We visited after the April Book crawl- The best selection of…read moreunique books, stickers, T-shirts for the lectiophile (new word!) in your life. Well sorted and fun to browse- The one down side, a few potential gift items (ie those funny and cringeworthy coasters) without price tags. And note, it's okay not to interrupt the very busy staff to ask, just go along on your merry way until next time.

Very tiny area by the library but pack full of super cute and original works. Very kawaii and…read morebookish.

Vitreum Giftware is a small and charming gift shop located in Little Italy in San Diego…read more [Parking]: Street parking only and parking in Little Italy can be difficult. I got lucky and found metered parking near Camden Tuscany Apartments approximately three blocks away. Apparently there is also a Little Italy Parking Garage at 715 W Cedar St with a $5 per hour rate. [Merchandise]: This is probably one of the very few Japanese specialty gift shops in San Diego with a small section on Japanese stationery. Other items include tableware (plates, bowls, ceramic, and porcelain pieces), drinkware (mugs, glasses, teacups, and teapots), vases, plants, terrariums, and other cute Japanese trinkets / decor. [Conclusion]: This is one of the best Japanese giftware shops I have seen in San Diego; otherwise you will have to drive to Los Angeles for similar gift shops. Come here for a curated selection of Japanese gifts.

The most adorable Japanese trinket and homeware shop!…read more Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures inside, so you're just going to have to trust me on this one. Located in Downtown, it can be a bit of a pain to get to with all the parking and such, but it's totally worth it! Walking inside, I was immediately overwhelmed with the need to buy everything. There were gorgeous dishware, homeware, jewelry, stationery, incense, and more! If you're just getting into matcha, this is also a great place to start. They've got all your essentials, a good selection of matcha, and the cutest chawans! Best part is that everything is quite reasonable in price for the quality that you get. Do stop by the next time you're in the mood to peruse!

This is such a fun store! We stumbled on this store while walking over to Pigment & couldn't have…read morehad a better time. The staff were all so friendly & welcoming, and super helpful. Wide variety of fun, Latin American goods (for example, candy, books, shoes, totes, cooking supplies, toys, pet supplies, stickers, etc.)...the list goes on and on. Prices seemed reasonable for a specialty store. Would highly recommend!!

This is an adorable store with so many unique items. Great for gifts for kids or adults. And their…read moreprices are very reasonable. The salesperson checked in to see if we needed any guidance and she was just as sweet and helpful as she could be.

I was very surprised and sad to see the store closure when I came by today. Truly the unfortunate…read moreend of an era. This was my favorite artist supply shop in San Diego. They consistently had great materials, beautiful sheets of paper, and amazing staff. Friendly service, clean and well organized store, and a real community staple. It was always nice to see consistent faces and I was treated with excellent service with every visit. I loved the manager and hope the company was able to retain her. She's extremely competent at her role and it would be a shame for it not to be recognized! Wishing the employees all the best.

Wow this place is so cool! Tons of amazing art supplies! Great spot for cards, gifts, and wrapping…read morepaper.

It had been a long time since I visited the Kelly paper store. In fact, I have not visited since…read morethey moved from their La Mesa location. Back then I used to get my paper from them for personal art projects and stationery that I was making. Fast-forward to now I have a daughter who is a graphic designer and was looking for a specific type of paper for her printer. And apparently this paper is really hard to find and Kelly paper does not have it For her inkjet printer, but they were very helpful in trying to help us find something suitable. I would go back again if I needed any other specialty papers because they will give you samples to take home and see if it works how you need it to be. It's kind of hard to find so definitely pay attention to your GPS if you've never been. It will seem like you're going down an alley or driving on abandoned railroad tracks and you are, but then you'll come across the store and every time I've been I've been the only customer so plenty of parking.

I had the product I was looking for courteous service, helpful, and very affordable good value for…read morethe money

I needed to get some mount boards for the San Diego County fair entries for my school. What I like…read moreabout this location is the parking. Lots of spaces and easy to get in and out. What I don't like is how sterile this new location is. I miss the homey down to earth feeling of the Little Italy location. I couldn't find the mount boards. I used to know where they were at the old location, and you could purchase single boards or a pack. After wandering around, I asked one of the workers. She was really great, and since they did not have 11x14, she suggested I purchase a larger board and they could cut it down. Went up and purchased the board, and the friendly worker call this other guy and explained what I needed. 5 minutes later, I had two boards, plus the extra that was cut off. There was some interesting things to look at while I was waiting. It doesn't look like the space is finished and I didn't know how long they've been here. But like I said, parking was so much easier which I really like!

