This isn't the most extensive art shop I've been to, but this is Hong Kong and space is limited so…read morebottom line- it gets the job done if you're on HK island. Artland seems to focus more on supplies for painters or drawing artists. I noticed a good supply of paints, water colours, markers, and coloured pencils. If you're into Crayola products, they have a decent selection. You can find things like embroidery wool, but the cross stitch patterns they offer are limited to subjects like floral bouquets and landscapes. Same with clothing; you could find a few things like fabric paints or markers for t-shirts, but it's not that plentiful. They did have a sizeable section dedicated to art books, though. In the end, I got what I needed- coloured pencils to fuel my new short-term hobby before my baby arrives: adult colouring books! :)

This place was alright. However, this is coming from someone who grew up with CN Stationary and has…read moreshopped at Michaels (In the US) for the past 5-6 years. With the limited space in Hong Kong, I understand that it's hard to stuff thousands of products into a 2000sq ft shop. There's really a lot of different types of products, however, the brand selection is rather limited. A lot of Staedtler, Primarily Daler-Rowney, I guess that's how Hong Kong art stores are? There's various high end products for professional artists too. One thing I didn't like about the store was I also found some products to be a bit scattered. Like they had a calligraphy section by the counter but also at another aisle, and Chinese calligraphy in another aisle. Many products like paints were organised by brands rather than by type. Yet many products were organised by products too. I also found the store to be slightly overpriced. The Pilot Parallel pen was $95 and it is only at $85 the Commercial Press in CWB, and $80 in CN. OH well. Their student level water colour is also quite expensive, Daler-Rowney Aquafine at $455. I can practically buy the artist colours at that price (On amazon at least) Paper and sketchbooks were nearly all Daler-Rowney as well. I just wished there's more variety in brands. However, this place is probably the best on Hong Kong Island and it will do the job if you need anything for your art supplies/project, etc. They also opened a mini gallery of a photographer's work. Also the hours aren't very friendly. Closed on Sundays, closed 5pm on Saturdays and 7pm on weekdays. Better rush here after work/school or come on a Saturday. *** Favourites: Convenient, just on Lockhart & Tonnochy Rd. Meh: a bit overpriced. Mostly Daler-Rowney. hours are not long, but it's alright. catered to students Last words: Has all your art supplies if you don't care about brand and price

I am the only one in my family that lacks that talent for handcrafting. I'm just not good at it…read more The rest of them are; I know I'm not adopted though. My mum and my grandmother designed and crafted most of the decoration at their respective homes. My sister is an artist. Their minds and hands are worth millions, but unfortunately I don't share this skill with them. However I'm very familiar with all the materials and tools they used and I was raised in a permanent workshop. As a child, it was a lot of fun but whichever way I tried, my piece of art always looked ridiculous. I used to go shopping for those materials and never got bored. So there I was (20 years later?), in this shop, looking around for something my mum would like. This shop is lovely! Hadn't I walked up the building they're located at to check out another shop, I would have never found it. When I arrived there was a workshop going on, for kids, all of them sat at a big table by the window, drawing like crazy. Actually, I didn't know they ran these kinds of workshops but they do, all types of them! Scrapbooking, albums, decoupage...it sounded great to me, as a little bit of help could turn my mess into something looking like it's actually 'something'. They do charge for those but they seem affordable as they provide you with the materials and you walk away with a masterpiece done by you. Besides that, they sell cute cards, stickers, ribbons, envelopes...most of them with child motives and light colors. Cute is the word. I felt a little bit at home and it was a bit of a motivation to roll up my sleeves and try this forgotten hobby again!

Wonderland Superstore is my favorite toys store in Hong Kong. While you may get better prices on…read moreToy Street in Sham Shui Po, Wonderland has it all in one place. The minor higher prices keeps the cheap toy collectors away and items are actually in store. Their selection of action figures, Chogokins, hobby kits and Transformers are very good. I love their wide aisles and store displays. Service is always friendly.

