My favourite go to in Highgate ! They have something for everyone! Wonderful customer service, they…read morewill even wrap for you !!

My nephew back in Germany is crazy about the miniature London double decker bus I gave him for this…read morepast Christmas. So when I walked by this store (on my way to Highgate Wood) this past weekend and I spotted a kid's T-shirt with the London bus featured on it, I knew that this would be the perfect gift for said nephew's upcoming birthday! Walking into the shop, the lady behind the counter greeted my with a warm smile and offered her help. I right away liked how she was very passionate about the T-shirts and other garments made my a local designer. As I didn't have any money on me, she put the T-shirt aside for me and when I came back later in the day, I also bought another T-shirt for my other nephew...they are just too cute! Aside from children's clothing, this shop offers plenty of other gifteable things...the perfect location for anyone who's in need of a present ;-)

Map is a cool store on the otherwise dull terrain of Junction Road near Archway…read more I looked around Map and saw nothing extraordinary. Jelly Cat. Check. Cat's Eye purses. Check. Retro 50's memorabilia check. Badge saying "Her Proudest Achievement was staying Blonde". Check. Wait a minute..that's me! That's me all over! I had to get the badge. I am most proud of staying blonde, having enough money to stay blonde. Yay me! I'm a mature adult! The salesman was really nice and looked high and low around for some other merchandise saying the same thing. There wasn't anything else. I did want anything saying "I'm so bloody blonde sometimes" ( I don't play the dumb blonde. Think Portia not Anna Nicole.) and I didn't want to tell the world I was "High Maintenance" or anything. That being said, I paid my 1.75 and left with my badge pinned to the Leopard Coat. I'm still wearing it now in the house.

Archway is pretty dire. It's a matter of opinion so please don't take offence if you're mid love…read moreaffair with it's squalor. Granted there are a few things of merit to be found but sadly, on the whole the surroundings make visits to these places a rather lugubrious experience, and the empty Woolworths on Junction road has proven to add to this. But something keeps pulling me back there for one reason or another and it has been the backdrop for many an event in my life. And so I know of a little place that stands out from the crowds called Map. It opened almost 10 years ago and has been selling gifts ever since. It's the perfect place to dive in when passing and grab a birthday card and something suitable, nice but a fairly impersonal stocking filler type offering.

To Be Established is a great shop. It just doesn't have cards and wrapping paper, the shop has so…read moremuch more. I love finding little shops that are so much more than meets the eye. The shop has incredible jewellery. I spent several moments searching for a few gifts. I finally settled on a beautiful pair of butterfly earrings but when I saw a second jewellery case I was back to square one. The earrings were silver and £47, they did have less expensive pieces, but the silver was beautiful. I also stumbled across the cutest house slippers; they had faces of animals and fuzzy bodies. They gave a hint of warmth and I had to run through my list of gifts to figure out who would like them, I realized I would and made a note to return to pick up a pair. The shop isn't large so it does feel a bit cluttered, but not claustrophobic. They have arranged the shop well with the space they have. I am not sure if the staff is friendly or helpful, they pretty much left me alone and since today was about looking and not purchasing...well you get my drift. I will say this, they didn't ask if I needed anything and they didn't say hello when I walked in the shop, but I'm sure it was just the rain. And since I loved the shop I will return.

This is a great little shop with a lovely shopkeeper to chat with! If you're looking for a baby…read moregift, a birthday gift, a jar of sweets, a unique keychain, or a pair of great cufflinks...this is your place! My only gripe is that it's small and if there are more than 3 people inside, forget it! And if one of them happens to be one of the self-important mummies who thinks nothing of parking her Urban Assault Pram in the middle of the only way in and out...just come back at a different time.

We visited this store seven days ago - and although it's not as huge as the one we visited in…read moreLiverpool, it's still a good size and it has a very good selection. Also, the two women working there were friendly.

Wandering around Cowling and Wilcox makes me long to be an arty type, someone with some real…read morecreativity that could put all these chalks and canvases to goo use. Unfortunately I never got much further than the Blue Peter school of glitter glue so a lot of the stock in this shop goes a bit over my head. Sticking to what I can understand, Cowling and Wilcox has a really nice card and gift selection with a bit more personality than anything you'll find in Clinton's. The writing sets are particularly stylish although they can be quite expensive. Similarly, they have a great selection of Moleskin diaries and books but these can cost anything upwards of £15. On the other hand they have a great selection of arty presents for kids which all seem very reasonably priced and a lot of fun too for that matter! I defy anyone to be too old for face-paints. Cowling and Wilcox is a lovely shop which is well worth a look around if you're in need of anything a bit arty or looking for a more personal present for that difficult someone.

