L.Cornelissen & Son Reviews 

Went in today on a beautiful sunny day after wandering around the British Museum for class and having a lovely lunch. I needed some paintbrushes and google maps told me L.Cornelissen was nearby so I wandered in. The shop was so pretty I took some videos only to be confronted by a sour-faced creature demanding I don't video the staff. "I don't think I did" I responded. "Well I'm pretty sure I walked in front of you". Umm a) don't walk in front of people filming then and b) don't work in a tiny and highly photographable location in the middle of London's tourist heartland. Why is it always the purple-haired types? I can see why she didn't want to be photographed given such an attitude to life lends a severe visage, but she's got the order of causality wrong. I found a much cheaper set of brushes at Waterstones on the way to the station instead.

I'm only giving this 3 stars because their art supplies make up for their horrible customer service. Went to the physcial store and there were 4 or 5 young women working behind the counter, none of which was very helpful and couldn't offer any kowledge about the supplies I was interested in. Have tried ordering from their web store and it's been a pain dealing with them trying to figure out shipping charges. I made my web order over 10 days ago and they still haven't shipped it. Their art supplies are phenomenal but their business itself is horribly mismanaged. It's a shame because you can't find art materials like this anywhere else and I imagine if they keep operating the way they are they won't be in business long. Stock up on what they offer while they're still in business!

Love this shop! So well stocked with good ranges of material and the staff are super helpful, knowledgeable and patient.

I have frequented Cornelissen since I attended Slade in the back end of the 60s and still do so that should be recommendation enough

I once had a really good view of this shop. However, not anymore. I am a small bespoke paint maker and have decided to use a competitor for my supplies instead. This is not lightly done as I am currently having to retest all of my paint recipes.

Yes, the staff are nice but lack knowledge and make so many mistakes, e.g. packing the wrong weight or type of pigment.

They do not respond to customer feedback, e.g. stop filling pigment bags to the top so that they spill everywhere when opened. Neither are package labelled with pigment numbers.

I know they specialise in historical pigments, but so many are extremely hazardous. They eschew offering modern alternatives such as pyrroles, perylenes and others. Yes, they stock Pyrrole Scarlet, oddly named as Coral Red and erroneously labelled as PR 225.

Their hazard designations are unhelpful because they are often inaccurate and aren't based on international standards. Ultramarine blue, for example, is given a dual rating of both relatively harmless and as having a relatively low toxic hazard. An obvious misnomer: what is a low toxic hazard, exactly? How can anything be both harmless and toxic? Ultramarine blue does not require labelling as hazardous according to EU regulation 1272/2008. Cornelluson should really ask their manufacturers for these classifications and share them with customers. Quite worryingly, they sell Red Lead Minium without age verification.

Their website is not optimised for mobile phones.

As I stated above, the staff are nice enough but management needs to take a long hard look at themselves and try to step into the 21st Century in terms of their offering to customers.

Super firma.I`ve got the delivery in Canada in three days after it was sent from Great Britain.

Magical Harry Potter-esque paint shop in London

Love the paints from here and would really recommend going. All the best mediums and a gorgeous selection of everything. You can tell they really care and great customer service. Never had a bad experience.

This shop is a treasure. Just a short walk from the British museum they are a treasure trove of fantastic things. Only dare venture there on your payday, because you will end up spending a fortune! Not that they are expensive mind you, you just will not be able to control yourselves.

Staff helped me with my etching supplies they know so much and even helped me find a pigment for a project I am doing.

Really impressed. Great customer service.