Interesting fact - up until the age of 9, I was a part time resident of Baker Street. No, not the…read morerelatively new part of Baker Street near Whampoa Gardens, it was the other end of Baker street near Chatham road and the funeral parlors. Small, dinky overcrowded apartments in the old downtown core of Kowloon, close to light industrial shops (making aluminum fixtures is a thing there), and shops catering to the funerary industry - you know, coffins, flower arrangements, stuff like that. A dinky 300 square foot, one bedroom apartment were the home for 8 - the place for gramps, aunts and uncles. Before my Cantonese chef father decided to immigrate to the US, I used to stay with grandma at the old apartment during the weekends. At least by then most of the family have moved stateside to seek a better life. Being Hong Kongian means that we are born to run - we are mostly immigrants, and because of the modest beginnings and tight quarters, we all aspire to climb as quickly as possible, either through hard work, higher education, or both - the outward looking, open minded, creative, polite and hardworking Honker folks that we are today were underpinned by the blood and toil of those before us. I think that partially, that success was due to the rich assortment of toys that we have access to when we were young. Just think about it - we were taught since an early age to share, and that we are constantly bombarded by the latest trends in Europe, Japan and the states. We were mostly denied green space and fresh air, and at some point, our imagination will have to kick in to fill the void. You need toys to allow for a healthy outlet to your imagination. Back in the old days toy stores and stationery stores were pretty easy to come by - nowadays, you pretty much need a Facebook group to track their comings and goings - most places fail, some survive while others thrive. Take, for instance, Wonderland (this is their HQ/flagship store in Hung Hom near the MTR stop). It's a toy store, stationery store, and a place to pick up a bag of potato crisps. They can sell you that 800 HKD Authentic Lego set, a 500 HKD Gundam model from Japan, a 70 HKD TinyHK city bus (which looks like the real thing running on the road today, and everyone in HK has ridden a bus), a 30 HKD F-Toys trade model that you can build and put in a cabinet, all the American Girl models that you can shake a stick at, and you can certainly go inside for a notebook and a color pencil set to doodle upon. Basically, there is a thing for every price range and can fit anywhere. Hell, I've been to 3 Wonderland locations, and both me and the missus both agree that the pricing and breath of selections for toys and stationery is second-to-none when compared to the poor selections stateside (well, Tai Yuen street is close but it's not a one-stop shop). I've happily purchased plastic model building supplies, notebooks, model kits and TinyHK items in the store and bought it back stateside with me. For a high functioning adult with a high stress IT job, some of those items I got provide me with seemingly endless joy...and let's face it - joy and fulfillment of nostalgia or homesickness is the primary function of any great toy store, and Wonderland is a great toy store. I'll come back here again and again.

It is never easy to buy gifts for your friends or family, however, if you stumble upon a store that…read morehas such vivid and vibrant colours, I am sure you will not take much time to know what you are going to buy as a present. What I am saying is a store called Prints. I saw this store when I was just wandering around the Elements, for a mall filled with so many shops, this one is rather eye-catching. Normally I am not easily drawn to walk inside a store, but this one certainly caught my eyes that day. Enter and you will find yourself surrounded by all kind of colours, stationary and paper products. They have such bold and creative designs that cannot be found else where. You may also check out their instagram (@printsinternational) to see the latest designs. The best part is that the staff are super nice. They provide professional advice to cater your needs whether you are planning a party looking for invitation cards or simply looking for thank you cards. They will help you customise your cards, so that your gifts can be one of a kind. So worry no more about your choice of present, come here and have a look. It is easier than you think.

The first time I was in this store, I was delighted (I have an unhealthy obsession with stationery…read morestores). Then I realized the assortment. never. changes (well, I am estimating 80-90% of it). It is so stale (and has seemed roughly the same over the past few years!). The plain stationery cards and envelopes are reliable options but the merchandise range becomes extremely tiresome after a few visits (and is on the pricey side - no surprise given the chain's high-profile locations, I supposed).

Log-On is a great store to kill time in. They call themselves a lifestyle store with trendy…read moreproducts that includes stationery, gadgets, photography accessories, fashion, travel accessories, beauty and wellness products. Currently there are 13 LOG-ON stores in Hong Kong and this location is conveniently located inside the iSquare building in Tsim Sha Tsui. The store is clean and organized and there are plenty of employees around but do not pressure you to buy. I came into the store to just browse, but walked out with some beauty products that I think are slightly cheaper than what you might find at Sasa. It's a great store to find small gift items and greeting cards, they even offer snacks and drinks from around the world.

Cutest store EVARRR. I'm so sad we don't have one of these in America. There were so many wonderful…read moreand useful things, it was hard to choose what I needed to make room for in my bags. Also, be aware that not all Log-On stores are the same. Like any chain store, some have more loot than others. We went to one and thought it couldn't get any better, then went to another one and were even more wowed. This location was WOW number one. Aside from having things like pens, backpacks, phone cases and cameras, it also has somewhat of a drug store. They even have supplies for work/lunches for adults and children. My friend likened it to a smaller, cuter, better Target. Just GO!