I could spend hours in art shops. I always end up spending a fortune. It is just something about…read morenew paper and sketch books and paints. Mindlessly wandering through the store, picking up colourful bottles and textured paper. The mind can run wild with new ideas. Cowling and Wilcox is a huge store situated on Shoreditch High Street. They have everything from portfolios, to canvas, paints, spray paint, paper, printer ink cartridges and much more. A light and airy shop pack fill of supplies all organised clearly on shelves and stands making for easy spending. It is a little on the expensive side, however the quality and quantity of supplies is impressive. Especially if it is a final year portfolio or important presentation. To top it off the staff are very helpful and inspiring if stuck for colour choices or alternative solutions to presentation.

A bit of nudity here, a fifties pin up there, cards replete with Latin poverbs and stocking their…read moreCivil Partnership cards next to their Marriage cards, Scribbler is so right on that it's easy to forget that it's a humble card shop. Hands down the best card shop in the Liverpool Street Station area, Scribbler is the place to go if the recipient of theoretical card has a) taste, b) eyes, or c) all of the above. Quite simply a really great card shop.

This has got to be the tiniest card shop ever. But it's lack of size is well and truly made up by…read moreit's stock: the most amazing range of inappropriate (and appropriate!) greeting cards ever. They do have a huge range of 'proper' cards too, you know, one you could send your Grandmother. But they're not quite as funny! It doesn't matter if you're in the market for a greeting card or not, pop in and spend half an hour laughing your face off!

I have been going to this shop since I was a small child yet every time I go I still find something…read moreabout it that I love. It's a dinky little shop with a bell that rings when a customer arrives. It is one of the smallest shops in the city yet has so much stuff for sale. As the name suggests it sells little gifts, wrapping paper, cards and luxury stationary. It also has some more random things too like mugs, jewellery and joke-shop style gags. It sounds like a bit of a mix-mash of things but if you're in the area it's worth a trip to pick up some lovely cards and gift bags. It always smells like perfume or incense and the ladies working there are very sweet, all older women who are really helpful and pleasant. It's always on my list of places to go on the run up to Christmas and never has the festive queues or elbowing that you get in department stores this time of year.

From the owner: We specialise in niche and quailty greeting cards and gifts, including toiletries (Crabtree &…read moreEvelyn), Jewellery, Steiff Jellycat and Ty Plush, chinaware (Dunoon and others), glassware (LSA), candles (Yankee and others), partyware, assortment of giftwrapping, helium and latex baloons, books and stationary, children's toys and many other contemporary, conventional and quirky gifts.

As a stationers this place certainly has a great range. All the basics: from paper to pencils and…read morepens. And plenty of envelopes. It also sells art supplies, including papers, coloured pencils, paints, brushes, etc. The range isn't as 'fabulous' as you'd get in some of the more specialist art stores, but prices are reasonable. It's always worth dropping in here before you go somewhere further away and possibly more expensive! The staff are nice too, and willing to help you find what you want. Though maybe they are less 'posh' than some art stores, it's surprising what they have squirreled away somewhere if you ask! Perhaps not a shop you'd travel miles to, but the sort of local store you want to support.

Having shopped there on several occasions over the past five years. I an genuinely say the prices…read moreare very reasonable. The staff are always helpful and knowledgable. They know where everything is located within the shop, so if you need something they can direct you straight to the correct place or shelf within the shop. Would highly recommend not only for stationery but for artist supplies.

Do you need a pen? Do you need glue? How about a small box of paper clips? Or paper to clip those…read morepaper clips onto? Look no further than Holloway Stationers. One day I had to go to class at London Met when suddenly I realized I had never purchased a notebook for it. For our written assignment in class, it would have been catastrophic. Holloway Stationers swooped in wearing its Super Man cape to save the day. Turns out I didn't need the notebook and actually didn't take one note the entire semester, but nonetheless the Stationers were there for me! Staffed by some lovely folks, you feel at Stationer home when you enter here. These aren't the type of people who will staple your hand when you aren't looking. They'll staple your heart with joy (still would hurt, perhaps worse). Anyways, definitely hit up Holloway Stationers for your stationary needs around the Lower Holloway area of London. Ignore all competition, Holloway reigns supreme.

Holloway Art and Stationers is a great little store that sells all kinds of art and stationary…read moresupplies. Their main custom comes from London Metropolitan University students as they are in the middle of the Holloway Road campus. Students get a 10% discount which I love. The man who runs the store is very nice, helpful and always up for a good chat. For most of your art and stationary needs, they can provide it at a much cheaper price than some of the Central London shops. If you are unsure about what they may stock, give them a call and they are happy to tell you what they have and what they charge.