Our Charing Cross shop sits just behind the National Gallery and a few steps from the National Portrait Gallery — an area shaped by painting, past and present. It has been an art materials shop for over 115 years, quietly serving generations of artists working in and around Trafalgar Square.
A short walk from the Mall Galleries and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the shop sits at a point where different strands of London’s art world meet — from historic collections to contemporary practice. It was also the first store acquired by Mark Cass in 1984, marking the beginning of what would become Cass Art.
Long before that, T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was said to have bought his first inks here — a reminder of the kind of place it has always been: practical, well-used, and tied to the act of making.
“Our Charing Cross shop sits just behind the National Gallery and a few steps from the National Portrait Gallery - an area shaped by painting, past and present.”
Dollie, Charing Cross Store Manager
Minutes from the store, the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery sit just beyond the door, with Trafalgar Square at the centre of it all. It’s a part of London shaped by looking — where painting, people and place meet, and where centuries of observation still sit within reach of your own.
Step outside and you’re in constant movement — commuters cutting through, tourists pausing, street scenes shifting by the minute. It’s the kind of place that sharpens observation quickly, where ideas are caught on the move, gestures held for a second longer, and decisions made faster.
Just a short walk from Kensington Olympia, our Kensington store sits in one of London’s most design-focused areas, with High Street Kensington close by.
Inside, you’ll find a full range of materials — from dependable student essentials through to professional, artist-grade supplies — along with a dedicated workshop space downstairs.
The layout is straightforward, making it easy to find what you need and get on with the work.Our team are all practising artists, offering clear, practical advice across materials and process. We also run regular workshops in-store — just ask what’s coming up.
“You’re surrounded by places where work is carefully made and considered — from the Design Museum to Holland Park. The store sits in that rhythm. Artists behind the counter, strong materials across the board, and space to figure out what actually works for you.”
Dana, Kensington Store Manager
Kensington is shaped by what’s around it — places built for looking, collecting, and studying how things are made. A few minutes from the store, the Design Museum brings process into focus — how objects are constructed, refined and resolved. It’s less about the finished piece, more about the decisions behind it. Alongside it, the Victoria and Albert Museum holds centuries of material practice — textiles, sculpture, ceramics — all built through time, skill and repetition.
Step outside and Kensington Gardens shifts the pace. Open space, controlled landscape, and a different kind of observation — light, distance, and how forms sit within it.
Nearby, the Royal Albert Hall adds another layer — scale, structure, and presence. A reminder of how work holds together when it’s built to last.
Taken together, it’s an area that brings you back to looking closely — at how things are made, how they’re resolved, and what holds them in place.
Our Brewer Street shop sits in the middle of Soho — where independent shops run alongside studios, galleries and work still being figured out late into the evening. Oxford Street is minutes away, but the pace shifts as soon as you turn in — more hands-on, more immediate, more about making than browsing.
Just around the corner, The Photographer’s Gallery and the exhibition spaces of Cork Street offer a direct line into how work is being shown right now — not settled, not fixed, but tested, edited and pushed forward. It’s an area that rewards instinct. Ideas are picked up quickly, tried out, and either held onto or left behind.
That same pace carries into the store. It’s built for working in the moment — grabbing what you need, getting something down, and moving it on.
“This part of Soho has always been about making - from students at the Royal Academy of Arts to established artists. Inside the store, it’s artists talking to artists. Outside, it’s constant reference.”
Justin, Soho Store Manager
Soho has always been where London lets itself loosen up. A small grid of streets, but dense with history — from the theatres of West End to late-night jazz at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, late night coffee at Bar Italia, and the constant hum of Old Compton Street running through it all.
Walk a few minutes in any direction and you hit something iconic: the lights of Piccadilly Circus, the quiet of Soho Square, or the independent shops and studios that still give the area its edge. Soho doesn’t really settle. It shifts, layers, reinvents — and that’s what makes it such a draw. You come here to look, to listen, and usually, to make something of your own.
Our Hampstead shop stocks a variety of professional art materials, student supplies and an excellent kids' range to inspire the artist in everyone, no matter their age. We also host several workshops for adults and children on the activity table that forms the artistic centre of the shop. The home and resting place of English Romantic painter John Constable, Hampstead is a beautiful borough of London and home to the Hampstead School of Art.
Hampstead Heath plays host to The Affordable Art Fair every year and is a favourite subject of local watercolour painters across London. It is also within close proximity of Middlesex University, which has a thriving community of students studying Illustration, Graphic Design, Fine Art and other creative courses.
“As our largest London store, Hampstead carries one of the widest ranges across materials and surfaces — from entry-level through to professional. It’s set up for how people actually work, with the space to explore options properly and a steady run of workshops and events alongside it.”
Behzad, Hampstead Store Manager
Hampstead has always drawn artists in. From the open expanse of Hampstead Heath to the streets around Flask Walk and Perrin’s Court, it’s a place built on observation — light shifting through trees, figures moving through space, moments that ask to be captured.
It’s not about speed here. It’s about attention.
Bring a sketchbook to the Heath. Sit with it. Work something out. Or don’t — just start.
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