Easy Street in Baltimore: A Resale and DIY Arts Supply Hybrid in Federal Hill
Easy Street is a independent retail shop in Federal Hill that combines used craft materials, art supplies, and decorative salvage in a single 2,000-square-foot storefront, serving makers who want affordable stock without committing to full-price art store prices or the uncertainty of online secondhand markets.
What Easy Street actually is
Easy Street occupies the ground floor of a converted rowhouse on South Charles Street and functions as both a resale outlet for surplus craft inventory and a curated secondhand source for supplies. The shop carries new overstock (often from estate sales or business liquidations), discontinued lines from art suppliers, and customer donations of opened but unused materials. The inventory rotates weekly, with no two visits producing identical stock. Unlike a traditional art supply store, Easy Street does not order merchandise; it acquires what comes in, meaning selection is finite and replacement is unpredictable.
Stock categories and pricing
The shop divides into five main zones: acrylic and oil paints (typically $2–$8 per tube, compared to $6–$15 new at Blick Art Materials in Harbor East), colored pencils and markers in bulk lots ($5–$20 per set), papers and sketchbooks ($1–$10), beads and jewelry components (loose or strung, $0.50–$3 per unit), and decorative hardware and salvage pieces (door knobs, hinges, frames, $1–$15). Prices reflect condition and rarity; opened or partially used items cost less than sealed stock. A set of 120 Crayola colored pencils, if in stock, runs $8; the same set new at Target costs $22. Paint tubes with dried or separated contents are marked $1 as clearance. The shop prices items to move rather than maximize margin, and prices are fixed, not negotiable.
How Easy Street compares to other Baltimore craft sourcing
Baltimore has three distinct retail paths for craft supplies: full-service art stores (Blick in Harbor East, Utrecht Art Supplies in Canton), dollar and discount chains (Dollar Tree, Five Below), and online marketplaces. Blick offers breadth, expert staff, and guaranteed current inventory at standard retail markup; Easy Street offers savings and serendipity but no return trips for specific items. Utrecht runs narrower hours and higher prices on specialty supplies. Dollar Tree carries basics only and no fine-art materials. Five Below stocks trendy craft kits but limited open-stock supplies. Easy Street suits makers on tight budgets, teachers buying in bulk for classrooms, and collectors hunting vintage art supplies or unusual salvage pieces; it does not suit professionals needing consistent, specific stock or customers who dislike browsing uncertainty.
Who this place serves and who it does not
Easy Street works best for hobbyists, students, and DIY home-decorators who have flexibility on materials and enjoy discovery. Teachers buying supplies for 20 students find bulk lots efficient. Upcyclers and mixed-media artists value the salvage hardware section. It does not serve fine artists requiring specific pigment batches, people on time-limited shopping trips, or anyone who needs to replicate a purchase later. The shop has no online inventory list, catalog, or phone ordering system; you must visit in person to know what exists that week.
What a first visit involves
Walk into the shop and orient to the five zones, each labeled by material type. Shelving is dense and requires hands-on inspection; a tube of paint may be hiding behind three others, and you cannot rely on staff to locate specific items since stock is not tracked systematically. Plan 20 to 45 minutes if you are browsing for general supplies, longer if you are hunting something specific (which may not be there). The single staff member behind the counter can ring up purchases and answer basic questions about condition or age of items, but cannot retrieve from storage or place holds on future donations. Expect to find one or two treasures and one or two items that do not make the trip home.
Hours, location, and logistics
Easy Street operates Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; it is closed Monday. The storefront sits on the 1600 block of South Charles Street in Federal Hill, with metered street parking only (Baltimore meters run through 8 p.m., $1.50 per hour as of late 2024; confirm current rates at the city parking website). No dedicated lot. The shop is accessible by foot from Cross Keys, the Inner Harbor, and Canton. Public restroom access requires asking the staff member.
Why it belongs in a Baltimore guide
Easy Street fills a real gap: Baltimore has no other independent arts-resale or craft-salvage shop of comparable size and consistency, and the city's maker community relies heavily on Blick (expensive), chains (limited), and online secondhand (slow and shipping-heavy). Easy Street gives residents a walkable, low-commitment way to experiment with new materials or finish a project without cost friction.
