Just a simple spot. Basic paints and pens. Some paper and general writing supplies along with a variety of canvases and art books! Overall, good if you know exactly what you're looking for (which most artists do). read more

As independent art supply stores have shut across the Bay Area over the last few years, Ink Stone has remained a paragon of affordable, convenient, intelligent retail. And it means you don't have to give your money to Blick. read more

A cute little shop part of a mini mall type of thing, I came in for painting supplies, expecting a super limited selection and high prices due to the proximity of the Ultra Corrupt college, but that was not the case. The employees were super polite too -- seemed to be students and not the people I've read about in years-old reviews. It was the same quality product and experienced I'd expect from bigger stores, but without the guilt of supporting Blick who is both the Amazon and Starbucks of the art world now. read more

We were in desperation mode and Omalin (probably not the right spelling) came through. He was so kind and did what he thought was impossible. Thank you so much!! read more

I had to print out a 25 page color Building Department plan set for my building inspector. He recommended Ink Stone. The service was fast, price seemed reasonable, and the service was friendly. I would go back for sure. read more

I normally go to kinkos for my printing. However, after a suggestion to go to this local print shop, I decided to give it a try. I first called and inquired about a quote to print some items. The associate was friendly and informative. They also responded to my emails pretty quickly. I give them another star for free delivery over $20 and within delivery radius. The print quality was excellent, as well. Superb service, and they made it so convenient. Highly recommended! read more

This is so ridiculous A tiny staple punch at the corner for 25cent. After printing 2 pages, they asked if I need to staple it. I said yes plz, and didn't know it was even more expensive than the printing cost. I double checked if they were serious they said yes. I know 25cent is not much. Can't buy anything. But at least they should have said it COSTS ( they didn't tell me anything, just asked if I need it ) Is this the way they charge students every single penny? read more

The Ink Stone - A tiny staple punch at the corner for 25cent. I know 25cent is not much. Can't buy anything. But at least they should have said it COSTS - Art Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

I wish I could write a great review for Ink Stone, but after the disappointing experience I had today, I'll definitely be looking for an alternative. The company that I work for has been purchasing from Ink Stone for the past decade, and for the most part we've been satisfied. The deliveries are usually pretty quick, we like supporting a local business instead of a big box retailer, and the prices are only a little higher than what can be found elsewhere. Recently, however, Ink Stone stopped selling the 3/16" 30x40 white foam core board, which is a product we purchase often. I mistakenly placed an order for the 3/16" 30x40 without realizing that it had been discontinued, so Ink Stone delivered the 3/16" 32x40 either in error or to replace what couldn't be provided. Either way, when the package arrived it meant that a project with an impending deadline couldn't be handled. I called Ink Stone to find out what happened and had the misfortune of ending up on the phone with Anawin, a rep who was rude and frustrated with the situation before I even finished my sentence. I originally asked for the order to be replaced with 1/2" 30x40 boards, and Anawin kept getting annoyed and suggesting that I cut the foam board down to size instead. I explained that our client wouldn't be satisfied with janky, jagged-edged posters... I mean, I'm just being honest here. Anawin eventually agreed to send us the replacement boards, but couldn't guarantee same-day delivery. I called back a few minutes later to cancel the delivery because the timeline was too much of a gamble. This time, Anawin wasn't having any of it. He told me that if he sent out a delivery guy to pick up the useless boards, he would have "wasted an hour that we can't get back, for no money, for nothing." I was kind of stunned that the ten years worth of hard-earned-doe that we've forked over didn't establish enough rapport for Ink Stone to just do the decent thing and issue a refund for products we can't use and don't want. Luckily, after a little research I found the foam core a LOT cheaper at other retailers, and I highly recommend Give Something Back or Uline if you need to order printing supplies. At least those companies know how to show a little customer appreciation. read more

