Central Art Supply Co. was little more than a nook next door to the State Theater until May, when it moved to a 4,000 square-feet space down the road at 1114 Central Ave. Now eight times as large, the store is poised to challenge chain-store rivals like Pearl and Michaels, but it hasnt strayed from the philosophy that an art supply store should be, in some sense, a work of art. The new space, like its predecessor, features meticulously designed modular shelving and loft-style details like exposed ducts and galvanized aluminum doors. Owner Claudia Strano Jennings, a self-taught artist and furniture designer, made the lime-green resin panels that decorate the bank of cash registers. Supplies are high-end but almost always on sale; working artists with tax I.D. receive a 20 percent discount; students and members of the Arts Center get 10 percent off. This month, the store began offering classes and workshops some of which had sold out as of this writing with instructors including master printer Erika Schneider and painter Luis de la Lama. 689 Central Ave., St Petersburg, 727-898-8300.