Geoff's is no longer the in-the-know Auckland hipster's secret. Go here on Halloween and you will…read moresee what I mean. Luckily, Halloween only happens once a year but year round Geoff's is the place that truly does have everything. I am most often here for random products like baby oil ($6 for a small bottle of branded petroleum by-product at a supermarket? $2 here), fabric dye, art supplies, sewing stuff and what must be Auckland's cheapest fabric. No offence to Spotlight, but go here first if you need anthing crafty. There's ribbon, cotton, buttons, sparkly bits, belt buckles, bra pads, googly eyes, appliques, patches.... on and on and on. The fabric selection is no small part of the shop and the pricing fairly freakin ridiculous. You'll also find toys, costume jewellery, probably Auckland's biggest range of wigs and "ready-costumes" for adults and kids, as well as such essential props as tiaras, plastic swords, feather boas, cowboys hats, gloves, face paint and garters. There are paints, brushes, canvases, dyes, sketch books...... You can even buy paperbacks, hardware, kitchen equipment, candles and it just goes on. What I love most about Geoff's is that it has been around as long as I can remember and as far as I know, Geoff himself is still around too. My kids love coming here with a handful of coins and leaving with treasures and so do I. The staff are awesome and Geoff's is such a wonderful reminder to me that some things don't ever change, they just get better with age.

This place is AWESOME. Recommended to me by a fellow sewing friend, I decided to check it out…read moretoday. Walked in the door and thought wow, this place is a bit...crappy. But then I walked in further, through the narrow door and into a huge space, filled with all manner of crafty supplies! I was there to buy interfacing, and buy it I did - 5m for $5! Incredible prices. I also got a zip for $1.05 and a belt buckle kit for $1. The prices are insane, even cheaper than what I paid living in the US. I saw some gorgeous fabrics in there, too, but I'm trying to watch my fabric budget right now so I sadly left it behind...for now. The woman who served me was really friendly, carefully rolled up my interfacing and asked about my projects. I can't wait to go back and browse their fabrics some more, and they will definitely be my go-to place for notions, too! I didn't explore the rest of the shop too closely, as I had a sick husband in tow, but they have a huge range of paint/art supplies, party supplies, incense and other trinkets, and heaps of other stuff too.

My friends and I were only visiting Auckland for a short stay and HAD to purchase New Zealand yarn…read more (You know how it is. ;) This store had it all, yarn, notions, tools, patterns, and most important, knowledge! In a short time we had everything explained to us, purchased, and were on our way. It's well worth a visit!

An excellent range of NZ yarns, including Outlaw Yarns, Zealana and plenty of merino wool, possum…read moreand local alpaca blends. Heaps of NZ designed and themed quilting fabrics, if you're into that kind of thing. Great to have a place in the city to buy thread and other goodies, too!

My mom offered to make a quilt to celebrate the birth of my son, and we were going to incorporate…read morefamily photos on the quilt, so we needed the correct materials for the whole process. We stopped by at Smart Dress Fabrics, and we hoped to get all our quilting goods, and they appeared to stock everything we needed. In fact they appeared to stock almost everything in New Zealand. What a painful shopping experience, not because the service was bad or the products poor, in fact it was quite the contrary. There was just too much, I couldn't get my mother to leave. Next time, I'll go the the pub, and I'll let my mom shop at her own leisure...

If you want fabric, whatever texture, colour, or size I am pretty sure these guys will have it!…read moreThey have filled every nook and cranny with rolls and rolls of fabric possible in such a little store (although I say 'little' it is actually bigger than it looks from the outside). I have been into a few fabric shops lately and although the famous Newmarket Centrepoint Fabrics boast to be the largest around, I think this one would do sufficiently for anyone living West of Auckland, plus parking would be far less of a hassle and free! Smart Dress Fabrics also have some patterns available that I noticed some nearby women going through (I have only just bought myself a machine, so I haven't quite got to that stage yet, soon!).

It seems Japanese shops such as this one are growing like mushrooms!…read moreI would rank this one as my second favourite, the kitchen section in particular has lots of pretty soup bowls and pans and steamers. As mentioned in my fellow Yelpers's reviews there are also the stationery and bathroom sections and lots of random cute thingies no one needs... But oh they' so cheap so why not?!

This place is pretty awesome, hidden in an obscure location, you almost miss it. Thankfully for the…read morevibrant orange and black sign to mark the narrow entrance you begin your decent into the lower depths of Queen Street to find yourself in a rather large store that I could not accurately categorise. This is because there is a lot of stuff here, stationary, the gift bags and paper section is great, Hello Kitty and Snoopy are well represented here. There are aisles of all kinds of things for your home, a massive chopstick section, Hello Kitty cling wrap, food bags and plasters. Interestingly a big range of nappies and other baby things. It is fun just to look around, there are some odd things here too, especially in the bathroom and cleaning sections. Good fun I say, you'll walk away with things you didn't need but make are entertaining none the less. (Hello Kitty keeps my food fresh now).

Xia is a really great store, and as far as I know, reasonably unique in Auckland. They sell a big…read morerange of "Chinese" items here, from ornately carved wooden day beds through to rice paper parasols through to kites through to little notebooks. It's a great place to go to if you're looking for something specific for your home, or on the other hand, if you just want to buy something that's a little different from the norm. With such a range of stock, obviously some things have a much bigger price tag than others, but it all seems reasonably priced. The owner is really friendly and has been more than willing to help out when we've approached him about hiring furniture for events.

