Cowling & Wilcox Reviews 

I happened upon the Shoreditch store in July 2023 while walking to another art store along the same road. I was greeted so warmly by the staff who offered to assist me with any queries. I said I wanted to browse and they were kind to let me be. When I was ready to pay, I was quickly and kindly assisted by Chantal who's service was excellent. I would absolutely recommend this store to anyone to loves Art and exploring art materials. I love the examples placed around the store of projects made with the materials they are selling. Their prices are competitive and they have a loyalty scheme. I have returned to this store three times since that first experience and every time I have found the staff welcoming and attentive.

Excellent company and brilliant customer service! I ordered some modelling clay on the weekend and it was sent by the Monday morning. The delivery company didn't fulfill the 'next day' and after I spoke to Cowling & Wilcox they spoke to the delivery company to find out what was going on. Without a clear answer as to where it was, Cowling & Wilcox were going to send another parcel to ensure I'd receive it before Christmas. Within an hour the original parcel 'turned up' - I'm convinced this is due to the enquiry that the team at Cowling & Wilcox made. Due to the late delivery I've also been offered a refund on my extra postage costs. I never felt I'd miss out as Megan and Chris were very conscientious and concerned about ensuring I'd receive my order in time. Thanks so much for all your help. The products are also great quality and very reasonably priced! I'll definitely be buying again in the future. Merry Christmas!

I purchased few items cox they having sale on Ink, the only comment I have is I needa pay 4.6 delivery charges (which is expected). as the discount amount can cover the cost, therefore I purchased it.

Ordered online, purchasing what were sales items, and I received a discount of the price, which was great. I didn’t pay delivery fee. I had no problem with company correspondence, as I was sent an order confirmation, an invoice, then dispatch notices. I received notification of my delivery, date, and time of arrival, which did arrive. In all, was very pleased with the entire process, and the products are great!

Buying art materials can be a minefield - where to start, so many different options. If you need help my local store always give advise (if you want it) or show you where to find things, an advantage over other stores.

How this place has good reviews is beyond me… at the Highbury shop the staff acts as if you were nonexistent. And even when you ask for help, they assist, but with an attitude of “being fed up with life” or annoyed that they have to work at all.
Last time I went (and I do hope, it will be the very last) I didn’t even dare to ask, as all of them were either hypnotised by their screens or with the same “I wish I were anywhere else” attitude ..
It’s a pity as the very first time I went there, someone greeted me and offered to help, if I needed it…
Shame how it went down hill, CS-wise, over the years..
And I thought it was just me, but I’ve met people who have complaints about this place as well.

I've purchased from this company 2 times so far, the 2nd time was perfect, the first time there was an issue where the product arrived damaged, but the person I dealt with went way above and beyond to rectify the issues and was extremely helpful throughout! honest, open and extremely informative of the situation the whole time I couldn't have hoped for an unfortunate situation to go any better! Genuinely have no bad words to say and will continue to shop here!

They had exactly the size and brand of paper I needed where other well known vendors did not, so I was immediately pleased. When my items arrived one of them had got bashed about in delivery and became unusable. Customer service got back to me within a couple of hours with a great response. Megan Warren, shout out to you for being fab at your job!

Telephoned to check they had the product I wanted in stock. They didn't but gave other recommendations. Purchased an alternative which they put aside for me to collect.
They were friendly, knowledgeable about their products and what the shop had to offer. Very impressed.
I only spent £5.25 but I will definitely be going back.

What a poor service. Online site says free UK delivery over £50. I purchased 14 tubes of paint costing over £120. The transaction said I rightly qualified for free delivery. Then they contact me admitting their site needs to be amended but I must pay £10 extra for delivery be suse of the weight. They won't take responsibility or even post as two separate lots, both qualifying for the over £50 criteria. Now it's taking 7 days to get my money back and they're happy to lose the business. Clearly not a company that understands good customer service and the importance of good will. Please dont shop with these people!

Can't fault it. Was a little worried after reading the reviews but my order came well packaged and within a working day of ordering, between Christmas and New Year, which was great.

I ordered an art drawing board for my grandsons Christmas present. The purchase made on line was acknowledged swiftly and several e mails were sent out about its dispatch. It arrived when expected a couple of weeks before xmas, I did inspect it but my failing eyesight did not notice the crack in the corner which of course grandson did as soon as he opened it. As he needs it for his graphics GCSE he was very disappointed. Even though it was boxing day I sent an e mail to C and W which was answered the next day, they apologised for his disappointment and said they would send a replacement. they did not have it in stock but sent for one from one of their other stores. They kept me informed at each stage and a brand new one arrived in a short time, given the postage strike. I do believe that the new one is of a higher quality. I cannot recommend their customer service highly enough, the politeness of their employees and their willingness to pput things right. My grandson is very happy. Well done!!!

Helped my elderly mother - who doesn’t normally shop online - to order some items as a late (express order) Xmas gift. Purchase confirmed on screen with order number but Cowling didn’t follow up with an email acknowledgment. When I chased up they said the payment had timed out and denied that my screenshot showed their order number, saying it was something to do with my bank! I’ve now reordered from a reliable supplier (Cass) and won’t be bothering with these guys again. Had their customer support offered a solution I’d have given them a better rating but they weren’t interested in helping. A pity they have to time waste.

I purchased some pens in their Black Friday sale. I was a bit apprehensive after reading the reviews on here so I paid using PayPal to ensure I was protected. I checked out on the Friday morning using next day delivery and the pens arrived at home by Saturday lunchtime! Great service and I was very happy with the price I paid. Would definitely shop with them again

It seems many only take time to leave reviews to display their negative frustrations however I have made several separate online purchases with this Art supplier and can say I have always received fantastic products which have all been delivered in good time (even when the postal strikes have been in place). Thank you Cowling and Wilcox 💓

I had a very positive and helpful experience with the Canterbury branch in particular with Jeanie and Jack today. I am more than happy to recommend them as an art supplier.

Spent over £100 on acrylic paints and huge canvases at time when i was really ill and needed something to cheer me up. The paints were off making my paintings smell foul and i had an allergic reaction to them. So all the effort of the paintings was also waisted. I took them back, they kept the paints and canvases, said they would contact the manufacturer but never reimbursed me. I chased and chased, got no response just a brush off. I had made clear i was disabled and this was a lot of money for me. Made no difference.

Tried to order gifts for my great-niece. Form asks for two addresses - billing and delivery. Logical? Well, obviously.

Every time I got to checkout, the addresses given were the same. Invited to change either one of them, and both were changed to the same. NIGHTMARE.

My great-niece is 10. She does not have a Visa account. She lives 120 miles away. I want the gifts delivered to her - not to me.

I am 72. I DO have a Visa account. But I DON'T have a birthday next week. The gifts are for HER.

Why is it impossible for your ordering system, which asks for SEPARATE 'address descriptions' each time, to KEEP them SEPARATE??

I give up.

Ordering elsewhere.

Bye.

Truly awful experience. Was given a £50 voucher for Christmas and when I spent it was charged for delivery because a £50 voucher isn't considered the same as cash- so people have to pay for delivery of their Christmas present. It was difficult to find where to use the on the website, and I tried to ring them to sort it out, but they had left the phone lines on when they were shut with people queuing and no information about opening times. Truly awful customer service.

Ordered a gift well before Christmas but as one item was out of stock, they held the entire order and wanted to send it after Christmas. When speaking to customer service, they did not care they had caused the problem and did not seek any kind of help to make the situation right.