The Paint Chip

This is a great family owned shop in Davis. I always come in for my art supplies and had several pieces of art matted and framed. The staff are always helpful and friendly. Quality of work is exceptional and can always trust them to do a great job

It’s really small and I haven’t had much time to explore but I called in to get some charcoal and the lady that helped me was super nice and it was quick and easy! I will be coming back (:

Small paint shop with a decent selection of acrylics, montana paint cans, pastels, etc. The prices are slightly higher than a big box retailer or online merchants but its the price you pay for supporting a small business.

It’s a shop that sells art supplies and art books and other various crafting things. Since it’s a small business the variety is limited but it wasn’t too bad. I saw lots of sketchbooks, paints, crayons, pastels and etc. I only went there for the origami paper which is more expensive than other places in Sacramento. But considering it’s a small business I assume that’s why the prices are raised a little. I would go back if I needed something that day and couldn’t get it elsewhere.

I love going here and looking at all of the great art supplies: paints, pencils, canvases, etc. They have lots of project supplies too (decorating boxes, origami.) and a good selection if frames. Also several art options for children including those «how to» type books that come with supplies. At the register there is usually a fun impulse buy too ;)
You can get supplies from other places cheaper, but it is always fun to peruse this shop… and then I usually end up purchasing something anyway!
There is generally a sidewalk sale as well… great deals!
Fun store in downtown Davis for sure :)

The Paint Chip sent me a very generous coupon to their store in a «Welcome to Davis» packet. Not sure I would have gone in without it. Ended up getting something framed and buying a bunch of supplies to paint.
The store looks small on the outside but they have a ton of great supplies in there! It goes back further than you realize. It’s fun to wander around and think about what you could make.
The customer service was great. They were so welcoming and helpful. I had a lot of questions about my painting project – I really didn’t know what I was doing at all. They never made me feel dumb for not being a «serious» artist. They answered all my questions, walked me over to supplies I wasn’t sure about, never tried to push me to buy anything.
And the piece I had framed looks fantastic. It was a silly old piece of etched glass that has more sentimental value than true beauty but they never blinked and gave me some fabulous suggestions. Arianna (sp?) must have spent at least 30 minutes just on my project and I wasn’t even looking at the expensive options. I never would have picked up the matting and frame she suggested, but they are the ones I ended up choosing because the look was so striking. It was exactly what I was going for. She listened to me about what I was looking for and the room it was going in. Then they put it all together for me while I ran another errand.
Great to spend money in a small, local business. Even better when that business is well run and fun to shop at!

I always like to stop by this store when I’m in town. They have a pretty good selection for a small business in a small town (comparatively). Their prices aren’t discount but Geez, at today’s gas prices it would cost way more to go to another town than you would save, I’m sure.
I have bought miscellaneous items from them the three or four times I’ve been in, mostly feeding my purple pen fetish I’m sure, also colorful pencils, tiny canvases, whatever.
To my surprise I found they now carry a few yarns and knitting supplies. The needles looked about the same price as Michael’s and Joann’s. The cotton yarn was about a dollar more and the wool yarn a couple dollars more per skein. No coupons here, at least not 40% like M’s and J’s.
I was tickled to find a purple Sharpie as I’d forgotten to bring one of mine from home on my trip and had missed it.
There is a $ 5 minimum for credit card purchases.
I like to support small businesses whenever possible so I will continue to stop in here whenever I’m in town.

Went in today to buy art supplies. My newly potty trained 3 year old immediately had to go to the bathroom. The staff refused to let us use their bathroom and directed us to the friendly chain establishment (Starbucks) across the street. Next time I’ll just go to Target, where I know they’ll let us use the bathrooms.

Friendly service and a nice selection of art supplies. Prices are typical of any art store. There is a $ 5 minimum for credit/​debit purchases (which is fine, but good to know).

I was once a fine art major, but realized that I would definitely starve based on my level of talent. However I still get lured into art supply stores.
Folks, this is NOT a Michael’s. Definitely more unique stuff in here, I ended up walking out with a few canvases, paints and brush for a birthday present. A little of something for everyone, you can find pastels, paints, lots of canvases, sketch books, and very unique packages of origami.
I hope I win the ‘guess how many screws are in the jar’ contest. I guessed 1,294, which is probably 500 too many. Oh well.

Never ever get anything framed here. I took in a piece of original art work to be framed and asked about archival matting and backing. The employee looked at me blankly like an opossum about to get hit by a car on a dark night. «We just use cardboard for backing,» said the poor fool behind the counter. The prices are through the roof and the materials they use are likely to destroy your art.

I love this place, I live in Vacaville, where everything is starting to look/​be exactly the same. It was nice to find an independently owned art supply store somewhat close. It was a lot of fun exploring this store and the people are great.

My framed art was absolutely perfect and I love it. The price wasn’t bad either.
The customer service/​framing service model is inefficient at best.
It took over one month to get a small job done but they wouldn’t commit to when it would be done. When I would come in they were confused to where my order was in the pipeline… They log all the work manually in a notebook and they ask you «what day did you come in» to find your project. What day did I come in??? I can’t remember what day it is today!
The staff peel through a book for several minutes (while you wait) trying to find you…“is it a custom job… what does it look like… what day did you come in… how do you spell your last name”. As you wait the computer is sitting there calling your name for efficiency!
Also, when the job is done they call you once every two weeks (their policy per the employee. What? Why every two weeks? After one month, I dropped by to see the status of my job since no calls had been received. They had called me at home (yeah right, like my teens will give me a message) to let me know the job was done. The job had been done and was sitting there for two weeks waiting for a pick up.
When I picked it up… same questions… what day did you bring it in… was it custom… flip through the book… searching…searching…calling the workroom… three people looking for it…15 minutes later after lots of searching and questions… they found it!!!
It was beautiful but I will go somewhere where they know what is going on!

i love art supplies!!! so of course i love this place.
everyone that worked here was really nice, it was such a great way to spend a saturday morning or a summer day — just strolling up and down the aisles finding out all these cool new things and geting inspired to make art. (and then when you get home and try realized that your’e crap at it and just spent all this money thinking you could do it.) hahaha, but still, i love it. and everyone once ina whilei sitll get inspired to bust out the oil pastels and paints and pretend like i know what i’m doing.

The Paint Chip is an amazing place! The staff is wonderful and friendly, the art supply section is plentiful, but the real gem in the store is the custom framing section. They know their stuff! Everything comes out perfectly, and they treat every piece of art as if it’s worth thousands of dollars and deserves the utmost care. Highly reccomended!

excellent selection! need to découpage a cowboy boot? no problem! how about a parrot? you got it! it’s a bit pricey, but can you put a price on CREATIVITY?!

An ok art supply place. I tended to go to Berkeley to find cheaper stuff but when you need something quick, nearby, and the UCD bookstore doesn’t cut it you might find something here.