Great shop, well priced and has a great selection of Chinese dresses (Cheong Sam) as well as other…read moregifts. Owner is very friendly!

Fabric Warehouse is a great wee fabric store tucked away behind Mt Eden Road…read more When I was in high-school and had various school balls to attend, the Fabric Warehouse was a lifesaver. I've never been much of a girly girl and didn't want the same satin style ball gown as every other girl, so instead went to the Fabric Warehouse found the perfect white fabric with black flowers around the hem and had my own 1950s style gown made. Not only was it completely original, but it was also pretty cheap. The Fabric Warehouse is really fairly priced and the lovely couple that work there are more than happy to help you locate the ideal fabrics for whatever project you are working on. A great selection of fabrics, zippers, buttons and threads are available at Fabric Warehouse, as well as a brilliant variety of patterns. My favourite are the vintage Vogue patterns they stock up by the counter - so inspirational, and what better place to be inspired than in a fabric store?! If you endeavour to sew your own clothing or even whip up some cheap and funky curtains or pillow cases - the Fabric Warehouse will provide everything you need!

The stores you would find me lingering in most of my recent days especially last weekend, were…read moreFabric Stores. On the hunt for that perfect light, silky fabric enough to be used at an event to hide other curtains, was definetly a mission on its own. I found walking into Fabric Warehouse, actually a relief because they seemed to have lots of different options. It turns out that the perfect material they had was all I needed except had to be doubled over to do the job. Good thing is that they had a 40% sale on certain curtain materials, and my chosen chiffon just happened to be amongst it. The lady working at the front of the store, her name was Lily, a very helpful Asian women, who was great in showing me as many options as she had in store. I noticed that you had a variety of material options from budget to expenisive so something to suit all tastes.

I think I may have just found my new favourite gift shop - introducing Matchbox Studios!…read more Matchbox Studios originally started up in Wellington three years ago, where they are a large art and crafts store plus an art gallery. I recently discovered them on Instagram and saw that they were opening a store in St Kevins Arcade on K'Road (full of exciting things). I was so thrilled because it is a seriously awesome shop! It is a haven for all things colourful, whether it be art, jewellery, stationery, books, candles or homewares! I loved everything I came across in Matchbox, but here is a taste of what you might find: - Funky colourful cards (for example the Koala dressed in a Hawaiian shirt) - Range of art prints, including skulls (yay!), famous people, grumpy cat, etc. - The Beatles tea bags (check out the picture!) - Candles and soaps (all with very nice scents) and - Colourful cups, straws, plates and napkins - perfect for picnics or parties at home, plus so much more! The shop assistant was friendly and she was really happy when I signed up to their mailing list. How could I not - everything at Matchbox is fabulous and fun! So, if you need a gift or want to decorate your room with bright colours, then I highly recommend you visit Matchbox Studios today - I am sure you won't be disappointed!

Late last year I bought a sewing machine for the first time from this place. After a great deal of…read morehelpful information the guy behind the counter convinced me into buying a brand new Janome, (I am sure there should be some model description I should include here but that is a bit out of my league); I have no idea about sewing, I did some in high school home economics but I think I may have skipped a few to many classes or perhaps the info has fallen out of my head along the way... The guy here was great, not necessarily all smiles and bubbly (thankyou, leave that to the barsita's), he was heaps helpful with the purchase and also the knowledge about the basics of how to use the machine. He also offered for me to come back in if I have any trouble. They had a sign about classes but there was none running at the time. For the hobby enthusiasts, well, you probably already know about this place I am guessing, they stock a large range and can help with accessories and or machine parts too.

Starway Stationers is a good old fashioned stationery shop: it sells anything and everything you…read morecould possibly want in the stationery line, from single envelopes through to embossed papers. It's definitely not a fancy place, but its somehow quite comforting to know that buried under the children's scrapbooks you can find paper suitable for the fanciest occasions, along with the pens appropriate for each. They also sell mags here, including some that you probably wouldn't find in other newsagents, like all those ones pertaining to specific hobbies that you can collect up and put in custom designed folders. I might get into needlework just so I can buy these. Finally, they also have a post office service here, although be warned it's not a full one, so you can't pay bills or get car regos here, but can send parcels and the like.

This cute and cosy setting within a knitting shop isn't your standard setting but makes for the…read moreperfect spot for scones, petit fours and a delightful range of tea. You could bring granny here or your bestie for a catch up or mum for a treat. It has to be said there scones (the recipe recently featured in the paper) are the prefect mix of crunch on the outside and soft on the inside. Combine with jam and a pot of tea on a pretty tablecloth, you have a winner. Don't go past this place if your after scones, tea and a touch of homely comfort.

Trying to find a cafe that's open after 4pm and stumbled upon this beauty. It felt like I found…read morelittle red riding hoods grandmothers tavern and it was absolutely adorable. We had excellent coffee and vanilla grapefruit tea from an extensive tea menu served in vintage tea cups. I wanted to try the Devonshire scones with strawberry jam and cream but unfortunately they were all out for the day so we had finger sandwiches with asparagus and almond meringue cake which was freshly made and delicious!