The Ink Stone is located between Bancroft and Durant and you have to go up a long flight of stairs and over a parking lot entrance to get here And when I'm wandering around Telegraph Avenue, I'll make make sure that I end up here before I go. The Ink Stone is a fun office supplies/graphic arts store that is plain and no-nonsense in its layout. Over the years, I have purchased this and that and have always enjoyed the chill service, unique selection, competitive pricing, and shopping adventure. Of course the fact that I really didn't need some of this stuff is entirely besides the point! read more

One Bad Move After Another. I've been coming to Ink Stone for over 6 years, and I've seen staff come and go. This review is specific to my last three experiences, which were absolutely horrible. In the past, my experience has been absolutely stellar, even considering the ridiculously expensive prices. One 30X40" print on acetate is $30 plus tax? Crazy! I'm back in school, pursuing my M.Arch and M.L.A. at UC Berkeley. Last week, I bought a bunch of wood dowels and boards for two physical models. I had a general idea of what I was constructing but not necessarily the method. One staff member (I'm assuming a manager) kept offering me assistance even after I repetitively rejected it. He kept talking down to me and offering unwarranted advice. I found this incredibly intrusive and annoyingly didactic. A week passed and I didn't use almost half of the materials I purchased, but considering I've spent hundreds, maybe almost a thousand dollars at Ink Stone, I had no callous returning them, especially because of the one-week return policy. I have 3 years of retail experience, and I know return policies are means of protection for the company rather than a hard rule. Since I come to Ink Stone so often, I misplaced one of the 20 something receipts I've accumulated in the past 3 months. The cashier tells me that they will still accept the return even a day passed the return policy date. I return the next day with the correct receipt and more problems ensue. The same "manager" from the prior week asks an incredibly green cashier-in-training to complete my return. It took half an hour to return what would've taken a well-trained cashier half the time. I stood there asking a higher power, "Why me?" Some of the SKUs didn't ring up and she tells me that I probably didn't purchase them there even though I'm 90% positive that I did. She and the manager starts blaming me for trying to return items not purchased from the store. She emphasizes that she is doing me a favor accepting the return one day past the policy date and also blames me for items not scanning in the register. I couldn't believe she was blaming me for this! I hate being talked down to, and she was treating me like an incompetent. I told her that I apologized if I was being difficult, but I didn't need a didactic salesperson to tell me how to shop. I'm going to avoid shopping at Ink Stone whenever possible to avoid the rude customer service (not to mention the overpriced printing service). Here's a big tip, Ink Stone, don't hire pompous egotistical know-it-alls! If Ink Stone wasn't so close to the UC Berkeley campus, no one would shop there. Do yourself a favor, buy your materials online. read more

Walked in to this store to buy a few notebooks. Once I was finished shopping I was unsure where the register was so I asked an older white man (worker) where the register was but he couldn't hear me through my mask. So then I tried asking if I could pay to which he responded "can't you wait you privileged first world fuck". I'm a gay brown male, I don't know who this man thinks he's preaching to with these actions especially as a WHITE MAN speaking to a person of color. I showed ZERO malice in my interactions with him, his hate was unwarranted and unnecessary to say the least. I will NOT be shopping at this store and I do recommend any BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ to shop in such an unsafe place either. read more

Unbelievable service. Incredibly efficient. The guy was so friendly and helpful. The price was beyond fair. It truly doesn't get better than this. read more

The Ink Stone - Dry mount - Art Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

I had an awkwardly shaped package to ship urgently, and these guys helped me out tremendously. They had all the supplies I needed at a very reasonable price. Thanks so much! read more

I've always had fast responses to (email) interactions regarding large format printing and scanning services, prompt courteous service. Pickup has been easy: I look forward to trying their delivery services during the pandemic. read more

Printing quality is very good and much cheaper than Wurster Hall. The store is very organized. The staff members are very knowledgeable about the materials they sell. read more

