Friendly and very helpful Great choice of fabrics…read more I highly recommend this quilt store

Wonderful little store packed with everything you need for sewing projects. The new owner makes…read morebaby and children's clothes that are very cute and well priced.

I had a wonderful time at the needlepoint store! It has an extensive range of supplies available,…read morethe knowledgeable and friendly staff who assisted you, and the exceptional selection of intricate patterns and kits.

Great staff, nice selection of yarns and supplies of high quality. Very helpful and knowledgeable…read morestaff provided good suggestions.

For a small gallery tucked in among lots of small shops and a stones throw from other, higher-end…read moregalleries, I was really bowled over by the selection and quality of the work carried by Eclectic! They carry a wide range of small paintings, mostly quite lovely landscapes in oil, acrylic or encaustic. Also an impressive selection of wood sculptures, ceramics, and glass. I was especially impressed with the many wooden bird carvings by Hermann Edler (one of which I bought!) and the ceramic "jug birds" by Gillian McMillan. Lots of jewelry too. Oh, don't skip by the card section without a good look--there are some dazzling hand crafted cards by several artists. This is a place where you can purchase lovely pieces without feeling like you're going to break the bank...plus you can walk into Eclectic and never feel like the staff are silently judging you on the likelihood that you can afford or even appreciate the works. The woman who owns Eclectic seems to genuinely care about the artists she carries and about the joy of looking at their achievements.

If you are loving for some lovely local art, including small paintings (original mixed media,…read moreacrylic, water color), classy jewelry, functional carved wood and ceramics, do drop by this place to check out the selection. Large price range of items that might fit in your budget. Great place to pick up a small unique gift for a loved once!

This may be my favorite store in all of Victoria. For real…read more Whoever does the buying for this store needs some recognition. The selection of gift ideas and greeting cards and jewelry and kitchen gadgets and house accessories is bloody amazing. My friend who lives in Victoria visits this store regularly and when I visit, we come here and literally, we could spend hours here. There's so many unique and curated items, stuff I've not seen elsewhere, and the staff are super nice to boot. I personally love stationery stores, and I can attest, this store has a vast, vast selection of greeting cards - some traditional but many witty and/or twisted (which I appreciate!). There are fancy soaps and lotions, and gourmet chocolates, and jewelry made by local artisans, ands much more. I spent a ton of money on cards here (note: it's always a good sign when you hear people laughing aloud in the card aisles!), and I also got a few chocolate and fruit logs that were packaged to look exactly like salami (I thought these would be awesome on a dessert "charcuterie" board, and as a gift to a foodie friend too). I found colorful silicone twist ties and baggie clips, and some unique gifts for my kids (one who is a falconer and a "birder", the other who's into jewelry) and for some gourmand friends, too. Seriously, you'd be hard-pressed not to find something for everyone on your Christmas list, or as a hostess or birthday gift here. Oh, and their doormats are great, too. My friend found the perfect mat for her new home here.

had a lovely time at The Bungalow. So many nice things. Great selection of gifts, home decor,…read morejewellery etc. bought a dozen linen napkins that I haven't seen in other stores and they gave me a great bag with kitties on it to take home with my purchase. will definitely make it a destination next time I'm in Victoria.

I dropped by the 'Lady Dragon Glassworks' website recently to browse her latest offerings - with a…read moresummer birthday trip coming up before too long, I had a little shopping in mind. Like the last time I was on the site and ordered, I was really taken by the variety, beauty, and 'fun' of her lovely, handcrafted, glass pendants. I found and liked so many -- but what to choose? I decided to pick items from two favourite natural environments -- forest and seashore -- and chose an 'owl' (a fun colour version!) and 'red fox' for my lady -- 'ocean tides' and 'flower' for daughter. Once again, I received great service from 'Lady Dragon', and four more of Vanessa's lovely, "nature-inspired", handcrafted, glass products -- which I'm sure my ladies will love, and much-enjoy wearing. If able to hold out, and not give in to the temptation of providing the gifts before, these pendants will be heading to Manning Park this summer, to become part of personal celebrations that'll take place when we're there. (Totally) not sure I'll be able to wait until then to share them though!!

I saw her booth at this year's Circle Craft fair. I fell in love with her glass earnings, however,…read moreit sucks that I don't have my ears pierced. Her prices are very reasonable and she is very friendly.

