This is a solid little fabric shop, quite handy if you just need to grab something quickly and are…read morein the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. For quite a small shop, they squeeze a lot in and have a good range of basic cottons, satins, and stretch fabrics as well as some fancier silks and dress fabrics. I've never really found fabrics in there that stir up my imagination, but did, on a couple of occasions, buy some toga material from there during my uni days when I couldn't be bothered crossing Moggill Road to get to Spotlight. The fabric in Sckafs is a bit too nice and a bit too pricey to be used for togas, but it did the trick. The thing about Sckafs in this location is that they have to compete not only with Spotlight across the road, undercutting pretty much everyone on price in the fabric industry, but also with Gardam's Fabrics, a shop that specialises in the more expensive fabrics and really do stock a beautiful range in a spacious store. Spotlight and Gardam's get my business before Sckafs as I find their ranges of fabric more interesting. But, again, it's handy to have a fabric store that is actually within the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

Sckafs has long since been my staple for fabrics and all things haberdashery in the south west…read moreregion. The lady or ladies behind the counter have been there for as many years as I've been going there for school projects to making things for my daughter and kids to wear (terribly mind you). They have whatever you need if you plan on starting a fashion brand, sewing clothes, learning to sew, making some sort of fabric. Stitching even... threads to measuring tapes... it's all here. They have a lot of material to choose from and usually there are some really good steals in the bargain bin from $1.99 a meter for silky soft fabric. You can get wedding gown material here as well if that's what you're into. A great haberdashery place. It's airconditioned as well!

Oasis Fashion does not look like much from the outside. Located in the Blocksidge & Ferguson Arcade…read moreoff Adelaide Street, this little shop offers a range of women's clothing and has been around for longer than I can remember but I had never really gone inside until the other day. What drew me into it on this fine day was a stunning, vintage-inspired dress in the shop window. It was so pretty it practically called to me and I had to go in for a closer look. Unfortunately, they did not have it in my size but the friendly staff promised me they would get similar ones in again soon. The shop was very affordable with very pretty dresses from around $40 and up, practically unheard of these days. They had a great range of funky and vintage-inspired stuff as well as ladies hand bags to choose from. From the outside this shop does not look like much, with its outdated signage and off street location. But I am telling you to go in for a look and you will be surprised by the quality and the price of what is on offer.

I just stumbled across this quaint little fashion place walking around the city with my family the…read moreother day and thought I'd go in. There was a lot of vintage jewellery and outfits in the window of the arcade and I thought it was very pretty personally. Upon entering, with prices around the mid $50 range on average, it is hard to believe you can enter this store with the intent on finding some sort of vintage party dress and not leave with one. The prices are very good, the quality is comparable to that of David Jones or Myer where you would pay close to $200. Why would you do that after finding this place? Some of the dresses are very very beautiful and much care has been taken to preserve them and keep them in good condition here. A lot of care has been taken in making them and it's always good to steer away from the classic brands and delve into something a little bit more magnificent.

I'm not a very 'arty' person. I know this because I'll be impressed by most artworks I see (while…read moreother more discerning people screw up their faces) and the only thing I can draw with consistency is Homer Simpson's head. But I have found myself at this 'artists' art shop' on a a couple of occasions and found it really useful. The first time was to get some paint to cover up a scratch at an old rental property (which shall remain nameless). I took a photo of the paint and the staff happily helped me match it to a suitable paint. Thanks guys -- I got the whole security deposit back! The other occasion went to get some wrapping paper for a wedding gift. Turns out you can get brown craft paper for 80 cents/metre, which figures out much cheaper than buying wrapping paper at other shops. #WINNING!

This place is heaven for the next budding Picasso or Matisse. Stocking a vast amount of canvases,…read moreeasels, water colours, paints, glitter and stencils at wholesale prices (A.K.A. ridiculously cheap!). Whether you're young or not-quite-so-young, this place has all your arty needs catered for. There are stacks of body and face paints, as well as rows upon rows of calico. They advertise art classes around Brisbane, such as life drawing, photography workshops and they even host kids' creative workshops. So it's well worth dropping in to see what's happening in the art world in and around Brisbane.

There are some magical stores that draw women in like moths to a flame. This is one of those…read morestores. Full of beautiful things to wear and for around the home, this shop is always crowded with women of all ages, lost in a daydream as they stroll through the store imagining which dress would go with that stunning necklace and bargaining that they deserve a reward for sticking to their diet, and those earrings would do just fine in that capacity. Don't be fooled by my tendency to focus on their jewellery, they have a lot more than that here, but that seems to be the main attraction and it's certainly what distracted me from hurrying home in order to beat traffic.

