Oh. My. Gosh…read more Having a deep love for Japanese design and culture this shop was a welcome find on our recent stay in Calgary. Many beautiful handcrafted items. Kokeshi dolls, kimonos, gorgeous pottery, and kawaii kitsch! Lovely, helpful staff. Picked up many small gifts for family. My only disappointment is that many items I'd like for my kitchen are in store pick up only. They helpfully suggested I could pack and ship to myself but I just didn't have time on this trip, maybe next time! Fun little shop, well worth your time to stop in.

Cute store! Expensive, because it's specialty products. Stationary supplies, some clothing,…read moretowels, dishes, a little Ghibli stuff. Staff didn't interact much. Store was uncomfortably hot on a warm day.

The owner seemed nice at first but I realized she was not genuine when I went to meet her in…read moreperson. Having told her I was working on my first big project and that I was still figuring things out, she was impatient and it felt like she took advantage of the situation. Long story short, she ordered items before I confirmed, as I specifically asked for a quote first, and pressured me into buying them. I had emailed her asking specifically for quotes if I were to purchase X items, and she responded saying she had ordered a bunch of the items and told me the price in the same email. I was shocked by the price and could not afford the full amount I was looking for and initially felt bad, telling her Id take them off her hands since she'd already ordered them, even though I no longer even needed those items, but did not realize how expensive it was and that I just couldn't afford it. When I went in, she said it wasn't her problem and that she had ordered them just for me, and felt that I had led her on... all I had done was discussed the project with her and asked for quotes, and I had been transparent about not being sure about some things being my first project of this scale, but she went ahead and ordered BEFORE giving me the price, there is no obligation on my end to purchase at the end of the day. I could have not shown up at all that day but I am someone who keeps their word. She ended up giving me 10% off, which was literally just one of the 10 items free (I spent close to $1k there, you're welcome, on items that are literally $45 less at Michaels, and I will never be back).

What a GREAT little store, packed with all the art supplies you'll ever need! The owner was very…read moreapproachable and attentive to detail. Stop pouring your dollars into the pockets of American-owned entities like Michaels, etc and support our local economy!

A really well rounded gift shop with a ton of variety. If you can't find a gift here, what are you…read moreeven doing? A number of items you see from popular brands like Knock Knock- sarcastic socks, notes with attitude, but also lots of stuff that looks locally inspired and / or local made. Home items, wedding, birthday, Calgary and Canada, jewelry, fun mugs. Books, the list goes on and on. Can't imagine what doing inventory here is like, but they have a really appealing and well rounded shop. Loved it!

I took a long walk around Calgary yesterday. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day and I wasn't…read moreabout to miss it. Interesting people were out, cute dogs were being walked by their owners, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Part of my stroll was down the "hip" Uptown area of 17th Avenue. What drew me into Steeling Home from my walk was an on sale desk fan that was displayed outside on a cute antique table. The price was right, but I knew darn well that it would be hard to get it in the suitcase for my eventual trip back to the San Francisco Bay Area. I might still change my mind on that.... Anyway, I decided to stroll around inside and really enjoyed exploring the many pockets of interesting stuff this relatively small store holds. It has books, antiques, jewelery, and much more in-between. The people watching was fun too, with a fresh touch of Portlandia thrown in. I'm glad I stopped in and reminded myself that marching around a new City is fun, and stopping to explore some of its quirks is even better.

Art classes are excellent. Customer service and art supplies are the best in the city. Central…read morelocation as well :)

New painter here and took a road trip to shop at Kensington based on recommendations from my art…read moreteacher. They have a great selection of art supplies and fairly priced materials. (You won't find better prices on Amazon) Friendly, helpful staff and an all around great experience shopping at Kensington.

If you're running a design business, Michaels can be a useful stop--provided you don't fit the…read moreprofile of a tattooed male. My visits (five and counting) have revealed a few consistent patterns: 1. Attentive, but not in the way you think. Every aisle has staff half-hidden behind shelves, peeking like amateur wildlife photographers. Not to offer help, but to see if you might slip a tube of paint into your pocket. 2. Friendly... with conditions. Employees are approachable--if you manage to track one down. They'll happily answer questions, so long as they aren't about actual crafts. And if you happen to be tattooed? Forget it. You're suddenly invisible. 3. World-class sprinters doubling as loss-prevention officers. After you've Googled your way through unanswered questions and found supplies on your own, you'll encounter the elusive aisle-ender. They don't break a sprint record to clock out early--they bolt to the front door, taking up a stance that feels more nightclub bouncer than cashier. Their mission: to confirm you pay for the pile of items you're now debating if you even needed.

Don't tell anyone, but I love Michaels. And the closer we get to our wedding, the more I suspect I…read morewill like Michaels. For the unknowing, Michaels is a crafts store on steroids. They are a cross between a crafts store, a Homesense, and a massive dollar store. What I really like about Michaels is the variety of items. No matter what I'm looking for, chances are I can find it or something similar at Michaels. If you are preparing for a holiday of planning a wedding, Michaels should be high on your list of visits. Little known secret, I'm a closet painter. So if I need supplies, Michaels is stop one. And now you know a secret!

