The most wonderful vibes, all smiles and great service. Chis was kind enough to use is his magic…read moretouch to gift wrap a present for me. I'm useless with these things. Greatly appreciate this!!!!

Another place in London that I miss that I'm afraid I will never find an equivalent to here in the…read moreUS! I couldn't go a week without popping into this store to get something, a card, bookmarks, a trinket, something. I made Easter baskets for my friends all with items from this store. And Welcome to London sets from this store as well. There is a style of something for any one that you are looking to give to and the prices are really reasonable. Best of all, you can send a one-of-a-kind greeting that looks good and didn't bust the bank.

Being a Wharfie (aka, someone who works on Canary Wharf), Scribbler is my local card shop, and so…read moreif I need to pick up a card for whatever reason, a stop in here after work is often in my plans. They have a very wide range of cards, from the classical to the not-so-classic, and from the utterly banal to the unique -- and so far I've not had trouble finding a card for anyone or any occasion -- although often helped by many of the cards being occasion agnostic. Friendly shop staff as well makes this a good choice. Ok -- so it's a card shop. But what a card shop...

Scribbler provides the best card selection in the Wharf. Whether you are looking for a card for a…read moreBirthday, Wedding, Valentine's Day or other occasion, Scribbler will have something that fits the bill. The shop is tiny so you may need to fight your way around on popular card giving dates (like today, 14 Feb) but there is always a card which is just right if you look for long enough. The cards tend towards the brash, humorous end of the spectrum, although there are a fair few which are just simple wordplay which I always find inexplicably amusing. In addition to cards there are also a few small novelty gifts - however, this is not the reason to come here - its all about the cards cards cards!

Basically this was like the Holy Grail for me. I loved the Paperchase items at Borders Books. When…read morethey closed, my fix for Paperchase was nullified and my dreams of kitschy fun items dashed. I really didn't have any set souvenirs in mind on our trip to the UK (well except a Saltire - never found the size I wanted), but when I saw my first Paperchase in Edinburgh, Scotland I knew my budget would likely go there. I waited until we got to London and though not a shopper, I was gladly partaking of the shopping in Covent Garden. An awesome employee saw my minor joyful spazz out. I explained that we can no longer get Paperchase items at home and I have abstained from the website due to $$$ shipping rates from the UK. He clued me in and now I consider him my "dealer" because evidently Paperchase launched a US website with pretty decent shipping rates of which he was kind enough to inform me. Wahey! I guess I didn't need to go on that bender and rearrange my suitcase a billion times to fit it all in, but no matter! I never got his name, but he asked what part of the US - California and where in California since it's a bit big so I said "In the Bay Area near Oakland" to which he gave a polite grimace. His only impression of Oakland was of the Raiders and likely whatever murder story shows up on the news. Thanks news - NOT! I told him about all of the great food to be found in Oakland and the lovely hiking spots! I hope he reads this - remember Homeroom 510 for Mac n Cheese in Oakland, mate! :) Bottom line - Paperchase, lovely staff, lovely selections. I will find you again!

A lovely stationery and novelty shop just off the beaten path…read more The shop was full of gifts, goods, and goodies for the office/home office, for school, for brides-to-be and bridesmaids, and anyone else on the list. The shop had a large stock of journals and notebooks with all sorts of funny and inspirational messages scrolled on the front. Naturally, there were also lots and lots of pens and coloured pencils, from sleek and sophisticated to sparkly and silly. There were tons of greeting cards for just about every occasion, as well as a beautiful display of both loose and rolled gift wrapping paper. I came here looking for heavy, high quality stationery and found some beautiful ivory linen paper with matching envelopes. It was a delightfully pleasant weight and otherwise lovely to touch, although the ink did not adhere firmly to the paper. I had to print a few copies before I was able to produce an acceptable copy with minimal fading and smudging.

Oh Paperchase. How I love your quirky cards and diaries so beautiful that it seems a crime to…read moreactually write in them. Your overpriced pens patterned with flamingoes and wrapping paper that makes you want to paper your walls with it. Your treasure trove of stationery supplies that's all just so much prettier than smiths or rymans. Your neverending supply of random last minute gifts - owl-patterned tissues, neon photo frames, false taches and sparkly phone covers anyone? You have just taken away the one thing I relied on you most for though, that made you different from all the other craft shops in the area, and that was having single pieces of card available in a spectrum of 30+ colours and in every size from placecard up to A3 with matching envelopes. Until last week these used to cover the back wall and make it so easy to pop over from my office (practically across the road) and pick up a base card piece plus envelope to make a last minute card for a loved one. Now I have to spend a tenner on a multi-coloured bulk pack of card (of which I won't use many colours) if I want to do the same thing. Plus a bulk pack of envelopes. Annoying dot com. Luckily, I still love you even without that mega useful aspect and in spite of how much you just charged me for a set of 12 tiny wooden craft pegs with heart shapes on them. Though I'd avoid the lunchtime surge if poss - I quite like escaping for an afternoon browse myself. Also watch out if you're very sensitive to the passage of time - they stock Vday paraphernalia from new year and xmas starts in September!

Wanted to get gifts from my trip to London that weren't all really touristy. This is the place -…read morelots of variety and very useful, handsome & cute items. Notebooks, organizers, photo albums, key holders, cute pens, frames, even mini glass boxes (terrariums?). Nice small or robust things that I can survive luggage handlers. Great store.

