For artists, crafters, students, and educators throughout Central Ohio, finding a reliable source for top-tier creative supplies can make all the difference in their projects. The blick sawmill store is Columbus’s premier destination for fine art materials, custom services, and professional-grade tools. Nestled on the bustling corridor of Sawmill Road, this location serves as a creative sanctuary for the local community, offering in-store shopping, easy online order pickups, and expert advice. Whether you are a painter, cosplayer, or design student, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about navigating the store, utilizing local discounts, and finding the best materials.
Location, Hours, and Essential Store Information
Finding your way to the blick sawmill road location is straightforward, whether you are coming from the heart of Columbus, the suburbs of Dublin and Worthington, or farther out in Central Ohio. This store is situated in the north-northwest quadrant of Columbus, a region known for its highly accessible retail hubs.
The official physical address is: Blick Art Materials 6486 Sawmill Road Columbus, OH 43235
Conveniently located in Sawmill Plaza, the store features ample free parking right in front of the building, making it incredibly easy to load up large canvases, heavy clay blocks, or custom framing orders. If you are arriving from I-270, you can simply take the Sawmill Road exit and head north; the plaza will be on your right, nestled among a variety of popular shopping and dining options.
If you need to contact the store directly for inventory checks, product inquiries, or framing questions, you can reach them at:
- Phone: (614) 792-1900
- Email: BlickColumbus@dickblick.com
Store Hours
Before making the trip, it is helpful to note their weekly operating hours. The store maintains consistent schedules to accommodate both daytime shopping and after-work visits:
- Monday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Please note that hours can vary slightly during major national holidays, such as Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. During these times, the store often runs on shortened schedules, such as opening from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Memorial Day, so it is always wise to call ahead or check the official Blick website for temporary alerts.
Convenient Pickup and Delivery Options
For those who prefer to browse and purchase from the comfort of their homes, Blick offers a highly efficient "Store Pickup" option. When shopping online on DickBlick.com, you can select items and check their availability at the Sawmill Road location. By creating a Store Pickup List, you can place your order online and let the staff gather your materials for you. Once you receive the notification that your order is ready, you can walk in, head to the pickup counter, and be on your way in minutes. This service is completely free and is an excellent way to ensure your essential items are in stock before you drive over.
Additionally, this location offers local delivery options for larger orders or institutional purchases. If you are an educator ordering bulk supplies for a classroom or a professional artist needing a large shipment of heavy canvases and clay, you can coordinate with the store staff to arrange delivery options that suit your project timeline.
The Ultimate Creative Inventory: What You Can Find In-Store
When you step inside the blick art sawmill location, you are greeted by row after row of meticulously organized supplies. Because Blick acquired Utrecht Art Supplies, this specific location functions as a combined haven, retaining the best of Utrecht's legacy products while incorporating Blick’s massive global inventory. The store is designed to satisfy the needs of every creative discipline, from traditional fine art to modern crafting and commercial design.
1. Fine Art Paints and Mediums
At the core of the store is its legendary paint department. Here, you will find an extensive array of professional-grade paints and mediums, including:
- Oil Paints: Shop Utrecht's famous house-brand oil paints, renowned for their buttery consistency and high pigment load. You will also find premium brands like Winsor & Newton, Sennelier, and Gamblin, along with a wide variety of solvents, varnishes, and drying mediums.
- Acrylics: From heavy-body acrylics for impasto techniques to fluid acrylics and high-flow formulas, the shelves are stocked with Golden Artist Colors, Liquitex, and Blick Studio acrylics.
- Watercolors and Gouache: Discover vibrant watercolor pans and tubes from Daniel Smith, Holbein, and Schminke, alongside designer gouaches for illustration work.
- Street Art and Mural Supplies: This location features a dedicated section for muralists, graffiti artists, and urban planners. This includes a massive wall of Montana Gold and Montana Black spray paints, Krink markers, Molotow paint pens, and heavy-duty respiratory safety gear.
2. Canvases, Panels, and Substrates
Whether you paint on stretched cotton, linen, or wooden panels, the blick sawmill store has a substrate for you. They stock pre-stretched canvases in a vast range of standard sizes, available in both student-grade multipacks and heavy-duty museum profiles. For artists who prefer a rigid surface, the store offers a variety of primed and unprimed wooden panels, cradled boards, and canvas boards. If you prefer to stretch your own, you will find rolls of raw or primed canvas, heavy-duty wooden stretcher bars, staple guns, and canvas pliers.
