About

Art Department opened up shop in 2022 in the beautiful and tiny mountain town of Idyllwild, California. Our mission was simple; supply this creative neighborhood with art supplies! The nearest art + craft supply store was over an hour away (and it was a Hobby Lobby - no thank you!!!) so we decided to give the artists what they wanted — art supplies close to home, without having to order from Amaz*n or spend a million dollars on gas just to buy a paintbrush. 

 

Since then, we’ve grown a little! We’ve expanded to online, we’ve hired a wonderful team of artists, we’ve hosted workshops and art supply swaps and creative gatherings of all kinds (and a few protests for good measure). In growing our business, we’ve come to hold a few ideas near and dear to us:

 

PEOPLE OVER PROFIT

It’s probably not a shock to anyone who has worked in indie retail that no one really gets into this for the money. We got into it because of the people. What does this mean in practice? We pay our employees a living wage and treat them like actual humans with full lives. We let our community guide the way in regards the types of products, events and classes we offer. We try to give back as much as possible. Every June, we donate 10% of our profits to an LGBTQIA+ non-profit. We host semi-annual art supply swaps where our community gets together and trades new and gently used art supplies for free. Basically, we’re trying to make the world a slightly better place through our little shop.

QUALITY SUPPLIES + SUPPORTING THE LIL GUYS

We spend a great amount of time sourcing supplies for the shop and pride ourselves on carrying tools, gifts and supplies from independent, small brands. All of our products are tested by our team before hitting the floor so we know we love them and we hope you do, too. 

EVERYONE IS AN ARTIST

We hear people browsing the shop frequently say “this looks like fun, but I’m not an artist.” And to that we say, NOT WITH THAT ATTITUDE! Creativity is a mindset and a practice that anyone can take part in. Being an “artist” doesn’t require knowing how to perfectly draw and shade a still-life of a bowl of fruit - it just requires a willingness to play, explore and stay curious. There are no rules and no barriers to entry. Everyone is an artist, so let’s get to creating!

 

Thank you for shopping small and supporting our little pipe dream turned reality!

 

Phone: +1 (951) 527-0013

Email: hello@shopartdept.com

Shop Hours:

Open daily from 11AM - 5PM