To the Americans: Indigospirit is one of the banners for stores under Indigo Books & Music Inc., a…read moremajor (if not the largest) Canadian bookseller chain that also sells gifts and specialty toys. So basically their Barnes and Noble or Borders. But in this case/location, without the coffee shop. I've looked up Indigo bookstores since coming back and this is one of their smaller locations. Very small, but very pretty. The photos don't do them justice. There is, however, a boba place across the hallway. XD And this particular location is on the 1st floor of the CORE Shopping Centre. They have a door leading out onto 8th Avenue as well as the entrance leading into the mall itself. X3 The employees were very nice when I asked my questions, and I was super excited at the prices (considering conversion rates at the time). Most of their titles are the more current and popular ones, and there's even a section devoted to the titles popular on bookstagram. But also, MANGA! CORE Shopping Centre is definitely someplace you want to come to visit, explore, and hang out in. If you're visiting Calgary, I would definitely recommend visiting since it's so big, has so many things, and is just gorgeous. Seriously, the top floor is an entire garden. And in that respect, this Indigospirit is perfect because this scenic center is exactly the kind of place where I would like to buy a book along with a snack or drink and then settle down to read for a good part of the day. X3 Side note, we only saw restrooms on the third floor, there are two parkades and the first three hours were free on the weekend, and (if you're interested) Indigospirit's book selection can also be found on the Indigo bookseller website. They do shipping. Next time we visit Calgary, I WILL come back and have my full reading day.

With Independent Bookstores such as Pages and Shelf Life within decent walking distance from here,…read morethere's really no need to go into this Downtown Indigo unless you want to kill time and/or shamelessly inflate ones review numbers. Guess What? :) Let's just say I met the personal experience requirement, but barely. I browsed through the shelves, recoiled at the mall feel of this place, tried but failed to buy something, and soon enough found myself back on the street and temporarily stymied in my search for literary nerdvanna.

I just moved back to Calgary from Toronto and thought I'd get back into comics by starting a file…read moreat a local comic book store. I can say without a doubt this is the best comic shop I've been to in Calgary. The staff is friendly, prices are fair, and their customer service is the best in the city. I'll continue going here for the foreseeable future.

For me, walking into Words and Pictures was like entering an unknown dimension. No offense to…read morenerds or geeks, (which does include my spouse), but this would be a store where my spouse, his buddies and anyone else I'd consider to be a nerd or geek would hobby shop. I am not one (based on my opinion and a recent pole for the purposes of this review) and realized how much of their world I am oblivious to as I perused. The only thing I could connect with was the Archie Comics and a few crazy figurines. W&P is jam packed with items such as comic magazines, books, role playing games, collectible cards games (my spouse just helped me to figure out those acronyms - RPG's and CCG's), figurines, toys, there's an entire section of Tokyopop, etc. I was intrigued by a lot of the books and actually spent a fair bit of time in here. I found a special edition Bizarro Comics book that was a good birthday gift for my spouse and a great addition to our coffee table books. I actually laughed out loud while leafing through it, which sold me. The staff was very friendly and being that I was an obvious stranger to this territory, they asked several times if I needed help. The store is very organized and clean. Also awkwardly quiet even with others shopping there, which of course suits the nerd stereotype. This store is a great place for gamers, collectibles shoppers and folks looking for a bit of a blast from the past. They provide comics appraisals as well. 27/30 for Yelp's 30 Day Challenge

Michaels. It's exactly as all other Michael's lots of crafts and selection of home decorating…read moreitems. Pricing is good and staff is very friendly. Do remember to download the Michaels app to easily get discounts on purchases. Overall great place to pick up picture frames and smaller home decorations.

the past 6 months, I have had several nasty experiences with Michaels . . The issues were primarily…read morewith the Shawnessy store in Calgary, from items missing to incredibly rude and disrespectful staff. When I inquired about my missing items at the Shawnessy store, the store associate actually raised her had to stop me from speaking, then demanded I empty my bag so she could see that I wasn't hiding the item. Another occasion, the store manager demanded to see the email from Michael's showing items were ready for pu up and when I showed a text version, she refused to accept it and demanded the original. When I explained that it was identical and that I didn't have the email on my phone, she said there was nothing she could do and walked away. I left feedback with the Customer Care line and received a call from the district manager for Calgary and Manitoba. I missed the call but returned her message within 2 hours. After 2 days of not hearing from her, I sent an email to her. I received a response after 2 days after that telling me that if " i wanted to connect with her, I could contact her during a few windows when she was free": The onus is not on me to chase her down, she stated in her initial phone message to me that she would " like to make it right". Ignoring me, then finally telling me to work around her availability is not making it right. Clearly, the poor service culture at Michaels does not fall far from the management tree. There is a reason why online companies like Temu offering similar products for a fraction of the price of Michael's are doing booming business. This type of shoddy customer disservice should not be rewarded by giving them business. See less