If you love art, steer clear of Art @ Home…read more I haven't been to any of the company's other stores but can tell you their Bold Street branch is one of the most depressing shops I've visited. Following in the footsteps of companies like Ikea and John Lewis, they sell generic art prints that are produced on a massive scale. Whilst Ikea and John Lewis actually stock some pretty good photographic prints of New York and Tokyo, Art @ Home specialise in mainstream and unimaginative prints of sunflowers, roses, landscapes, portraits and abstract paintings. In short, Art @ Home sell framed and unframed prints for property developers, corporate offices and coffee chains!

One of the most thoughtful, and coincidentally cheapest, presents you can get somebody is a framed…read morepicture. To find a nice photograph of a happy moment or a poster and pair tickets from a concert you really enjoyed and stick it behind some glass in a black metal or wooden frame is both simple and effective. Art at Home is the ideal place to get hold of straightforward frames at reasonable prices. The staff are chatty, helpful and if you bring with you what you're trying to frame they will try their hardest to find a good frame to fit your needs. The art for sale in the shop itself is a little hit and miss, for every Gauguin print there are three or four 'pop art' silhouette canvases of Audrey Hepburn or John Lennon. They do carry an excellent selection of cards here though, blank on the inside with art and photographic prints on the front - perfect for any occasion - especially if you don't fancy giving your nan that card with the fart joke in that you've been keeping in your bottom drawer.

Housed in a beautiful art deco space next to Rennies Art Gallery, Rennies Arts & Crafts is a family…read morerun business that has been supplying painters and craft-makers for the last three decades. Like all art shops these days, the prices are steep so it helps that they have a wide selection of everything from canvases, acrylics and paint brushes to card, portfolios and letraset. Students get 10% off and there's a designated area promoting local artists, studios and workshops.

It's obviously hard for any reviewer to go the whole hog and give this place 5 stars because it's…read morejust an art suplliers after all, but as the sole supplier of the city's arts and crafts items it probably deserves more praise. For me however Rennie's reeks of middle class sunday painters who will just have a dabble with a brush once they have finished with The Guardian. The selection is very extensive with everything from oil based paints, acrylics and waters to all sorts of papers and cards, pencils and brushes. The prices on the other hand are not cheap. This is hardly struggling artist friendly and you will rarely see the street artists and creatives changing the face of Liverpool buying their gear in bulk from here - it is aimed at those with an expensive hobby. And all of this is sort of reflected in the gallery next door. Largely figuratively based pieces in a Vetriano style you are hardly going to find anything cutting edge or unique but Rennie's does stock a lot of original pieces available to take off the shelf.

I had a1 service from this popular photo id centre…read more Recommened by a friend and even got my mobile top up wjle i waited for my pics, great little shop..does bit evety=thing.Scan,Copy fax.Bibdibg laminating,,Poster Printing.. us students would belost with oit,,

A really first rate, top class and friendly service. So helpful. I am disabled with poor mobility…read morebut nothing was too much trouble for these two lovely ladies, Aysha and her Mum who came out to our house to take passport size photographs. Fast and efficient service and very reasonably priced as well. Very highly recommended by us.

Pillar Box Cards which is based along Allerton Road, is an ideal spot for locals to purchase cards…read moreand gifts. There is an abundant variety of items such as shiny glass ornaments, luxury cards and much more decorations to add to your mantlepiece or windowed cabinet. It all makes good browsing. So, if you're lucky enough to bump into something you like, it definitely isn't shy of quality hence providing a perfect gift or individual treat (why not). In addition, there is a small post office at the rear of the shop which is convenient for a busy area like Allerton. As a whole, the shop combined with post office is quite small and stuffy but is far from doom and gloom.

Pillar Box Cards is an excellent little independent card shop. Although it is small it has an…read moreexcellent range of cards and gifts for all occasions and budgets. They have a great range of toys, ornaments, balloons, mugs, picture frames and much more. The prices are reasonable, certainly cheaper than some other branded card shops in the area. There is also a post office counter within the shop which is very useful. The staff are very friendly and helpful and always greet you with a smile.

Max Spielmann is a decent photo store where you can order prints both at the shop and online. In…read moreaddition, you can also purchase a range of gifts such as photo frames and other photo related accessories like picture albums and disposable cameras. Their service is usually good in general but sometimes it does take a couple of days or two to process your photos; this may be due to the time of season and how many photos you have ordered. I have used their digital print service many times before and about 30% of the time, I have had to wait an extra day or so after the estimated collection date. In terms of the quality of printouts, they actually seem great but when I compared to printouts from Jessops or Boots photo, they fell below standard due to a slightly duller appearance.

Mersey Builders is fronted by Thomas. He is accompanied by Keith…read more They promise the world but deliver chaos. This company was taken to court in Warrington for fraud in March this year. The company falsley claimed to be registered with professional bodies. Money was demanded for work that had not been done. Work undertaken was of very poor quality. The serious allegations against Mersey Builders was upheld. The company was fined. Additionally, Thomas Turpin was found guilty on a separate matter in Chester Magistrates Court and given a suspended sentence. https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/19155760.merseybuild-manager-convicted-trading-standards-offences/ If you Google the company address (9 Menlove Road, Allerton) you will find different companies registered to that address. Google these companies and you will find a pattern of terrible work. BEWARE Thomas has now registered a different company from a Garston address - Burman Road. His current company details are: https://suite.endole.co.uk/insight/company/12462030-pro-construction-and-developers-ltd?page=people-contacts

A thoroughly professional job This is the second time we…read morehave used mersey builders and would have no hesitation in using them again or recommending them to others. The work, a kitchen re-fit, was carried out to a very high standard and their service throughout was thoroughly professional. From initial consultation and quotation through to completion we were kept fully informed. It is clear that their staff set high standards and are anxious to do the best possible job for the client.