I was trying to just enjoy a nice family-friendly evening with my child to get some watercolors and paints yet felt harassed in every interaction I had here. Needless to say the vibes did not pass the check. read more

Great place and all, but it is a bit pricey for a few things. For example, printing is something that is very iffy about this place. Great for printing massive amounts, but when you're in a pinch and you only need one page, this place charges a lot for that and sometimes will tell you the wrong prices for it. read more

I have to say Inkstone should get 3.5 stars. It's really really convenient for any art/architecture students because you get a supply store right down the street from Wurster and it has pretty much the essentials. Given, the prices are definitely more costly than arts and supplies stores down University, but time is money in the archy world! if you want to plot something, this place is great for black and white. However ink prints can get really expensive. At the same time, you always want the good quality that Inkstone provides with their prints. read more

Dear Ink Stone, Given your convenient location to UCB's architecture school, you believe this entitles you to grotesquely monstrous prices on art supplies. Although I do appreciate your late hours and supply of e-flute (only place in the East Bay), I find what your hearty profits from the sleepless, caffeine-addicted architecture students atrocious and immoral. When ever other art store provides a student discount and beginning of the year sale... Where are you? You think you are safe huddled behind and above the walls of Urban Outfitters. Think again, your reign will end someday. Sincerely, A Starving Student read more

It gets a ding because of course it's not going to be as cheap as online, but boy, this place crams a lot into a small space! Get your t-squares, drafting pencils, Moleskines, erasers, vellum, and whatever else art/drafting/stationery related stuff you can think of here. This place has saved me with their printing services too - more accomodating than Kinko's, which is ok but too restrictive in what/how/format they will print for you. Plus, I love it's location nestled away above the parking garage on Bowditch =) Great art and architecture supply store. And pretty much your only option near campus, but luckily the workers are friendly and knowledgeable, and prices aren't too bad. Excellent selection. read more

The main reason for giving two stars is the remarkable lack of professionalism. I ordered a particular size poster, which they said was fine. To my confusion, the clerk then wanted me to cut my own poster down from the size that came off the printer. Though later on, he decided that was more in the employee's job description than the customer's. A second employee then made jokes about stealing customers' credit card information, before accusing me of being rude when he didn't see me respond to the first employee's question with a nod. That was weird. They also didn't give me a receipt, then when I called to get one, they made sure to tell me not to expect such lavish treatment again. BUT, the poster was relatively cheap, so you get what you pay for, I suppose... read more

Great independent store. I've been going to them since the late '80's. Good customer service.

This is an amazing place! A little hard to find if its your first time, so watch for their sign! I needed to get a poster printed at 4PM the day before a conference, so I called them up. They told me that it would only take 20 minutes to process the whole thing. When I went there, they were very nice, knowledgeable, and quick. They treated me very well, had great prices, and the poster they gave me looks amazing! Needless to say, I will now go here for all my printing needs! Worth the 20 minute walk. read more

pros: - nice and quiet shop - although small had a good selection of stuff cons: - none? read more

A great convenient place for an art/arch/studio student in Berkeley. The place is located behind urban outfitters and up a lot of stairs. They are my go to place for any art supplies that I need. I have done a few plots here and its on the expensive side. Their service is great, they will try their best to get your plots done on time. But around final projects time, it will get harder to get plots done. Note: they sell blue books when its sold out every where else. read more

I'm not an architecture student like many of the other customers/reviewers here, but I came in to buy a mechanical pencil and some thin pens (think 0.1mm). The guy working here was really helpful, letting me see different pencils from the case and letting me know which ones were 0.7mm (my preferred width for pencils), and which ones he had first-hand experience with. Several months later, I still love both the pencil and the pens I purchased. read more

