I was out doing a bit of Christmas shopping while waiting on news of my car's MOT and Service…read more(eep!) and came across this wee shop. Knowing not to spend a lot of money as the car always ends up expensive. So I thought I'd have a wee nosey and check the place out. To my surprise the prices were brilliant, with some items starting from £1. They had all kinds of Christmassy things in, kitchen utencils, fresh ground herbs in bags, stationary type stuff, and I can't remember what else as there was loads of cool items and gagets. Tiger is located where Barretts used to be, the store is bigger as they've opened it up into probably where the back store room used to be. I did notice that the staff's t-shirts and the labelling were foreign, it looked Swedish style, so felt a wee kick of Ikea with all the knick-knacks and nae furniture. I'm not too sure where Tiger is from but it's certainly no local. The staff at the tills were very pleasant. I purchased a couple of Christmas presents but I cannot disclose at this time as the person I bought them for might read this. Let's just say they will get a massive giggle out of them. Would definitely recommend if you're looking for something a bit different and it'd be interesting to try out their herbs. So, if you're up that end of town make sure you pop in to have a wee gander, you never know what you might find.

So, I love tigers. And tiggers, but that's a whole other story…read more.. But the wonderful thing about tiggers, I mean Tiger, is that it's one of those shops that's basically full of everything you just didn't know wanted. And even the odd random thing that you actually need. It's cheap, decent Ikea-ish quality/design, and generally just awesome. You'll find loads of notebooks, storage boxes, cards, crafty type stuff and general handy household equipment.

My colleague and I popped by the Office Furniture Centre today to see what they had in stock after…read morefinding it difficult to locate any online office furniture suppliers who would actually deliver furniture into the building and assemble it (apparently just dumping it on the pavement outside is now an acceptable delivery practice....) and we had a great time wandering the warehouse scoping out what we needed. Occupying an unassuming warehouse on London Road, the Office Furniture Centre is a cavernous place offering a fantastic selection of new and used pieces of office furniture, with everything from standard desks and chairs to board room tables and giant filing cabinets. They also had some amazing retro pieces from the 60s including some gorgeous orange leather reception chairs. With shopping list in hand it didn't take us long to spot what we wanted and had soon picked out a meeting table and 6 chairs, a desk and matching pedestal unit, a coat stand and 2 office chairs, all in what could be described as 'as new' condition. It all came to about £830 plus VAT, less than half what they would have cost new. The office chairs were a particular steal, they were high quality Orangebox chairs and looked unused, apparently they usually sell for over £400 and we picked them up for £145. All the staff we spoke to were super friendly, helpful and efficient and once we'd pointed out what we wanted it only took them 5 minutes to sort out delivery and payment. They also couldn't have been easier about the challenges of our office location (in a basement down narrow stairs), saying any deassembly and reassembly would be included as standard. Delivery would also only take 2 working days and that they will reconfirm the day before and an hour before delivery (in case of any special instructions). Overall a great shopping experience and I'd definitely recommend anyone needing office furniture heads over to take a look!

Loads of great quality new and used office furniture in this aladdins cave in Bridgeton Glasgow…read moreG40. Huge selection, nice staff, excellent delivery and install service and all at great low prices.

I don't come into W H Smiths very often as I don't buy magazines or newspapers as often as I used…read moreto these days. However, they are very good for other things like cheap DVDs, stationery, unusual craft items and silly gifts, especially around Christmas time when they always have a few shelves stocked with daft electronic widgets and 'executive' desk toys that can be great for stocking fillers or Secret Santa dips. I'd popped into this Argyle Street branch as I was passing, with no particular agenda other than having a browse around as I know they have quite an extensive selection of goods downstairs. As it happened, I left without buying anything on this occasion. However, I was very impressed by a selection of 3D cardboard letters that they had. I don't know what I would use them for at the moment, but I'm convinced that they will come in handy at some point, so I have mentally bookmarked these for future reference (and I took a picture too!).

