Hobby craft is a Mecca for arts and crafts. They stock a vast range of goods, from Porfolios /…read morePaints/ Artist Supplies/ Cake Decorations/ Model Making the list is endless. You will find most things in the Newport store and they tend to have seasonal offers to entice the customer e.g. at Christmas 3 for 2 on Xmas ribbon. Hobby craft is not the cheapest of Arts & Craft stores though, and anything you can buy in there you will most\ likely get cheaper else where, however it is the convenience of having everything under one roof that would appeal and there is so much stuff in there!

Hobbycraft have all the crafting bits you need in one place - ribbons, fabrics, needles, pens,…read morecardmaking kits. Great for christmas as you can get bits and bobs for decorating like wreaths and then add homemade touches. The Newport store is conveniently located with lots of parking and right by a bus stop. And don't forget the hobby part of hobby craft. You can also get items for modellers - warhammer, dollhouses and more. Their selection within each range isn't as good as a specialist shop but its all in one place so its convenient is you want 'some wool' as opposed to a specific or unusual type.

The Beads Nest is a lovely little bead shop occupying a prominent position in the Wellfield Court…read moreArcade. It is a small business run with loving care by the owner / manager, Vivienne Whitty, who is eminently knowledgeable, and ever enthusiastic. There's a great range of beads in the shop, with everything from dolly mixture sweet beads to Venetian and Czech glass, as well as a good range of findings and other jewellery making supplies. But you will find an even bigger collection on the easily navigated website, where you can also buy on-line. Nevertheless, I recommend a visit to the shop. It's in a pretty little mall with a great café, and the assistance you'll get from Vivienne will be invaluable.

Despite being rather on the small side, this shop contains a rather lovely selection of beads…read more The Beads Nest provides all the essentials for jewellery making along with a diverse range of beads of all different sizes, colours and styles, as well as strings of beads and a few ready-made pieces. It's not quite the treasure trove that Clare Grove Buttons is, but there is still plenty to choose from, and a lot of the stock is different so it's worth looking in both stores. As with most shops of this kind, there is plenty of assistance available, and The Beads Nest is rarely busy. Personally, I prefer the bigger bead stores in the city centre, but for anyone who makes a lot of jewellery, this shop is handy for grabbing the essentials, and there's always the possibility of finding something here that you wont get in town.

I found this little shop by accident (its next to the Pink Geranium pub) in Pontardawe. The owner…read moreLinda was really helpful. Its a real aladdin's cave! They sell gifts and crafts such as wool and patterns. My gran loves knitting and always says its hard to find stockists of good quality wool. Cheap wool means the garment wont wash well apparently. Well my gran was very impressed with the wool for sale in Fancy That so I thought I'd let everyone know. A real little gem!

Oriel Makers is a beautiful little gallery in one of my favourite parts of town. It sells a really…read moregood range of contemporary crafts and fine art, including handmade cards, limited edition prints, paintings and multi-media originals, alongside ceramics, jewellery, glass, textiles and other maker-designed, hand crafted items using wood, metal and leather etc They are soon to celebrate their twentieth year, which is not surprising. This is a gallery that plays it smart, offering low cost, midrange and exclusive items for sale, which keeps the revenue streams reasonably consistent. Having weathered the recession of the early 90's this gallery will no doubt survive the recession at the end of noughties! And all credit to them for that! With the global art market being dissembled wholesale by the catastrophic impact of the sub prime market and bank collapses, it is truly encouraging to see galleries like this one carry on regardless. Run by a collective of artists and crafts people, who all exhibit within the gallery, and take joint responsibility for the administrative burdens and associated costs etc, this is the intelligent way to pool resources and ideas, arriving at a much stronger end product. It is the first gallery run on this basis in Cardiff. www.orielmakers.co.uk/

This is shop that has stock which has been locally made; it is all hand crafted and a bit pricey,…read morebut the craftsmanship of hard work and pure talent that has been carved into the glass is seriously unique and stunning. It is situated on a street that is near to the Albany Road and Wellfield Road area which are all in an area in Cardiff, which is called Roath. It is a small, pretty, and friendly gift shop. All items are ideal gifts for your girlfriends; fiancés, husbands, children, mothers, friends, and they could possibly be delightful presents for sisters too. There will be nowhere else inside the whole, big wide world that does sell the very same kind of products that this shop does sell. For it is one a kind; it's own kind of crafty, gift shop. It never gets very busy at all and the service quick and immediate to your customer service requirements. They also have a fantastic gallery too... I recommend this to all crafty people; particularly women or it can be a good gift shop for those men who are buying gifts for women.

