Basement Books is a dangerous place on many levels…read more Danger number one: It's in Central. It is right in Central. Central is a place you meet people, so you might say, meet you in central at 4pm and then you get there at 3.30pm and you have to wait. So what do you do? You go to Basement Books and peruse their countless books with bright yellow stickers advertising their low and affordable price. Danger number two: Because these books that you're perusing are cheap, you can justify the price even if you're not sure whether you even need the book. 'Oh, a history of Physics' I've always been interested in Physics, and it's only $9.95 I should probably buy this and learn about Physics. Danger number three: Their range is gigantic! I almost said 'ginormous', but that's not a word. What I meant was Hugantic! There are literally thousands upon thousands of books and they're always receiving new stock. They have art sections, computer sections, history, film, personal growth, science fiction, literature, even books like the dictionary, which, had I purchased a copy last I was in, would have saved me the embarrassment of using a non-word like 'ginormous'. So beware of Basement Books. You have been warned. The bookshop is in a great location, the titles are cheap and the range extraordinary. I have a pile of books in my room almost as tall as I am that I have yet to read, opportune purchases that came at me as I strolled amidst the aisles killing time. A book on deadly diseases for $4.95, I'm not going to find that bargain again. Buy! Buy! Buy!

In this day and age of Kindle and Kobo and Nook, a solid read (and I mean one that you can…read moreliterally hold and turn pages beneath your fingers) comes pretty cheap. You really do need to head in to see what they've got because I find their online catalogue lacking and sometimes the staff don't even know what they're stocking. The outside disguises how big this place really is, as it has sections for anything from classic fiction to travel books and bios. It has a pretty decent selection of art supplies as well (I'm no art student, but it does cater for scrapbooking hobbies or the amateur artist if you're after it). Right in the back corner they have a little children's section which I found perfect for my six year old sister who's going through her first reading phase. I bought her a collection of these tiny Winnie the Pooh classics, and a special anniversary edition of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and Friends stories which averaged around $4 and $12 respectively. They have tons of different hard cover books (some of which are pop up!) which were surprisingly cheap, but more importantly, were invaluable in keeping kids (of all ages) entertained for hours.

Excellent service with super friendly and knowledgeable staff. A large selection of art supplies at…read morereasonable prices and a generous rewards program. This my shop of choice for art supplies and advice. i highly recommend this strore

This is definitely my kind of arts and crafts store. Positioned across the street from Lincraft…read more(the generic, mega-chain of the art supply world), Erckrsley's provides style and quality that far surpass the competition. I was recently in the neighborhood looking for supplies to make my fascinator for Melbourne Cup. I was able to find my base materials at Lincraft, but was looking for some speciality origami paper to make paper cranes out of for the purpose of affixing to my fascinator. The Lincraft staff sent me across the way to Eckersley's and I was able to find exactly what I was looking for. Their individual paper selection here is incredible. Not cheap though, that's for sure. I think each individual paper sheet I chose was around $3 a piece. Eckersley's also has a great selection of painting supplies, brushes, canvasses, etc. This is a shop for the serious artist or the crafter who wants to ensure their hard work is accented by only the finest materials. I wouldn't personally be able to afford sourcing all materials for a project here, but it's definitely worth dropping a dime on crucial accent supplies. The staff is friendly, the store is well stocked and the quality is high.

Found this antique home goods place in the Monocle travel guide for Sydney. I have high…read moreexpectations on furniture / decoration places and I didn't get disappointed here. Ici et la has beautiful old decoration objects from all over the world. From magical local shells to wooden and metal tables, chairs or lamp to handmade bags. Infact they have a seamstress in the store that creates blankets etc. with your initials. If I would live in Sydney, my interior design would be well influenced by this store.

From the owner: We also have classic French vintage ticking, stock ticking, antique linen sheets and linen tea…read moretowels.

When people want to buy a fabric, they have a certain idea of the item of clothing they want to…read moremake, its design, its colour, the pattern etc. Fabric stores should understand that and try to assist people in finding that particular fabric. Fabric stores significantly increase the possibilities of what can be created. It is not a dress shop where it has a limited number of dresses and if you do not find the style, colour of clothing etc. you are looking for there is nothing you can do but look elsewhere. Tessuti does not get this and their staff are too lazy to even look for a product that may suit you to help you. I called them and asked them for a certain fabric. The lady who answered the phone and had an accent told me just to search online. I looked online only to discover that they had very little of their stock online and she was not bothered looking for me. I travelled into the store and asked the sales lady whether she had this sort of fabric and showed her a dress with that sort of fabric I owned. Straight away she said we sold out. So I said ok, when are you getting some more? She said that is it, we sold out. I asked whether she can order some more or ask the supplier who else would sell it and she was not interested. I told her that she was very unhelpful and she told me to go to the store that I bought the dress from and ask them for their supplier. I thought it was ludicrous that she wanted me to ask a store that sells dresses made in China where they get their fabrics from. She was so lazy that she would not even get out the sample books they have of all the fabrics and provide me with the name of the fabric and the company that supplies it (which is on the sample book) so I could go directly to them. I was so turned off by their disinterest in providing custoner service that I will not go back again. It is really sad that they are one of the bigger fabric stores in Sydney and they are so unhelpful. I am better off just looking for it online and giving my business overseas like so much of Australia when the customer service is so poor.