We did a self-directed driving and walking sightseeing tour of some of the Oak Bay Village area of…read moreVictoria one day during our most recent stay (late-April). During a walkabout on Oak Bay Avenue, before heading to dinner, we stopped into several of the stores that caught our eyes. Seeing the 4CATS sidewalk sign caught my lady's eyes, and a look-see inside at the art supplies being offered was definitely in order. Wow! most everything in art supplies available in one place -- for the very beginner, the occasional 'dabbler', and on up to those pursuing serious art interests. Daughter and I watched on, as she truly-enjoyed some "quality time" browsing the offerings, and chatting with staff about their services, etc. My thanks to those at 4CATS for helping to make the day in Oak Bay such a special one.

Was feeling crafty, so I went online and booked me and 3 friends here to build monster mugs…read more (Insider tip: the more fun friends you bring the more dollars you will save.) We arrived, then were shown a demonstration of how to and we're off to races. I struggled a little bit with mine, but I got the help I needed to complete my project. The staff were funny and told us all about the history of 4 cats when we asked. I'll definitely be back to make a winter craft here.

Incredible! This store only has locally made items and each section has an "about me" with local…read morecreators! I loved it all. The store was very clean. The staff was thoroughly cleaning while we were in there, also very kind. So many incredible items from cheese platters, jewelry, stickers, and much more

I love supporting businesses that support many local artists and entrepreneurs through the handmade…read morebusiness. They offer jewelry, gifts, candles, arts & prints, soaps, home decor, and stationary. However, something to note is that they do have a 13% tax, which can be a drastic amount, but I do appreciate that they are very honest and transparent about it with their sign above the cashiers. I did bought a few canvas to bring back home, and definitely regrets not buying more things like their stickers and home decor items!

I am new to sewing and have been into the Makehouse twice to browse, purchase, ask questions, and…read morebe enthusiastic about my new hobby. The staff are just terrific. Very knowledgeable, encouraging, and excited to share their craft. It's a joy to shop there. Oh, and they let well behaved dogs in! It's a really welcoming place to be and shop. Lessons next!

If you venture a little bit beyond the tourist core along Fort Street, you will come across The…read moreMakehouse....if you're a crafter, especially if you're into sewing - or want to be - you will find a delightful playground. This is an adorable, somewhat small shop-classroom-studio. There are lots of indy label sewing patterns (like Christine Hayes, Colette, etc), sewing notions, a smattering of scrapbooking items and some lovely locally-handmade pieces. The Makehouse offers fun classes. They offer basic sewing, pattern making, upholstering and specific piece workshops. There's a Kids Club a couple nights a week. They also have drop in sewing times and "sewcials". It seems local fiber artists use the space as a studio...it's an inspiring environment. They were featuring some unique hand embroidered portraits of women by an artist named Annie Nazarian when I stopped by. Unique, interesting. There's a definite Somerset Studio, slightly vintage vibe coursing through The Makehouse that is charming...if staying downtown, it's worth the extra block's jaunt to visit or if local, a few hours to stop for a class. I try to spend a couple weeks at a time every few years in Victoria - and on my next extended stay I intend to take some classes...I can't wait for my next visit!

Super cute little craft store. It's small but packed with all kinds of stamping and craft goods, it…read morecan be a little cramped navigating but they have lots of different companies and great prices.

I recently started creating greeting cards and did was not sure about many things. I visited…read moreStampers and was happy with the plentiful stock I had to choose from. I had many questions and I mean many, but Steve answered each one knowledgeable and patiently. I still have lots of questions, I shop at Stampers because of the bountiful dies, paper, stamps, embossing folders, stencils and because Steve is so knowledgeable about all the stock, he is a big help to the many customers that shop there.

Beautiful yarn and very friendly people. I had a nice chat and couldn't decide on what color…read moreway/combination in Fleece Artist BFL 2/8. Since we would be in town for a few days, I needed to do a Ravelry search. I came back on Friday before we caught our ferry. I didn't see the navy blue with green colorway. Of course, I didn't remember the name... I came to the register with my second choice. Luckily, I asked if they had any more in a blue/green color combo...Eureka! They had the Spruce colorway in backstock!

Omg, I love this place. It is now one of my favorite yarn shops…read more I do live in Columbus, Ohio, but my family makes the trek to Victoria at least once a year. I was so happy to find this place not too far off from some of the other places we like to visit. Anyway, about three different people in the shop helped me; it was so nice. One lady took me around to all the local dyers, another lady looked up one of my saved Ravelry patterns so we could make sure I was getting the right weight and yardage, and a third man helped me at the checkout and helped me pick out a bag and gave me a full punch card (I spent a lot oops). The LYS is right off a main street, and it takes up the corner of an old building; you can't miss it! (I also love house plants, and our last trip to Victoria I was trying to convince my husband to let me bring a plant home with us. Bringing home yarn is MUCH easier and I got much less pushback from him, haha.)