I like WH Smith, they have a really good selection of stationary, books and magazines…read more This branch pales in comparison to the much larger Sauchiehall Street store and is on an awkward spot where you get loads of charity folk lunging in your face like a drugged-up ninja. It's decent for picking up some bottles of water or crisps or that on the move but on a day to day basis, it can be quite expensive for a 500ml bottle of Coke and such. I just hope they last. Woolworths and WH Smith remind me of the glory days of being a kid. If this place goes, what have I got left?

I've never eaten in the cafe here - that just feels unnatural in a home furnishings store for some…read morereason. But there's no denying that the IKEA experience has transformed the way we equip our homes. Yet it is an experience shopping here, and you either love it or hate it. If you have no idea what you're getting into or what you're looking for, go upstairs to the showroom section and browse around until you have achieved the necessary zombie-like trance state to descend into the main store. Then wander mindlessly through the maze of stuff until you (hopefully) find what you were looking for. If it's larger items you want, you then have to locate them in the warehouse section, which resembles that scene at the end of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' with its endless rows of high shelves. Then finally, the tills, after which you will be more inclined to enter the cafe area for some sustenance after your endurance trial. Savvy shoppers like myself pre-shop on the website, which handily will print out a list of your items and tell you where they are located, including the exact shelf number in the warehouse for the bulky items. Then, avoiding the upper floor, head straight for the small door behind the main staircase and go straight into the store. Pay careful attention to the layout of the 'short-cut' doors that connect the different areas; these will help you to avoid trolling round the whole maze.

I really love Ikea. A lot. It is a pretty magical place - it's different every time you visit, and…read moreyou can pick up something weird and usual every time you visit. I visited on Sunday and while it can be a nightmare on the weekend, thankfully this store is big enough that you might not notice. The line for food was ridiculous though, and it was at least a 10 minute wait. They've also changed the meatball portion sizing so it's small, medium large whereas I'm convinced you used to order by number of meatballs. You also can't have both chips AND mash, you need to get a separate portion of chips. No one stands between me and double carbs, ok?! Apart from these small grizzles, I generally really like going to Ikea and will always overspend and bring home things I don't need. This time it was a fish shaped ice cube tray. Do I need it? probably not. But it was only 90p! Hot tip: if you're holding a gallery exhibition, this is a great place to get the frames. The frames come in boxes of 10 and you can take the whole box for easy transportation.

I used these folks way back in 2013 when we had Yelp Glasgow's Pakora Passport and totally forgot…read moreto write the review up! Never too late, as they say. I wanted to get a self-inking stamp made up in the shape of the Yelp logo to use to stamp Yelper's passports. I emailed these folk, they quotes £35(ish) and next day service so I was happy to use them. The fact they were local to me and that I could pop in to pick it up was an added bonus. They were super easy to deal with (just 3 emails back and forth), I paid by paypal and was super happy with the stamp. Simple, efficient and I would definitely use them again if I ever need another stamp - although, the first one is still going strong so not sure if I will!

Found in Princes Square is another of these trendy little gift shops in the same vein as Papyrus…read moreand now newly-opened Scribbler although perhaps aimed at a slightly older market as well as the young glam one. Full of fairly unusual and sweet presents for most occasions - such as special birthdays, weddings and new babies - it can be great to pick up that special gift although occassionally the stock disappoints me. What I love the most is the card selection - perfect when searching for a slightly more unusual card. Also be prepared to pay for its location - as you'd imagine in Princes Square it can be pretty expensive.

As a testosterone-fuelled alpha male, I'm unlikely to get too excited about the fashionable girly…read moreornaments in here, it does work excellently as a sort of one stop gift shop if you're looking to buy a gift for a female recipient with a minimuim of fuss / imagination. It's all quite quirky and stylish, and they do loads cards (including obscurities such as "happy rainy day") and wrapping paper as well. They'll even do the wrapping for you. Can't grumble with that.