Our Oakland store is Closed (our last day was Saturday, March 28).

Announcement - March 24, 2026

Original announcement, November 21, 2025

Dear Oakland Artists and Valued Customers,

We are writing with an important and heartfelt update regarding our Oakland store, which has been a vibrant part of this community for almost the last ten years.

Our lease for Oakland is expiring at the end of March 2026. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to consolidate operations into our historic San Francisco store, where we will continue to proudly serve all of our customers.

A Note of Thanks
This decision was not made lightly. With gratitude, we want to acknowledge the incredible dedication of our Oakland team, some of whom have been with us for decades. Their passion for art and their deep connections with you—our customers—have been the heart of this store. Please join us in thanking them over the coming months.

How to Shop and What Comes Next
We look forward to celebrating our last few months in Oakland with you and want to keep you informed about our inventory and sales schedule:

• Now – Late December: Full Inventory. We are fully stocked for the holidays! Come shop our complete collection now for the widest selection of creative supplies and gifts.
• Early January: Clearance Sale Begins. Starting in early January, we will launch our Farewell Clearance Sale. We must clear all inventory, fixtures, and other items by the end of March.
• Beyond March: Our commitment to the Bay Area art community remains as strong as ever. We will be consolidating operations to our San Francisco store, where we have proudly served artists since 1938. We invite you to continue your creative journey with us there for years to come.

We appreciate your support over these years in Oakland, and hope to see you in the store this holiday season and in the new year.

Sincerely,

Howard Flax

May 1, 1933 - November 6, 2023

Philip Leon Flax, whose life reflected the art that he supported, died on November 6th, in Santa Rosa, California. His beloved wife of 65 years, Toby, was at his side.

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey to Sylvia and Herman Flax, he was the youngest child with two older siblings, Jerry and Lita. When he was three, the family traveled West to settle in San Francisco. Upon graduation from Lowell High he enlisted in the army, being called back for the untimely death of his father in 1955. He joined the family business, Flax’s Artist Materials in Sanau Francisco. Two years later his life with Toby began. Together they grew a lovely family, created beautiful homes incorporating the design skills of both, and Philip became known as a brilliant retailer.

In 1959 Philip opened "Philip’s Art Supplies”. At this time his family's art store catered mostly to commercial art needs— Philip the entrepreneur saw an opportunity to serve individuals and the local arts community. He learned from his father and as he developed relationships with his customers the store took on a mentoring quality for the arts in San Francisco. Upon finding a larger space in 1966, the two stores merged into one on Sutter Street, where Philip turned the “mom and pop” art store into a destination that, after 85 years, is now recognized as a San Francisco Legacy Business.

Though his life was devoted to art, Philip’s expertise extended to many fields. He was an athlete with basketball and tennis skills, and in his later years golf. On family vacations by the beach, he became an incomparable architect with sand. Mysteries were his favorite, but he read everything and could be relied upon to comment on any topic, from politics to poetry and sports. Philip was proficient in painting and playing classical guitar, achievements that he modestly downplayed. He had a passion for games, known as an expert bridge and poker player, usually coming home with the friendly stakes. He was proud of his membership at the Mechanics Institute where he was member number 76. He introduced his children and grandchildren to chess, with whom he played games online until just before his passing.

In the 1980s and 1990s Philip established himself as a legend in the art supply industry. During this period of growth his three children, Howard, Craig, and Leslie, joined the business. The company started a catalog, eventually distributing millions each year across the country. And the store moved to a huge space on Market Street, a building that was an empty shell awaiting the fulfillment of Philip’s creative vision. He built a store unlike any other in the world that drew international recognition and praise. The manner of layout, merchandising and presentation was all new, inventive and inspiring. Both the store and catalog were iconic. Philip was the Bay Area’s consummate arbiter of sophistication and style for retailing of any kind let alone art materials.

Food had always been an adventure! He loved discovering unique restaurants, enjoying the cuisine of varied ethnicities. He never forgot a meal, ever. Thanksgiving at the Flax home was always special. He was delighted to share his Asian culinary skills, using a wok. When dining out for Chinese food, his friends agreed it was always wise to let Philip do the ordering.

After raising their children, Toby and Philip downsized to a condo in San Francisco. They split their time between that and a home in the wine country, where they planted acres of grapes. Their beautiful ranch became the playground for the next generation of Flaxes, highlighted by an annual Flax family picnic. His favorite role was that of Popee to his six grandchildren, Emilie and Charlotte, Isabel and Jackie, Nathaniel and Ella.

He was reluctant to retire, but realized the business was in good hands. With the supporting efforts of all three of his children, the family business had grown to prominence and become a part of the Bay Area’s diverse cultural scene. It was time for Philip to relax and enjoy being the valued advisor, yet he loved being involved and worked remotely generating orders for Howard to review until just last month.

Even in his last days, he maintained his sense of humor, a polished wit tinged with a splash of sarcasm. He remained the romantic, expressing daily a deep affection and appreciation for the tender care he received from Toby throughout their 65 years of marriage.

Philip was a gentleman, well loved and respected. His was a life well lived. He will be sadly missed by many nephews and nieces, by old and new friends and especially by his own Toby, Howie (Patty), Craig (Jenn) and Leslie (Thierry).

Among our staff we have over 250 years of combined experience in the art supply industry. We look forward to serving you in 2023. 

This year we'll be celebrating our 85th anniversary!