Throughout my 2 final undergrad years and 3 years as a grad student in Berkeley's architecture program, The Ink Stone was my go-to place for large format printing and a variety of supplies. Some people comment on supposed high prices here, but I've actually found many items to cost less than other places. Steel "music wire," for example, (which I've bought hundreds of dollars worth of over these 5 years) costs about 25% less per bundle and is consistently better stocked than at other places. Sheets of cardboard, museum board, and pads of drawing paper are all well stocked and competitively priced. I love the fact that they provide the space and the tools to cut large sheets down so they're easier to carry back to Wurster Hall. Aside from their good selection of supplies and reasonable prices, I particularly like the staff. The people who work there are smart and articulate, and very helpful. They are also friendly. When they are slammed with massive amounts of orders and high-maintenance, stressed-out students, they maintain a firm, professional stance that's appropriate to the frenzied circumstances. When things are slower and more relaxed, most everyone I've encountered there is exceptionally friendly and engaging. This place embodies the essence of a great quality, local and independent business. I'll continue to take my business there whenever possible, even now that I've graduated. read more

THE BEST! The staff at this store are super helpful, the selection of drafting supplies is excellent, and the hours are great. Free parking in the parking garage below (when it's open). I've been going here since university and it's still my very favorite. read more

I was going in to buy watercolor pencils, grabbed normal ones by accident, and unwrapped them after leaving! Fortunately I was able to come back and exchange them for the ones I wanted. They even offered to refund me the 66 cents difference. They were incredibly nice and knowledgeable about everything. On top of this, they were actually much cheaper than Amazon. Would highly recommend. read more

Inkstone rocks. They will special order you things and treat you well if you're not too huffy with them. I especially enjoy seeing the half crazed architecture students running around trying to get projects done and watching the patient employees calm them. It's like they're therapists. read more

This store rocks. Had a last minute crisis while putting together a fundraising event at TheatreFIRST at the Live Oak Theatre in north Berkeley ... needed an entire roll of butcher paper late on a Saturday afternoon. Who to call? Yelp to the rescue. Type in butcher paper, got the number for this south campus edge store (that didn't even exist when I was a student at Cal - class of '76!). Helpful on the phone, helpful in the store, even carried the roll down a flight of stairs and into the garage to place it in the car trunk. Reasonable priced! Open late! Free underground parking! Crisis averted. These guys are heroes!! Office/architectural supplies and stationary items (hope I spelled that right). THANK YOU, INK STONE!!!! read more

Inkstone is awesome!!! I had to make a copy of a map which is large, double sided and in color. I'd already checked a few actual copy places, none of which could do it and if they could, they were going to charge about 50-100$ Ink Stone charged way WAY less They can't do double sided but they printed both sides, and a second copy was half off. The maps are very pretty and I can't wait to have middle school students use it at Science Olympiad in March. Anyways, appreciate you for not breaking my wallet. Made my day. read more

I starting going into this little place back in 1978 when I began college at UCB. Let's not mention the year that I finally graduated but there were many trips to the ink stone to get just the "right" pen. They have a wonderful array of drawing and drafting materials in an old-school atmosphere. If I were in the area more I'd visit much more often. read more

Just walked in and asked for a replacement plastic bag after I'd printed a poster a few weeks ago here. The guy sitting at the computer; blond hair wearing black beanie, didn't even make eye contact or turn his head as I was talking to him. He hardly acknowledged my presence. He was a total jerk and in a very condescending tone insulted me for not remembering the exact size of my poster. Awful customer service. I'll never come back to this place read more

i went into this store with a friend from Air Force ROTC (she was wearing her uniform) to purchase a blue book and a couple of pens. An older caucasian man rung me up and was very rude: he all but slammed our supplies onto the counter; told me that he "didn't have time for this" when i couldn't meet the $5 minimum to use my card; turned to my friend and asked her, "are you joining the military?" to which she replied yes. Then he scoffed and said "interesting". lol what's this dude's problem? why take your issues out on a couple of ROTC students just tryna buy school supplies... read more