Butterfly Fabrics claims to be 'unique in all aspects', and this is in the most part true.... They…read moreare a pretty special little shop that stocks some really gorgeous fabrics. This is hardly surprising considering how long they have been in business; established in 1989, they have been around for over twenty years, and it shows. What's interesting about this is that they opened up shop just before the previous global recession, and having weathered this, they possess the foresight and experience to get through the current one. Butterfly Fabrics is a more upmarket material shop and stocks designer fabrics such as Liberty and John Kaldor, quality silks from India and China, as well as stocking a wide range of craft fabrics for patchworking and quilting. Inevitably the sell all of the associated items to go with this, including patterns for clothes as well as patchworking, along with threads, needles, buttons etc etc... They also stock sewing machines, fabrics for fancy dress and a range of fashion accessories. This is a delightful little shop, (that actually isn't that little), and if you are looking to buy some special material I highly recommend it.

Butterfly is the most expensive fabric shop on city road. My general choice would be Terry's…read morefabrics for the range and lower prices. If you're a textile design student or a seam person you will appreciate the more ordered sorting and layout to Butterfly fabrics, the sorting starts at the books of patterns and continues to the wheels of fabrics. If your need a fancy dress or starting tailoring and fashion this is a must see store. Satin, Silk, cotton and various other materials in a multitude of patterns are available and in stock. They also sell all the craft accessories you could ever need with roles of thread and sewing equipment and supplies. The materials here are more stylised and meant for serious tailors and dressmakers, art people and design students. Invariably the shop is generally quite so you will have all the expert advice at hand from the staff.

First of all, this place has a really good website as well as a good shop so if, for some reason,…read moreyou can't find what you are looking for, definitely do go home and try to find it online. The site is really easy to navigate. The staff in the shop, to get back into the thing that I am actually meant to be reviewing, are lovely. They all seem to be quite passionate about art and crafts, though I realise that that seems to be an odd statement. They all seem to enjoy art and crafts greatly is perhaps better? The prices are really good and the range is just fantastic so you're almost certain to find what you need. I did, as it happens but the staff are so good that I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping you out if you were missing something,

Now I'm not at all a crafty individual, however I can't deny that this shop even touches an…read moreartistic part of my soul. They have a massive selection of craft items such as ribbons, lace, stickers, stamps, and the most beautiful, delicate paper. The staff here are friendly, and even better are willing to offer advice on how to create specific items using these products. In particular I'd recommend this place for those of you who are clever (and frugal) enough to make your own cards.

Anastasia is a bead and gift shop hybrid located on Barry High Street that offers day and evening…read morejewellery evening classes as well. The back of the store is where you'll find the extensive range of beads, including the large plated acrylic variety in silver, copper and bronze. If you're not crafty, Anastasia offers a selection of gifts, including glassware (vases, bowls and the like), greeting cards, and specialty bath goods from Bomb Cosmetics. And bizarrely, Ed Hardy incense. An older gentleman summed it up perfectly when he said to me: "Bit different, innit?" Those who'd like to expand their creative repertoire can take one of Anstasia's jewellery making classes: * Tuesdays at 2 pm * Wednesday at 6 pm * Thursday at 11 am Children's classes and parties can also be arranged, just ask a member of staff for more details.

Having visited this shop a couple of weeks ago, with my wife, we both commented what a lovely shop…read moreit is, bright and airy with a fantastic range of sewing and needlework accessories, as well as some lovely handmade gifts, we also noted that they make personalised T-shirts, mugs and lots of other items, although we don't need anything of that sort at the moment, we now know where to come in the future. We did buy some gifts for the family to get them started in various crafts as they have a lovely range of gift sets in stock. Will definitely be back.