St. Louis Art Supply stocks craft supplies too

You may not be aware that, in addition to its extensive selection of art materials, St. Louis Art Supply also stocks sewing, knitting, and other craft supplies. I realized recently that I could simply head over to the shop located in The Grove to find thread for a sewing project and be back home in no time. The convenience of it, and the wide and ever-widening selection of craft supplies prompted me to share this discovery with you.

In a recent conversation with proprietor Xena Colby, I learned that she and Art Supply co-owners Carson Monetti, Patricia Williams, and Curtis Tinsley realized they might be able to fill some of the void customers experienced when JoAnn Fabrics stores closed nationwide.

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For those who are new to the neighborhood, St. Louis Art Supply moved from Olive (just east of Bowood Farms) to 4011 Papin, above, (between S. Newstead and Vandeventer) during the Covid pandemic. Contrary to their expectations, the business thrived during the shut-down as people around the world were shopping for art supplies online. When they realized they were filling every nook and cranny with inventory, the partners moved the business to the warehouse space in The Grove with a loading dock—which was very important.

A few years ago, they converted the front section of the warehouse into a small retail space. (Malcom will hopefully greet you at the door.)

Xena highlighted some of the items that have been extremely popular in the craft arena including Shashiko cloth with disappearing lines, Shashiko thread and needles. They also carry an assortment of Gutterman thread, and unusual threads such as persimmon-dyed cotton thread from Japan. You’ll find basics like seam tape and a small selection of buttons, and unusual items such as a “mini random mending bundle” composed of kantha fabric scraps.

Art Supply stocks patterns from Merchant & Mills and Friday Pattern Co., universal sewing machine needles, embroidery scissors, and pinking shears. A limited selection of fabrics is sold by the yard. Those include unbleached muslin, cotton ticking, cotton flannel, and denim.

Knitting supplies are plentiful too. There’s an Italian yarn made with sugar cane, Noro’s Haunui cotton/wool yarn, natural cotton yarns, and Juniper Moon Farm cotton yarn. Xena mentioned a Ziggy Giraffe Amigurumi Kit, which she found to be a fun, intermediate-level project. There are also Amigurumi (the craft of making little stuffed animals) kits to crochet.

There are knitting needles, embroidery kits, an ultra punch needle starter kit, and bookbinding materials too.

Craft books include The Art of Repair, Zero Waste Patterns, Bookbinding, How to Train your Machine, and many more.   The website is easy to navigate, so look here for lots of additional items that I haven’t mentioned.

The retail space is rather small, so not everything St. Louis Art Supply carries is visible out front. However, just ask whoever is at the window, and they will happily bring out fabric and whatever else you’d like to examine.

Now, whenever you get that creativity bug, you can head over to St. Louis Art Supply for art supplies and your craft supplies too. They’re open 7 days a week from 10 to 5. And they offer free shipping on orders over $59.

St. Louis Art Supply, 4011 Papin, between N. Newstead and Vandeventer in The Grove.