3. Sculpting, Ceramics, and Mold-Making
One of the biggest gaps in standard big-box craft stores is the lack of professional-grade sculpting and mold-making materials. The Sawmill Road store fills this gap beautifully. They stock high-quality ceramic and modeling clays from brands like Amaco Brent and Sculpey, along with pottery wheels, carving tools, and wire loops. For makers looking to duplicate sculptures, create props, or cast industrial parts, the store is a local distributor of Smooth-On products, offering specialty silicones, liquid rubbers, and casting resins that are otherwise difficult to source locally without paying high shipping fees.
4. Cosplay and Crafting Essentials
Columbus has an incredibly active community of cosplayers, makers, and DIY hobbyists, thanks in part to local conventions and a thriving pop-culture scene. Standard craft stores rarely carry the materials required for building elaborate armor and props. Fortunately, the staff at Blick Sawmill has curated a fantastic selection of crafting supplies specifically for this demographic. They stock high-quality EVA foam sheets in multiple thicknesses and densities, which are crucial for costume fabrication. You will also find contact cements, specialty adhesives, craft plastics, and paints designed to adhere to flexible foam surfaces.
5. Drawing, Illustration, and Calligraphy
For graphic designers, illustrators, and comic artists, the drawing aisle is a treasure trove. You will find professional-grade markers from Copic and Prismacolor, fine-line technical pens from Sakura Pigma Micron, and a huge selection of colored pencils, pastels, and charcoal. To accompany these dry mediums, the store features an entire wall of sketchbooks, pads, and journals from Moleskine, Strathmore, Canson, and Leuchtturm1917.
6. Fine Art Papers and Boards
If you practice printmaking, watercolor, or calligraphy, you know how important paper texture and weight are. Blick on Sawmill Road features a row of flat files containing single sheets of specialty papers. From handmade decorative papers sourced from around the world to heavy cotton watercolor sheets (such as Arches) and archival illustration boards, you can touch and inspect the grain of each sheet before making your purchase.
Professional and Custom Services at Blick Sawmill Road
While online shopping is convenient, there are certain services that can only be executed with the help of an experienced, hands-on professional. The blick sawmill plaza location offers several key services that make it a destination of choice for gallery artists, collectors, and casual creators alike.
Custom Framing and Matting
Your artwork deserves to be preserved and displayed in the best possible light. The store features a dedicated, full-service custom framing department staffed by framing design specialists. Whether you need to frame a delicate watercolor painting, a valuable sports jersey, a family photograph, or a massive oil painting on canvas, the team is equipped to help.
When you visit the custom framing counter, a specialist will guide you through choosing the perfect combination of wood or metal frames, acid-free matboards, and conservation-grade glass (including UV-blocking and museum-glass options) to protect your work from fading and environmental damage. The framing is done to archival standards, ensuring that your art remains preserved for generations.
Custom Canvas Stretching and Surface Prep
If you work on a grand scale or require non-standard dimensions that are not available off the shelf, the blick sawmill road team can assist with custom canvas building. You can order custom-sized stretcher bars, select your preferred canvas or linen style, and have the in-store team stretch and prime the surface for you. This service eliminates the struggle of stretching massive canvases in small home studios and ensures a drum-tight, professional surface ready for your paintbrush.
Custom Printing Services
In addition to traditional framing, Blick offers custom digital printing services. If you have high-resolution digital files of your artwork or photography, you can have them printed on professional-grade papers or canvas. This is an excellent service for artists looking to create limited-edition prints of their original works or for individuals looking to turn their favorite photos into gallery-wrapped canvas prints.
Supporting Columbus Students, Educators, and the Local Arts Scene
Blick Art Materials has always been committed to fostering the next generation of creative minds. The blick sawmill location is deeply integrated with the academic and professional creative networks of Columbus, Ohio.
Seamless Integration with Ohio State's BuckID
One of the most unique and valuable aspects of the blick sawmill store is its official partnership with The Ohio State University. Because Blick is an approved off-campus BuckID merchant, OSU students can use their BuckID cards to make purchases in-store. This integration is incredibly convenient for students who receive university funds, have campus dining/discretionary balances, or simply want to consolidate their school expenses onto a single card. Instead of paying out of pocket for expensive studio course materials, students can swipe their BuckID and get exactly what they need for their classes.
Serving Regional Institutions
Beyond Ohio State, this store is the primary supply hub for several major educational institutions in the area, including:
- Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD): Students at CCAD rely on Blick for specialized design markers, animation papers, and professional modeling clays.
- Columbus State Community College: Students enrolled in fine arts, graphic design, and architecture programs find their required course materials here.
- Local K-12 School Districts: Art teachers from Dublin, Worthington, Hilliard, and Columbus City Schools regularly shop at this location to stock up their classrooms and coordinate bulk orders.