One of Sydney's newest art spaces. Sew Make Create has been around for almost a couple of months…read morenow. The owner, top Sydney designer Melissa Tan-Lu and Sew Make Create's resident dog Pepper are just adorable. The whole shop is quite funky :) I was fortunate to have been invited (through another blog) to experience their beginners crochet course with Bronwen. I arrived on a Wednesday night at 7pm a little tired yet eager as anything to learn, and learn heaps. My manual dexterity skills deflated me for a while, yet I was amazed with the crochet stitch and getting into a granny square so soon with confidence. The class sizes are rather small which is great. Lindt chocolate balls were provided with water as stunning refreshments, as well as biscuits and tea. This course is also available on selected weekends. Sew Make Create also run a variety of other craft courses. After the beginners crochet course, if you wish to take things further, then the crochet clinic is for you. Instead of yarn, turn that yarn into 'plarn' with a plastic bag crochet course. Sew Make Create is a dynamic arts space that also rents out sewing machines, and hence provides ample working space to design some pretty clothes. Sew Make Create also sell sewing machines and craft supplies. Sew Make Create (from the request of many parents) have put together a fantastic course schedule for the kids school holidays coming up, as at the time of writing this. Beginners crochet is also covered, and kids can also learn cupcake decorating and also learn how to make these adorable felt brooches. Located in Chippendale right near the Broadway Shopping Centre. If you're curious (in more detail) as to how my beginners crochet experience went recently, then follow this link: http://www.weekendnotes.com/crochet-for-beginners-sew-make-create/ For more information on the various courses put on especially for kids these school holidays, then follow this link: http://www.weekendnotes.com/crafty-school-holiday-activities-sew-make-create/ With many initiatives to ensuring that Sydney is an arts and crafts focused city, when is now a better time to learn a new craft? Go on, unleash the craft master within!

From the owner: Sew Make Create aims to encourage learning and creativity through providing the right environment,…read moreassistance and facilities

Lots of books. There was a large amount of bilingual books although it was hard to findread more

After I was done with having lunch at The Galeries, I went upstairs to floor 2 to check this place…read moreout. They're a Japanese chain bookstore. I've been to their locations in Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA. My goodness, they had quite the extensive manga selection! Of course all of the super popular ones were available. If I had one of these bookstores closer to where I live, I would be giving them a lot of my money! Everything was so well organized, so everything was very easy to locate.

Very poor service , at kadmium bay st Broadway . Seeing I spent over $700 a month on art…read moresupplies In both of the stores For the past 3 years . and the staff don't even know me in bay st I still don't have a discount card. Never been offered . There is more then one art supplies in my area . I discovered Sydney Artstore . Great service and I was offered a great discount on my first visit with friendly helpful service.

From the owner: At Kadmium Art + Design supplies our aim is to combine specialty Art, Design and Architectural…read moresupplies with canvas stretching, in-house picture framing, imported stationery and unique gift ideas. Kadmium is much more than just your local art store, it's a hub for ideas, creativity and art classes as well as a platform for experiencing the latest art supplies technology. Kadmium has two convenient locations within the inner west of Sydney at Broadway and Paddington. Our friendly and experienced staff can help you find what you need and walk you through our extensive range of products and professional services. If you have any questions regarding techniques or you need to troubleshoot a an idea, feel free to discuss it with out staff to see what products are available to help you.

Passed by here and saw a signage that said best cookie or something to that effect and I thought it…read morewas for traditional cookies like chocolate chips, but it was for macarons. I decided to go in and check it out and saw they had unique flavours, so I decided to get three flavours to try. Got the unicorn, which is just vanilla, only because I got this for someone, so of course I didn't get to taste this one. Mango, Passionfruit & Macadamia - good, but I tasted more macadamia than mango and passionfruit. Pandan & Coconut Custard - thought it was great they offered this Vietnamese flavour and thought this was good as well. I wish they offered more flavours, but I would say I still prefer Laduree passionfruit more because I actually could taste it.

These macarons are made fresh on the premises and come in lots of delicious flavors: salted caramel…read moreand praline chocolate are especially great. You can pick up a box of 10 at about 1/3 of the price of Laduree, which are actually baked in Switzerland, frozen, and then flown all over the world (I didn't know this until today). Highly recommended!