Everything you need Has really good quality art supplies, go here before blick Good service Local art stores!! read more

Very kind people and helpful, but $1 per page for a copy? My fault for not asking how much the copy costs, but still $1 per copy black and white? A few blocks down at Columbia, I think it's 10 or 15 cents. Still very kind and helpful people read more

Great place -- amazing selection and extremely helpful staff. Very lucky to have it in the neighborhood.

Jam-packed stationary store full of lots of pens, pads, and art supplies. Prices are comparable to the "bigger guys," so why not support a small business in the neighborhood? I'd love this place even more if they had greeting cards; I feel like this type of store also needs some good, clever cards. read more

This is my go-to art supply shop. I am a professional artist, and I purchase the majority of my supplies here, in part because I love to see the staff and talk through any questions I might have about a given item. They're always incredibly warm and helpful, and can find me anything I need in the shop in a minute flat, if I don't have time to wander the aisles myself (which I highly recommend you make time to do! There's more in there than you would ever think!). Great source for everything from paints and brushes to paper, balsa, and acrylic for making models, as well as more unique items like gold leaf, clays, or wax. Now that I have a child, I've also realized they're great for kids' art supplies, too. Really couldn't be happier to have this place in the neighborhood, and always go out of my way to go to this family-run shop over the larger chain stores. Highly recommend! read more

When both Duane Reades ran out of geometry compasses (I needed to buy a few for an art class I'm teaching the next day), this store saved the day! They were even willing to help me as they were closing shop. Really friendly folks, will have to swing by again to really check out all of what the store has to offer. read more

Have gotten many drawing supplies (pastels, chalk, pads of different type of stock), with descent prices and a nice helpful staff. It has become my go to for my drawing needs (locally) read more

What to write about Janoff's? I guess, "Thank goodness it's here." Because sometimes, it's early in the morning and you've been in the studio all night and you realize that you need to do one more drawing, but you've run out of mylar and you sure as hell aren't going all the way down to Pearl Paint because it's far, far away and, anyway, you don't have enough time before the noon review, so begrudgingly you walk to Janoff's and by their perennial "Pen Sale" sign and you pay the huge mark up on a couple sheets of mylar and maybe some leads and a .01 pen, but at least you've got your work done in time for your architecture professors to rip on it at the review. Yeah, at least you've got that. read more

UWS, Columbia/Barnard folks, and artists are so fortunate to have Janoff's in the neighborhood. What a great little shop when you need HB pencils or a tube of W&N oil paint! read more

Science peeps like to draw too, y'know. So, I was buying a sketchbook and some charcoal pencils. Trying to at least. Only, my card wouldn't swipe. I have a very finicky debit card. I suggested to the two guys behind the counter that they work the old plastic-bag-over-the-magnetic-strip trick. One guy clearly had no clue and I don't think the other guy was too familiar either. Through a bit of teamwork they managed to figure it out. Low and behold, it worked like a charm. The best part was how excited they were by this and they even gave me props for offering the suggestion/instruction. "Brilliant!" Ha! So, 3 stars for having a wide selection of sketching paper, pencils and such. 1 star for the staff getting excited about increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in the magnetic strip of my debit card. Form and function; a beautiful thing. read more

Very convenient location. Went to purchase a (very particular) brand & color of notebook and a pen & a roll of tape that most stores have stopped stocking. They had them. Beats the hassle of shuttling downtown in order to look through aisles and aisles only to be disappointed. Glad this place exists--just wish they'd carry 18x24" Strathmore 400 series recycled paper pads. Prrrrrrrrrretttttttyy pleez. read more

Pros: (+) They have tons of art supplies (+) Some selection of Filox fax refills (+) Paints, markers, color pencils, paint markers, etc (+) Next to Columbia University (+) Calligraphy pens & nibs Cons: (-) Way overpriced! (-) Some of the paper & notebooks look like they've been shelved for a while and are yellowing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For any artist, this is a haven if you are in need of art supplies that you don't have time to order online for. From the front, It looks like a very small shop, but it goes deep into the back with more supplies. They've managed to creatively stock a huge selection in such a tiny place. I have found tons of art supplies here that I have only been able to order online before. But they are rather expensive so you have to ask yourself if you're willing to pay the extra bucks for convenience and buy it here or wait a few days and order it online and just wait on shipping. They do have a small selection of Filofax refills and some washi tapes. Not the best selection in washi tape, but they have some. They have moleskin notebooks in different colors, but again, they are expensive. The classic moleskin ranges online for $13-17 depending on size but here it was $23, yikes! I get my calligraphy pens and nibs here as well, not a huge selection, but a few especially for beginners. read more

It's a small store, but very dense so they manage to have a good selection. Cheaper than some other office supply stores, but still pretty pricey. It really annoys me that they put little orange price stickers on a lot of the paper products in the store. Often, you can't remove the sticker without damaging folder it's on In summary: I don't like this store, but I go there because I have to. read more

I paid $22.95 for a mechanical drafting pencil here. Saw the exact same one at Blick for $7.99. 'nuff said. read more

