I have no idea what a Zebrit is. Nor does Google, and Google knows everything. So kudos must go to…read morethe owners of this store (which sells, amongst other things, toys, cards, arts and crafts materials, and fancy dress) for naming a store after an animal that doesn't exist. It exemplifies the shameless childishness and wackiness of this store as a whole. Come here with your children to buy them all manner of unique toys, or on your own to admit to the fact that you never really grew up. Indulge your most childish desires as you wander round with a stupid grin on your face, buying bouncy balls, silly string and water-bombs. Then feel like an idiot when you meet your friends and they ask you what's in the bag.

I came here to pick up a few bits for my sketchbook after hearing about it from a friend who's…read morepretty arty. I can't say I found anything completely inspiring or unusual but the basics of the kit you need were there. Brushes, Pencils, Card, Crafty bits and bobs....etc. The shop is reasonably priced and does have some nice quality materials.

Headingley don't have many arts and craft focussed shops around, but tucked up a back road,…read moreDisdale's is a resource for the artier of Headingley's residents. It is a traditional arts and crafts shops, selling quality materials in the way of fine paint brushes, drawing pencils of many kinds, quality paper meant for certain tasks etc. As I say in many other of my reviews, I prefer a more creative way of finding imaginative materials in unexpected places, rather than conforming to these sorts of traditional (overpriced) shops, but for what it is, it is a great thing to have in Headingley, away from the busy pub ridden road.

I visited Art of Gold whilst I was strolling around the shops on a lazy day and was quite amazed at…read morewhat they did. Amongst the paintings and art prints was a Jewellery section. After speaking to the lady in the shop, I found that her son designs and makes his own jewellery in a workshop based inside the shop. he'd trained in Italy for around 5 years before he came back to England to start his own business. All of the jewellery is bespoke and 18 carat. Amongst other jewellery designers, you will find the likes of; Deborah Kelly, Shona Carnegie, Iain Henderson & Lora Leedham. The shop also intends to stock Pandora in the future which I suspect will be extremely popular with the younger crowd. The lady who runs the shop is polite and passionate about the work they display and spent ages chatting over the background behind the art to me. Go speak her, she's got some very funny stories to tell!

I can tell you one thing that I really didn't expect - to find an excellent art gallery within the…read moreheart of Horsforth. It came as no surprise, to me, to find an art gallery in Otley and an art gallery in Leeds city centre - but Horsforth? What a fabulous surprise! So what do they have on offer? A range of arts, in different media and styles, jewellery and gift cards. The limited edition gift cards are of a particularly high quality, not the kind of thing you'll find anywhere else, and just that little bit more expensive - but worth the gesture in my opinion! The jewellery on offer is beautifully made, contemporary and appeared to me to be inspired by the natural world (lots of leafy shapes and such). A lot of the pendents seemed to be detailed in such a way that gave the impression it was pressed silver and certainly hand made. The artwork on show was a fantastic range too. There were some 'fusion glass' pieces which appeared to be photographs detailed with a sort of embossed piece of glass over the top, bringing out details like traffic lights and such. They were particularly interesting. As well as that there were some amazingly simplistic and sometimes textured sunset scenes by Barker, some amusing and poignant pieces by Todd White, some beautiful oriental ink nude prints by Qu Lei Lei (which were only £20!) and my absolute favourite (and stupidly, I did not note the artist) a sunburstingly orange horizon scene with a sort of marbled gold leaf effect and central silhouetted tree. I found the art work varied, challenging, decorative and inspiring. The lady who owned/managed the gallery was polite and thankfully did not try to go in for the hard sell either, which was much appreciated. I can imagine it is frustrating for them to receive browser upon browser, but I am sure if I ever manage to save I will be visiting this place for a central piece! Well worth the visit.