Welcome KPU Students and Alumni
(and the rest of the world)
This list is skewed in favour of the
Greater Vancouver Regional District,home to KPU.
Fibertek has all your fiberglass needs covered. Also Plaster, Hydrostone, Casting Rubber (Smooth-On products), Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, Fiberglass mat, cloth, woven roving, Polyester, Vinylester and Epoxy resin. (Also Make-up and FX.) I get the majority of our Casting Studio consumables here at this time. ( Except for concrete, and sand which I get at Home Depot)
Fabricland is where I purchase heavy duty thread. Also needles, pins, and unexpected things like bobbins! If you are a fabric artist I should not have to tell you they have fabric, too. (Join the club and get deals.)
Home Depot is where I do most of my shopping for the KPU Sculpture studios! They have wood, they have glue, they have wood glue; tape; string; nails; screws; screwdrivers; power tools; etc. Also metal and welding supplies. Did I mention paint? And painting supplies? This is the first stop. If they don’t have it, I have some other suggestions and more specialized places.
Not only do Lee Valley make alot of high quality tools and hardware, they also search out high quality products to stock that solve problems. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent hours browsing their shelves or reading the catalog (online and delivered to my mailbox) from cover to cover.
They also have an interesting collection of Wood Working Projects. (Remember, you don’t have to build the project to take note of useful tools, materials, designs and techniques!)
You can order a wide variety of metal at Metal Supermarkets. Check out the website for dimensions and alloys available. I routinely order Hot Rolled Mild Steel sheet, rod, angle iron, and flat bar (all ideal for welding). They will even cut it to size for me! Lengths are usually 12′ or 20′ so it’s a good idea to do a drawing and do the math before ordering. Sheets are 4′ by 8′ . I usually get them to cut sheets into 16″ x 24″ pieces, that comes out to a nice even dozen.
Metal is sold by weight, sometimes it is worthwhile to stop by the store and take a look at their collection of Offcuts!
Opus Art Supplies have lots of high quality Art supplies. Pencils, pens, acid-free paper, sketchbooks, paint, brushes, modelling materials and tools, and more. They even stock unusual items like “Flexwax” (great for casting hands, feet, small objects,etc.)
Opus also has links to high quality videos of artists demos to expand your toolkit of techniques.
Live-Edge / Specialty Wood is what comes to mind when I think of Windsor Plywood. They have a wide variety of wood working tools and supplies, but it is their variety of Hardwoods that convinces me to make a special trip out to peruse.