Meet Stan Chan, who grew up in East Oakland. A life long artist, Stan is participating in an exhibition, Stories From My Mother’s House. It is a curated show featuring artifacts, drawings, and writings on his childhood memories, family gossips, and everyday stories. His parents were able to buy a house in the 1950’s and each plexiglass-wooden box contains items that had been accumulating in the nooks and crannies of their house. 

The show runs September 1 - 25, 2022, at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Learn more  here. Enjoy a reflection of a lived experience through the art of Stan Chan.

Stan's Story

Growing up in East Oakland, my world was a couple miles radius. Except for the occasional trip taken to the barber in Chinatown or to see relatives in San Francisco, my World was in the house, the fenced front yard and backyard, and going to and from school. Me and my sister's big adventure was to walk two blocks to the grocery store and another block to the variety store, sometimes to buy but most of the time to be fascinated and discover things of the outside world. 

My parents were immigrants. They were able to buy a house in the 1950s. The house was Victorian. The furniture was Montgomery Ward and everything was makeshift. My parents and uncle who lived with us were junior carpenters making the house fit their needs. I dug holes in the walls, in the mattress, in the backyard, burying my treasures. We played, ate, and slept in that house. A generation later, I've seen the bigger world, but in my dreams, in my memory, my mother's house and that little yard that surrounds it is still home. 

I have made a series of small wall sections inspired by my mother's house. Maybe it's not exactly my parents', but it could be neighbors or relatives, immigrant people living in Victorians in East Oakland. The original walls were altered, repaired, changed by the newcomers. It showed layers and layers of past history. Artifacts in the wall exposed, left behind by the inhabitants to show that they had once existed.

~Stanley Chan

You can say "Hi" to Stan in our Oakland store, where he manages the Fine Arts Department.

At left, Matt Floriani, with a smile after completing the mural. Matt is an Oakland based artist who has been honing his skills in painting and drawing for the past ten years. Originally a large scale studio painter, he has blended his studies focusing on walls as his main area of attraction and creation for murals.

The 100'+ long mural was sponsored by Flax and Golden Artist Colors. Among the necessary supplies, the artists used MTN 94 spray paints and Golden Mural and Theme paint.

333 Arts kicked off the first two days of the mural event with "jam sessions". This is where emerging artists in the community get to participate in the mural creation alongside 333 Arts support volunteers and the lead painter. Pretty cool!

Three Thirty Three Arts is an Oakland-based non-profit that utilizes art and placemaking as a vehicle to make communities more cohesive, more engaging, and more inviting. 100% volunteer-managed, they strive to creating hands-on community art engagement experiences for the public, like being involved in this mural.

Credit to photographer Jonathan Botkin and Matt Floriani for these images.

Hella Artsy presents “Create Day”, a day to come create with the community and challenge your imagination. Filled with a STEAM (Science , Technology , Engineering , Arts & Math) lineup of projects, this is an ALL age event and FREE to the public. There will be plenty of youth development activities guided by educators and peer leaders, community building exercises, and fun arts and crafts, science experiments and more. Come watch artists from all over the Bay Area live paint and share their story.

About: Created by Makayla London in 2018, Hella Artsy is an Oakland community based organization. London, who is also a portrait artist, kicked off Hella Artsy in 2018 with a coloring book that featured many Bay Area legends and influencers. Along with media interviews, an art therapy bag giveaway, and her love of youth development, she then hosted her first Create Day in 2021.

The goal of Hella Artsy is to offer engaging and transformative experiences, along with opportunities for interacting with local leaders and artists from all over the Bay Area. Their vision and projects not only focus on enhancing the youth’s creativity, they also aim to bring these adventures to the black and brown community that may be socially and economically impacted. They believe a foundation of communal art projects brings unity.

Hella Artsy is excited to collaborate with many local STEAM providers and small businesses to host this event in our back parking lot. 

Activities will include:

Terrarium Kits
DIY Volcanoes
DIY Lava Lamps
Acrylic & Watercolor Painting
Basquiat Inspired Crowns
Frida Play Dough Mats
Solar System Model Making
Mosaics
Math Games
Coding Experiences
Live Art & More

What is remarkable is how little the tools of the trade change over time. Trends come and go, but paint is paint and canvas is canvas. Art materials do evolve, yet you can still find many of the traditional supplies of yesterday on our store shelves today. You are sure to recognize many of the brands and their products below.

- 1952 -

1952 - Doesn't every kid grow up with Crayola?

1959 - Since 1880, Higgins Ink maintains its popularity

- 1952 -

- 1957 - General's is still family run, now by the 5th generation

- 1958 -

1962 - The series 7 brush is still the W&N premier brush, but no longer starts at $1.00

1962 - Still an astonishingly popular line

- 1962 -

1965 - By far, Speedball had the best variety of quality ads back then

- 1968 -

1965 - Okay, you've never seen this brand on our shelves. We're guessing Krylon put them out of business. This is a classic 60s ad, but the notion that sex appeal can sell an artist spray, well, that's ridiculous.

We are pleased to present a pop-up show by Studios 11. A fixture in Oakland's Jack London area art scene for 15 years, Studios 11 artists include a wide range of contemporary styles. Come see the collection of original work and prints on display from June 3 - July 31.

Featured Artists
Denise Deleray
Terry Furry
Kristen Jensen
Karen Kramer
Denise Owen
Cleo Villet
Bill Weber

All Works Are for Sale and immediate purchase for you to bring home. No need to wait for the show to end to retrieve your piece. The show will be ever changing as artwork sells and gets replaced by something new. Open during our normal business hours: Mon-Sat - 10am-6:30pm, Sunday - 10am-6pm.

Thanks to  Oakland Art Murmur for always promoting and propping up Oakland's art and artists.