This store has so much cute, hand-made jewellery, I was OOOHing and AHHHing the whole time I was in…read morethe store. I've been to the Paddington store a number of times, but personally like the Oxford Street store better. It's small but filled to the brim with beautiful things. The first thing that caught my eye were the Poetry Bangles - $19 for a silver bangle with a lovely inspirational message on it. SING ... as though no one can hear you. DANCE ... as though no one is watching you. LOVE ... as though you have never been hurt. LIVE ... as though heaven is on earth. I think it would be nice to have the complete set of 4 bangles, worn all at once. Thousand Island Dressing also stocks earrings by Scrumptious Productions, which is a Melbourne based jewellery maker - her earring are made with vintage buttons, beads or retro fabrics. Very cute. There is just so much jewellery - whether you like silver, gold or coloured, they have a huge range to suit your style.

The Collective is a little gem of a store, with beautiful treasures for those looking for a unique…read moreor hand made gift. It definitely has a style of it's own and possibly will not appeal to anyone looking for new and modern, although there is some merit in combining vintage with modern. They have clothing, toys, vinyl, knitted items and much more. Definitely worth a look. I noticed a gorgeous hand made wooden fawn yesterday, so precious!

The Collective is all things good about people power. I love that this fairly altruistic venture…read moreprovides an outlet for lots of talented, crafty people to showcase their creations and maybe make a dollar or two. A stroll through this shop has me wanting; the prices aren't always cheap but there's a lot of work in handcrafted goods. From dolls to clothes, and woodwork to toys, there are treasures here. It's the kind of place that's always good for finding a gift for someone near and dear, though not so much for the guys.

Riot Arts and Crafts is definitely more craft than art. I went in there to look for some new…read morewatercolours and paints and they had little to choose from. What they did have was all quite expensive as well. On the other hand, this place is great for your general craft needs, stickers, colouring in, and kids crafts. The staff are helpful but overall this store just lacks the selection that I want. It is on the level 1 of the Indooroopilly shopping centre and in that sense is quite convenient if you only need to pick up the odd feather or glitter for your next craft project.

I think this shop is one of the older ones because it looks a little more run down and 'yellow'…read morethan the other ones. Maybe it needs a facelift or a repaint or something. One thing is for sure, they do stock great art supplies for kids, finger painting, acryllics that wash off easily, kid art frocks, cool sticks with foam pads stuck to the end of them for kids to paint with stamping and foam (not sure what the real name for the stick foam thing is) and they also stock these cool little tubs for kids that are non-spill paint tubs. So if you want to leave your kiddies to paint unsupervised, at least when they tip the paint over it doesn't spill - what a great invention! They only cost $1-$2 a little tub so you can buy one for every colour, very easy to clean too and it holds the actual brush as there's a hole in the top. I got a lot of supplies here for my kids art wise, crayon wise and frock wise... and in the back, you can usually get some good deals on different sized canvases if you're wanting to paint something cool on material. It's a bit hard to understand the prices and the sizes of the canvas supply in the back of the shop but there's always someone willing to lend you a hand.

This is Brisbane's only remaining arts and craft supplier specifically catering for potters and…read moreceramicists. While you can get the odd bag of BRT clay and a set of sculpting tools from Oxlades or Eckserley's, Pottery Supplies is the place to go for serious hobbyists and professional ceramicists. They have over twenty different types of clay here from the handbuilding BRTs to the top of the range, fancy porcelain. There are ready-to-go glazes and slips as well as all the raw materials from bone ash to china clay in case you want to invent your own glazes. This place use to hire pottery wheels as well, but sadly no longer. You can still buy commercial kilns here or take advantage of their firing service if you're not ready to take that step to purchase your own home kiln. This is one top notch place for a serious hobbyist like me but unfortunately, won't be much help for general creative types and clever crafters looking for some fun ideas with clay.

When I am feeling artistic, there is nothing I like better than making a huge mess with a bunch of…read morebrightly coloured soft pastels. I have been through a few different brands. My favourite is Winsor & Newton but they are not always easy to find. Lucky me for, Eckersley's always has them in stock and a really decent selection of colours too plus a range of paper stocks in different colours and textures. Being a I designer by trade, I have bought so much stuff from here! If they do not have Pantone swatch books in store, they are happy to order one in for you, although they do not have a huge range. They certainly have enough to get you started though. the markers and pens are good quality and again, enough to get you started.

Like most aspiring artists who tend to think about art as opposed to actually making art, I'm a…read morenotorious hoarder of art supplies. Having scoured Brisbane and beyond looking for art equipment, I can confidently say Eckersley's in the city has the widest range for painting, pastels and drawing. Their supplies are limited for sculptors and ceramicists but this tends to be a niche market anyway with their own suppliers. Their craft section is surprisingly decent with a beautiful range of handcrafted paper. I ended up buying my wedding invitation paper here and attending one of their cheap card making workshops for inspiration. The workshop facilitator was friendly and full of practical advice. While these workshops are not for experts, they're good fun for the casual hobbyist or the lazy, aspiring artist.