I'm torn. It's like a love/hate relationship. I hate that I need them but love that they're here. They really are so convenient - great location and they have pretty much everything you'll need. But they are so pricey! Sooo pricey! Before I go, I typically spend a few minutes weighing the pros and cons of going here or alllll the way down to Pearl. If it's not urgent, I'll usually pass on Janoff's. Though I'd probably need another reason to head down that direction to justify the $5 RT subway ride. Sadly, more often than not, it is urgent. In which case, like Heather H. said, "thank goodness it's here." Some other pros: -everyone that works here is really nice and helpful -because things are pricy here, it hinders impulse shopping -it's a small store so no trekking up all those stairs at Pearl or spending hours waiting for the elevator read more

My 9 year old went in with a gift certificate and an afternoon to peruse. He's obsessed with comic drawing and was given tons of pointers by the staff. Love the knowledge and attention they gave us. read more

It's so great to have this store in the neighborhood. They may look small, but they have everything. If you cannot find it, just ask. They will find it for you in a helpful manner. read more

janoff (verb) slang; vulgar. 1. The act of buying too many art supplies 2. Artistic masturbation -antonyms: janon The best response to Janoff's was best put by Heather H.: 'Thank goodness it's here.' There have been too many times when I was preparing an oil painting and realized, after prepping the canvas and pouring out the paints, that I was missing a crucial component: I ran out of turpentine; I spilled my linseed; my cat ate my fan brush (yes, he did that). It's these times that I'm glad Janoff's is in the hood as I have some place to grab supplies on a whim. Even though I'm not the artist I once was, I still get that kid-in-a-candy-store feeling when I arrive, and I daresay I often leave with more than I need. This is troubling as their prices aren't exactly competitive. They don't need to be, of course, as they have a monopoly in the area. Even so, the store reeks of Columbia Student Exploitation, and I don't care to be dragged into the CU circle-jerk any more than I have to. I find it amusing that they don't have a student discount. Isn't that a staple of college art supply stores? That said, it's tough to review them too poorly as they certainly keep everything I could need amply stocked despite their tiny size. That and I can't see myself going to Michael's, no matter how cheap they may be. read more

I love Janoff's because they are a neighborhood store. If we don't buy local, there will be no more small local shops and we'll all have to suffer Michael's or waiting for the UPS guy. Pearl Paint is local but costs $5 + 1 hour round-trip. Are Janoff's prices really higher than that? I don't think so. They really do have an excellent selection -- always seem to have exactly what I need. It doesn't get better than that: local, everything you need, friendly service. That's what makes NYC a great place to live. Enjoy it while it still exists. I'm a non-CU neighbor. Let's keep our neighborhood varied. SHOP LOCAL!! read more

Four stars for being the only drafting-supply store withing walking distance of CU. Minus one star for being so damn expensive and another not giving a student discount. But plus that fourth star because they have all the essentials you're going to need without having to make the trek down to Pearl. And they're friendly, and make sure my mylar and vellum aren't ripped before I shell out my entire lifeblood to pay for it. And they has many many pitt pens when pearl always runs out of the black fine tip. Which are, of course, my favorites. Also good for gifts or if you aspire to be a pretentious architecture/visual arts student. read more

Love that this store is in the neighborhood. Great selection - I could browse here endlessly. The staff is incredibly helpful and cheerful. Some of the prices may be a bit higher than other places, but the convenience makes up for it in my book - and I love to support a small neighborhood business. read more

They are liars! Their material dimensions are not precise. The acrylic they say 1/8" is actually thinner. Which is a nightmare for art/ architecture students while model building. I wasted more than $100 on this. I will never go their again. Do not trust them. Measure everything your self with your own scale. read more

I've been shopping here for over 20 yrs, and am very glad it's in the neighborhood. They have everything, the service is helpful and friendly, and yes, it's pricier than big box stores but IT'S OKAY because you'd have to pay for transportation to get to one of them, so that would render the savings moot, right? You're paying for convenience, which is worth a lot sometimes. I'm happy to support small businesses, especially this place. read more

I went in close to closing time to purchase some layered cardboard. I hurried out because I didn't want to keep the employees longer than needed. Hours later I realized I had bought the wrong material, and went back the next day to ask if they could take it back, even at a percentage of the cost I bought it for. Yes they have a no return policy on paper like materials (written quite small off to the side of where this material is placed), but the material is in pristine condition, in the exact plastic sheet they gave it to me in. I'm a Canadian student so I can't even take it back with me. The owner/manager/man in charge gave me a hard time saying he's been ripped off by summer students telling him fake sob stories. It was incredibly embarrassing for him to insinuate that I was telling him a fake sob story. And I offered to bring in the material just for him to inspect first, to show that it's in perfect condition, but he refused. It's hard not to be disappointed. read more

This place is amazing, they go out of your way to help you. The store carries, all the office supply, I need 8.5 x 14 green color paper, they waited me for 15 mins even though they were closing at 6:30 Friday, they wait 15 mins, who does that on Friday. The services was excellent, gesture was polite, humble and supportive. I would recommend everyone to consider this place in Harlem. I would definitely prefer to drive here, rather than going to top brand store. I appreciate their customer support. read more

Ive been going to this store for many years and always found them well-stocked, for their size, and friendly and helpful. So it pains me to say I had a very unpleasant experience today when I tried to exchange some sheets of twin-tack that were defective. I did not expect any resistance, because the issue was so clear (the paper was permanently stuck to the adhesive film). But the clerk was defensive and a little combative, and insisted there was nothing wrong with the product. We eventually compromised, and he accepted some of the faulty sheets for exchange --- but it left a bitter feeling. I also hate going downtown to Utrecht, and I'd rather support a local business which is convenient. read more