My son wants to share: This was a very nice experience. When he came in to look at toys while I was…read moreat the restaurant next door, the shop owner shared a story about how a child who was lost came to one of his stores and read the books. Top 10 shops to visit if you are in London.They have cute plushies like the ones in the pictures. Have a nice day!

I love this store. It's full of pretty cards and creative stationary. I have a terrible habit of…read morebuying cards for people many months in advance and forgetting to give it to them. This store is dangerous - I went a little crazy with my credit card at this store.

There were two sales assistants behind the counter, one with a mask and one without - both at the…read morerear of the small shop. Quite a few people were closely packed around the counter. Addressing the sales assistant without a mask, I explained that I'm a pensioner and that I'm nervous about being around people in small spaces, particularly if they're not wearing a mask. He told me he had an exemption. I was just about to say something along the lines of, "Oh, fair enough, but I'm still nervous about being in a small space, particularly at my age," but before I had the chance to say anything, he asked me if I could read, and pointed to his badge. Then he told me it was none of his business whether he wore a mask or not, and that I didn't have to come into the shop if I didn't want to. He did go on with the rant, but those were the two main points he was making. I think it's such a pity that as a customer-facing member of staff he didn't take a moment to empathise with my concerns, that after all are based on genuine reasons to feel threatened by Covid 19, particularly given it's growing. I wasn't being rude or doing anything wrong in asking about the mask, and if he'd just left the matter after he'd pointed out he had an exemption, all would have been fine. But he chose to go on and hammer his points home, and meanwhile I couldn't go anywhere as the other sales assistant was in the process of packing up my goods and getting me the change. The whole episode was needlessly embarrassing, unpleasant and left a nasty taste in my mouth. I hope he will be more empathetic with the next anxious old lady.

Have you ever wanted to find that card that's too clever or funny for Clintons but didn't know…read morewhere to find it? Postmark is that place! It was recommended to me by a friend when I wanted a valentines card that didn't come with the usual sickeningly sweet gushing prose and declarations of love that would make Romeo drop his codpiece. Postmark is a teeny-tiny shop that sells all the usual card/wrapping stuff you might want. It has a range of obscure, odd and outright different stuff including the greatest cards in the world! I can't say what they are because there will be a stampede and I know how limited these bad boys are. Imagine a handmade card by someone with a funky sense of humour and the design talent of a 5 year old with a pot of glue and some button eyes....mad but brilliant! The piece de resistance - Postmark was the first place to sell I love Balham mugs: 5 stars for that alone!

Having been a scientist for my training and working life, I have the retail business knowledge of…read moreinstinct of, well, a scientist! Thank goodness for programs like Dragons' Den on TV, which have taught me, in the midst of humiliating and tearing applicants to pieces in the name of televisual entertainment, about certain basics of retail One of the gems I've gleaned is that margin is very important and that has set me thinking about products with great margins. One of the products I came up with has been greeting cards - providing you know someone who is half decent at rhyming, you could have a nice little business churning greeting cards with good margin The Card Factory sells greeting cards and little gifts in the Whitgift Centre. I do like to take time to find the perfect card for an occasion and it's always nice to find more variety in my hunt. The cards here are cheaper than those at places like Clinton Cards but the quality doesn't feel quite as good. However, there were some nice ones that I picked up. Although I rarely write proper letters these days, I still like to give greeting cards and I hope that they don't go the same way due to electronic greeting cards, which I regard as a lazy option. It's worrying therefore to hear that Clinton Cards (and their associated Birthdays brand stores) are in financial difficulty. Go on. Make someone's day! Send them a card!

Do you fancy getting quality cards for a decent price? Well, look no further. Card factory has…read morecards for all seasons and occassions. They make high quality cards, with very good inscriptions, ranging from humourous to semi formal and formal. This is the only store that I know of where a large card can be bought for 99p. They also do gift accessories, gift bags, christmas decorations, rolls and many more items.

A good card shop along Long Acre in Covent Garden, Scribber stocks some interesting, quirky and…read moreunusual greeting cards. They have a wide selection, so you can find something for every occasion.There are some small gifts too, and wrapping paper, so you can easily pop in here during a lunch break to get a small present for a colleague. That was how I discovered it at any rate, as calendars and agendas are pretty useless for me! The only thing is that its pretty small, so if you want some time to browse, it would be best to come during a quiet time. Three is a crowd - literally!

It's your mum's birthday and you need something funny, with pop out parts and lots and lots of…read moreglitter and possibly plays music. Done and done and done and done my friend. They have tons of cards to choose from for many various occasions and even some blank ones as well. And some wrapping paper choices and little gift bags. Also some small notebooks and little gifts to accompany your card purchases (if you happen to be in a hurry to have lunch with your mum and forgot to buy anything sorrymomI'llremembernextyearIswear!). Actually I specifically was looking for stationary sets (as I have run out of my teenager style hello kitty paper and envelopes) and wanted to upgrade to something more sophisticated that my pen pals would appreciate. Unfortunately they didn't carry anything like that but the lovely store clerk suggested I try another shop down the street that might carry some. Love it when stores try to be helpful even when they don't carry the item you're looking for.