Inkstone is the little beloved art store for the community of planners, landscape architects and regular ol' architects that reside in Wurster Hall at the College of Environmental Design of UC Berkeley. The store is teeny, and the selection is sometimes a tad sparse, but its convenience factor outweighs any downfall of the place. Employees will also let you browse around behind the counter for stuff they keep away from the regular aisles. I bought a stencil tonight in this very way. Only pet friendly art store I've ever been to. And they also have some really cheap stuff - $8 studio lamps on special at the beginning of the term. The downside about the Stone is that they are kind of lazy about restocking items. For two weeks, people in my drawing class went there and asked if they had any watercolor paper of a certain grade. Each time we were told that they just ran out but it would be available tomorrow. For those kinds of items their reliability is sort of a joke, so you learn to go to Blick or Utrect for the kind of stuff that requires diligent restocking attention. read more

Ink Stone is literally in some sort of attick above a public parking garage, which is really weird!!! However, besides the crazy-tall narrow staircase leading up, it's actually a really good art store to get art and drafting supplies. Everything is a bit more expensive than other stores [b/c it is right by campus], but you will find all the essentials for any imaginable project. What irritates me about other stores is that they ALWAYS RUN OUT of the ONE thing you need when you absolutely have to have it, and then you're running around from store to store trying to find that right thickness of Bristol board. Well, your quest is over. My last trip to InkStone was to get a portfolio for my midterm review and of course I bought the damn thing about 10 minutes before the review started and everything worked out. Thank you Ink Stone for always having what I need when I need it! ... UPDATE: I have developed a new level of gratitude and appreciation for Ink Stone. They can scan and plot [large format printing] just about anything, their quality is pretty good, and they can usually get this stuff done FAST. When working against deadlines this is INCREDIBLY useful. They still get four stars, because plotting and scanning is expensive. Architecture students - you know Ink Stone is always there for you! read more

I needed a paper banner printed immediately so I went on Yelp to look for a nearby printer who would do it for cheap. Copy Central and ZeeZee were too expensive and University said they didn't do paper banners. Ink Stone saved the day! Cheap price ($18 pre-tax for a 24x36 print) and they did fast work (took about 15 minutes, mainly because we had to wait for the guy to get back from his coffee break), and the banner turned out beautifully. Less one star because the employees there seem to be specialized and don't necessarily know how a particular thing works or is priced. When I first called, the guy who answered the phone had to ask someone else all of the questions I was asking him, and when I got there the employee in the store said to please wait for the other guy to get back since he knew the print process much better. He said it politely though! read more

In and out and got exactly what I wanted. They even have "free" poster tubes sometimes, but also have a selection of nice mailing tubes if you want to pay a bit more or they are out. Friendly staff and later hours make this a go to spot for art supplies near campus, even if they are a bit more spendy than most. read more

I have been coming to the Inkstone since 1978 when I started graduate school in Landscape Architecture at UC Berkeley. 38 years later I still go there several times a year because they provide such an important and centrally located service for students and designers. As a student I got all my drafting equipment there (and still have it and it still works, even -- incredibly -- some of the Magic Markers!). As a landscape architect I went there for 30 years to buy vellum and more equipment and run prints (lots and lots of them!). Plus, their pick-up and delivery service is extremely convenient, reliable, and fast! As a landscape architecture teacher I have bought lots of drafting and design supplies there for my classroom: tracing paper, vellum, scales, templates, pencils and pens, sketch books; I practically know the bins by heart. For the past 25 years I have sent my students there to buy their own design and drawing equipment and run prints. I know of no other place in the East Bay that serves the design community so thoroughly. I have visited all the art stores in the area, and while they offer some supplies (scales, templates), none of them have anywhere near the range of equipment and services the Inkstone offers. The prices are not rock bottom as one might find at, say, Utrecht, but neither are they high, and the convenience and design focus and deliveries and parking garage more than make up for it. And I always seem to run into friends and colleagues when I'm there! As a designer and teacher I am grateful this store exists. read more