I just needed rainbow high socks, but the store beckoned me to get a boa, tiara, t-shirt, glow light, greeting card...I didn't, but I could have and will in the future. The entire store has everything novelty you could need or want, gay or straight it's just super FUN. Best part is the service. Old school. I was warmly greeted, helped in finding what I asked for, chatted up about Pride excitement and most importantly thanked for stopping by. GENUINELY thanked, not Target thanked. Member that kind? It's so important to support stores like Brushstrokes. They make it a point to only work with good suppliers and give back to organizations that are pro-equality. I like knowing where my dollars are going and places like this are evaporating. Forget the gay/straight thing. Sooooo 1994. Just think about getting novelties here and keeping your hood thriving. read more

This place is really awesome. Gay or straight, (In my best Stefon from SNL voice) this place has everything! If nothing else, come in to see the gay male mermaid ornaments. Conservative homophobes, stay at home. read more

Went here with my wife to get a gift for a friend (I know it sounds made up). After walking around and getting the layout of the store i said to her "this is like Richards Variety, kinda. They have cool cards, toys , cool socks and other randomness!". They also had a plethora of male grooming products. If i ever need Jack Black products I know to come here for sure. But she agreed, she had never been here but they had a little bit of everything. A nice surprise for sure. And i got a gift for my friend! read more

Your one stop shop for anything gay, pretty much. Hey, if they don't have it (that gay thing you want), you probably don't need it. Cards, shirts, magazines, music, movies (yes the naughty ones), sexual necessaries and accouterments, yep, they pretty much have it all. Since they do sell "naughty" items, the place is a bit cruisy, but it is definitely the best place to go if you need something that you may be embarrassed to buy at your friendly neighborhood drug store. That is, if the drug store even carries it! read more

Once again, I tried to shop at the G.C.B location and it was closed at 5:30pm even though the hours posted on the door showed it should be open until 6pm. So I schlepped down to Brushstrokes to see if they could explain. The handwritten sign on Brushstrokes' door showed "Be back in 10 minutes." When the clerk finally arrives he informs me that G.C.B closes at 4pm during "spring hours." He was pretty rude about it, too. He obviously had no concept of good customer service. In the past, the Brushstrokes clerks would go unlock the G.C.B. location and allow me to make my purchases. I guess this clerk was too tired after his 10 minute off-site mystery break to be bothered. This place is inconsistent and poorly run. read more

I have known Mark since he came to Atlanta 24 years ago and opened his first store buried in an alley off Highland Avenue. I have seen his business grow over the years and am truly impressed by the progress he and Tom have made. They have an incredible inventory of gift items, home accessories, tshirts and underwear, socks and books. If you haven't been there yet, I strongly suggest you pay them a visit. You will be amazed by the selection of merchandise and the friendly staff. Tell them ART sent you! www.BrushstrokesAtlanta.com read more

Brushstrokes is one of my favorite places in the ATL to buy gifts and THE BEST place for greeting cards and postcards. The owners and staff are incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. In addition, they sincerely appreciate your patronage, an attribute that many other business owners and employees would be wise to imitate. read more

Gay owned and operated. Not able to say that about many places. Mark and his staff provide a sense of community to our area could not do without. read more

WOW! Brushstrokes is the only store in Atlanta carrying Frank Dandy Superwear from Sweden. It is the best comfort, fit and design adventure. Nothing boring about this underwear or this store! read more

I came to Brushstrokes to buy some materials. The staff has had problems for several years. A new staff should be replaced. The owner (who won't be stated) should have been removed from the store and not allowed in a similar business. In fact, the store should be closed completely. With all merchandise to be destroyed and stay away from such stores. read more

I had been searching for a very unique and particular glass molded skull vase online and had the hardest time tracking this down in the US. For whatever reason, this item seemed to be only found in the UK, and most retailers carrying it did not ship to the US. After acquiring just one (needing 12 for my wedding), I located the product at this brick and mortar store in Georgia. Living in San Francisco, I wasn't able to do anything more but reach out via email to this store, expecting no reply, as the case has been with most other online brick and mortars I tried to get in touch with. I was responded to within the day I believe, by Tim, from Brushtstrokes, who assured me that they had the item I wanted in stock +4 more. He offered to talk to the boss about ordering the additional quantity I needed to make my wedding dreams come to life. Having a little hiccup in the shipping/online order, Tim went above and beyond to help me with the transaction through Paypal and even looked into the cheapest method of shipping we could figure out to get these products to me as financially sound as possible. I don't know that I will be in Georgia anytime soon, but I will definitely frequent this online shop in the future. And the biggest take away here is my restored faith in customer service. Thanks so much Tim, I really really appreciate your dedication to customer satisfaction. Good people are still out there! Who knew?! xo read more

For the items that Brushstrokes sale, it is very inexpensive. The staff is knowledgeable and very friendly . With a wide range of products from greeting cards to adult toys. From T-shirts to home decor you can get a gift for someone else or yourself with this one-stop shopping. read more

Great place to buy gifts, the staff is friendly, good prices!!

This is a pretty good shop for toys, videos, books and novelty cards. They also have a lot of good dance CDs.

So I don't live anywhere near Atlanta, but still had a great experience with this store. I was looking online for some December Diamonds and came across their website. I'd much rather order from a small business than a place like Amazon, and that was definitely the route to go! Shipping was fast and the staff at the shop kept me informed of my order's progress the entire time. Everything arrived in great shape. I'll definitely be ordering from them again and would recommend it in a heartbeat if you see something you like. read more