The Blick U Course Supply Lists
To make the beginning of the semester as stress-free as possible, Blick offers the "Blick U" program. Local professors and art instructors can submit their required supply lists directly to the store. Students can then look up their specific course code either online or at the store's customer service desk. The Blick staff keeps these lists on hand and ensures that all the required paints, brushes, and sketchbooks are fully stocked and grouped together, saving students from the headache of hunting down obscure materials on their first day of class.
Preferred Customer Program and Local Savings
To help offset the cost of professional materials, Blick offers a free Preferred Customer Program. By signing up in-store or online, local artists can enjoy:
- In-Store Discounts: Save up to 10% on key everyday art supplies.
- Reward Points: Earn points on every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for future purchases.
- Exclusive Sale Alerts: Receive notifications about local in-store promotions, clearance events, and seasonal sales.
Shopping Smart: Online Convenience vs. In-Store Experience
With so many ways to buy art supplies today, you might wonder whether it is better to shop on DickBlick.com or make the trip to the physical store on Sawmill Road. Both methods have distinct advantages, and smart shoppers know how to leverage both to get the best deals and the best experience.
1. Take Advantage of In-Store Price Matching
It is common for retail stores and online warehouses to have slightly different pricing structures due to shipping logistics and regional operating costs. Sometimes, a specific paint or brush might be listed at a lower price on DickBlick.com than on the shelf at the blick sawmill plaza location.
Pro Tip: Blick retail stores will happily match DickBlick.com's online pricing at the register! If you find an item online that is cheaper, simply show the product page on your smartphone to the cashier during checkout. They will match the price on the spot, allowing you to get the online discount immediately without having to wait or pay for shipping.
2. Hunt for Treasures in the Clearance Section
One of the best reasons to visit the physical blick sawmill road store is the in-store clearance section. This area is constantly updated with discontinued products, slightly dented metal paint tubes, minor shipping-damaged canvases, and overstock items. Savvy local artists make a habit of stopping by the clearance corner first, as you can often find premium products marked down by 50% or more. These minor cosmetic imperfections rarely affect the quality of the paint or the utility of the tool, making it an excellent way to stretch your creative budget.
3. Consult with Passionate, Knowledgeable Staff
Perhaps the greatest asset of the blick art sawmill store is the staff. Unlike general retail employees, the team members at Blick are almost exclusively practicing artists, art school graduates, art educators, or passionate makers. They possess a deep, technical understanding of the materials they sell.
If you are unsure which varnish is safe to use over an oil-and-acrylic mixed-media painting, how to properly mix a two-part silicone mold, or which paper grain will best support your printmaking ink, you can ask a staff member. They can offer real-world, tested advice that you cannot get from an online chatbot, saving you from costly trial-and-error mistakes in your studio.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I use my OSU BuckID at the Blick on Sawmill Road?
Yes! The Blick Art Materials store on Sawmill Road is an authorized off-campus BuckID merchant. Ohio State University students can use their BuckID card balance to pay for art and craft supplies in-store.
Does this location offer custom framing services?
Yes, the Sawmill Road location has a dedicated custom framing and matting department. You can work directly with an in-store framing specialist to select frames, matboards, and archival-grade glass to preserve and display your artwork, photos, or memorabilia.
Can I return items purchased online at DickBlick.com to the Sawmill Road retail store?
Yes, you can return most items purchased online to the retail store, provided they are in their original, unused condition and you have the online packing slip or order confirmation. It is always a good idea to bring your original payment method as well.
Does Blick Sawmill match online prices?
Yes! If you find an item listed at a lower price on DickBlick.com than the price marked on the shelf in the retail store, simply show the online listing on your mobile device to the cashier. They will match the online price at the register.
Do they stock cosplay supplies like EVA foam and Smooth-On silicones?
Yes, this location is highly regarded by the Columbus cosplay and maker communities because it stocks professional crafting materials, including high-density EVA foam sheets in various thicknesses, specialty adhesives, and Smooth-On mold-making and casting products.
Is there plenty of parking available?
Absolutely. The store is located in Sawmill Plaza, which offers a large, easily accessible parking lot with plenty of free parking spaces right in front of the storefront, making it simple to transport large canvases or heavy supplies to your vehicle.
Conclusion
The blick sawmill store is more than just a retail establishment; it is an invaluable hub for the Central Ohio creative community. By offering a vast selection of fine art, crafting, and cosplay supplies, alongside expert custom framing services and local academic benefits like BuckID acceptance, the store ensures that Columbus artists of all levels have the tools they need to succeed. Whether you are stocking up for a new semester at OSU or CCAD, preparing an exhibition, or embarking on a complex prop-building project, a visit to the Sawmill Road store is sure to inspire and equip your creative journey.
