I needed some drafting tools for a package design class, and wanted to support a brick and mortar…read morestore, and wanted higher quality than I saw at Walmart and Target. Staples had a good quality, but Blick's were very high quality AND cheaper than Staples. This was the first time that I shopped at this Blick as they recently moved into this former Joann store from their India Street location. While this store is a little more out-of-the-way, it is a wonderful size for Blick, and all on one level. Items are easy to find and nicely displayed, making the store a joy to browse in. If they don't have it, you probably don't need it. They also have some fun not-exactly-art things, but fewer books than I remember being at the India store. Lots of easy parking. Helpful service, too.

From the many office depots and the staples stores you can never find the notebooks that have the…read morecreative sayings and the striking graphic prints with colors that are eye catching. There are many offices supply places that you can find the college pieces but there are some that most students want the designs and the way it's going to go with the dorm room. Typo is a store that can be considered as the ultimate dorm room supply store and the many things they sell there is the many things that students can relate to for what they want to have in them. The many times that I have visited the typo stores I have seen the many merchandise lines they have from the music notebooks and the print style frames of the famous singers and rappers that are performing currently. The many items that they have there are made for the students that are on the go they have print socks and creative coffee mugs yes with most students they do drink coffee. I wanted to find a great planner the many had there it surprised very much, and they had sales on the many different styles and the brands they had there when you want something stylish yet not too expensive. To find two items that were on special to get both on special it was buy one get one 50% off I was able to get a a date book for 15.00 and a notebook that was 15.00 for 7.50 the many things that I had seen and the many plush Items the salesclerk hade helped me find the ones that I liked. With the Typo store when you take a look at the store its one store that you can get the many items that you need for college living and the many designs you may need and the extra small things that would be nice to decorate your dorm. The San Diego Library store has something close to the Typo store, but the Typo store carries many things you can take with you to class and the much needed carry all bags when you head off to class. I have found that the Typo store has been one of the busiest and the store has been one of the highest grossing with many colleges breaking for holidays that will be coming up. As a Yelp Elite Reviewer when you need things that would go good with your dorm and the many notebooks and the colorful shirts and the socks that you can wear around the house, yes with concerts that are coming up is make sure you get the favorite sings they do carry many there to make your days at home and school more on the go.

Shhhhh don't tell anyone, this is my secret shop for those cool unique gifts you never know where I…read moreget them. I love the selection. Today I needed a new journal. I mean journaling is healthy, right? While I was there, I saw a waterproof speaker for my bubble bath time. While I normally shop for everyone else perfect gift, today was totally about me. The staff was super helpful. And we even traded pod-cast lists. It feels like an independent-ish neighborhood store, with cute, gifts for just about everyone on your list. Even you :) Stop here, cuteness awaits.

Cute, cute little shop!…read more My FAVORITE thing about this small shop is the worker doesn't harass you the whole time. (Thank the lord!) I love boutique stores but hate when they follow you around/pressure you to buy. A hello, asked if we need anything, and friendly service on the way out. Service 5/5. Simple yet effective. Select is adorable. Some expensive but they do have quite a few reasonably priced items. I originally went for a journal and really love the selection of everything they had. Fun artsy items. Also seemed to carry alot of smaller business (which I love!) If are looking for cute niche items -this is your place. I will be back! :)

This shop has a wonderful collection of curated items and gifts to choose from. I love the variety…read moreand that there is something for every taste. I've shopped in their homegoods section and found a perfect housewarming gift for a dear friend. On my last visit, their collection of handkerchiefs/bandanas and their sunglasses caught my attention. I enjoy that they rotate their mechandise so there's always something new. This is a nice, local business to support. Not only do they have a great selection to peruse, but also have a great customer service. The lady working the register was polite and helpful. Make this your shop to support when you're shopping for a gift for a loved one - or even a treat for yourself.