Having lived overseas for six years, the one thing I totally missed when I was away from home was…read moreChristmas. Yes, the C word. I missed everything about the season - the snow (when I was in the desert), the lights, the music, the decorations.... It is getting chilly here in the capital and my heart is longing for the Christmas season. I happened to be wandering along Wellington and discovered Ravensara! Okay, it is not a 100% a Christmas store - but the sight of all those seasonal knick knacks in the window made my heart flutter. Now, if you are not in the mood for St. Nick, Ravensara also features amazing arts and crafts like jewelry and pottery. If you are looking for the perfect gift, you might want to give Ravensara a look.

Wow! What took me so long to come in here? Then when I do, it's mere moments before closing! On the…read moreother hand, maybe that's a good thing, as I can then only do so much damage to the wallet! I can understand why quilters get such a stash too... very tempting, although I don't sew much. This shop has a section for yarn, but the quilting and sewing side has more variety in it. I was tempted by a lovely apron, which is funny because I don't ever wear one! Maybe I would though... if it looked like this, and if I made it myself! They offer some upscale yarns in here that were heaven to sink my hands into. I managed to walk away with "only" 2 skeins, which will be for a project for me; I'm thinking mittens, but we shall see. I recently purchased the new knitting book called "Saltwater Mittens", which contains patterns that are supposed to represent Newfoundland, and I'm just itching to get going on a few of these patterns! They have a knit-night on Wednesday evenings from 5:00 to 8:00. Now that it's on my radar, I will keep this in mind so that I can spend more time looking around. And oh yeah, knitting! LOL I will definitely be back.

From the owner: We supply products and classes to makers of textile arts. We offer fabric, yarns, Bernina Sewing…read moremachines, threads, and other sewing/quilting notions. In our yarn area we feature Canadian Hand Dyers in a variety of yarn bases and weights. We have dyers represented from Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. We still support the quilters among you with fabrics, thread, notions, patterns, classes and Bernina sewing machine sales and service. Longarm quilting services are available from “The English Rose”. What’s new you say? If you are into knitting/crochet, you will be pleased to know that we now carry beautiful materials, patterns, notions and classes for you as well! New stock is arriving daily so check back often.

I found out about this place by accident: in Ravelry they advertised that they will be offering…read moreclasses on making pottery knitting bowls. I can't wait to try this out!!! Will update this review after more than a "virtual visit"!!

I've just finished my second session of wheel throwing pottery classes. I have had 2 different…read moreinstructors and both were great. I definitely recommend trying out their courses. They really care about you and the pieces you make in the class and if you miss a class they will offer a make up as long as it can fit in their schedule. Check them out!

If you are looking for a statement piece. This is a great start…read more The owners of this upscale second hand women clothing boutique are really gifted. They really know their job. Every time I go there I am always amazed by the quality of what they are offering. To me, all the pieces there are interesting. Not necessarily my style, but have great fabric or interesting pattern. That kind of thing. They have very good sales. Which is a great thing because some pieces can be pricey.

This was such a fun experience! A very well stocked boutique, a combination of new items, samples,…read moreand consigned items. Everything was perfectly clean and organized. The owner was wonderful - helpful without being pushy. It was clear she knew every single piece personally and that she cares deeply about her business and customers. I wish I had more time but I still walked out with a beautiful and unique black maxi dress from Turkey and a fantastic Second-hand top. Be sure to stop by at this place if you are in the area!

This place is SO FUN. My mom and I have been going since I was a little kid. They have a lot of…read moreoption to paint and it's super fun to have something homemade. The people who work there are very helpful and they always help you if you want some advice or stencils. I created a GIANT soup mug and it has held up over the years. They also keep your stuff forever literally if you don't come pick it up. We forgot to pick our order up for about 4 months and it was still there. I would not suggest doing this but they didn't get rid of it thankfully. This is a great place to go on a weekend with kids or something! Super fun and a cool spot in Westboro!

My friend and I went here recently. We found the owner extremely helpful and friendly. She is…read morepersonable and has a great sense of humour. The place was full by 11 and we spent several hours there with no issue. She was patient, checked in frequently and gave us very useful tips. Not sure what happened with the other reviewer, but I was much impressed by this place in comparison to its competitor on Bank St. I do recommend doing some research beforehand so you have an idea of what you would like to do, but this studio has silk screens, stencils and other useful tools to get you creating!

Came here to get a frame, I knew the dimensions, and I found it, but then an employee insisted on…read morehelping me, and said I shouldn't buy this if I wasn't sure of the dimensions. I said I was pretty sure, I was willing to buy the frame but she said I should go home and be sure. I have no idea why she wouldn't let me buy the thing, and just risk returning it, which is what I wanted to do. Apparently, they don't want to take my money. So then I came back, I was right about the dimensions all along, but now they didn't have the size I needed anymore. An employee asked to help, i said "NO". Also, they don't give discounts to people who work at the mall, which some places do, so at this point I gave up. I won't come here in the future. I will have to just shop online, I wanted to buy it here, but they didn't make it easy.

turning into a craft store . Always under stocked . If you order something they don't have in…read morestock.. be prepared to wait forever. They have a below average selection of paints, brushes and paper/canvas . They charge for paper bags and don't offer to wrap expensive water colour paper sheets. This why people shop on line! I am switching to on line art supply shopping.

I was excited to get my frames. I accepted the work that was done. I now realise it was sub par. I…read morewould avoid this business. They do not deliver.

This place is great, in 2022. For those that have been in the United States, it has more than Hobby…read moreLobby, Michaels and JOANN. For my Canadians, in this store, I found excessive gouache, which is hard to find, the staff were nice and always helpful and they even have a gallery. It should be the #1 arts and crafts store here in Ottawa.

I feel compelled to write this review for the phenomenal customer service. I recently sent 2…read morearrangements of flowers to my girlfriend in Ottawa (I live in the US) for Valentine's Day. I had ordered a beautiful arrangement but unfortunately she was away for the weekend and wasn't home to receive the second order of flowers. Maggie reached out to me and went above and beyond by delivering a fresh arrangement upon her return at no charge. I wasn't expecting this and I greatly appreciate their efforts and unsolicited consideration. Will definitely call them for future arrangements!

I dropped by to get a bouquet for my wife's birthday. Power was out in parts of the city so she…read morecould only take cash. I had a fixed amount on my person and just said "make something nice for X$". It was beautiful, my wife was really pleased and I felt I got outstanding value. She's very friendly too. Top recommendation. I will go back.