I visited Doodlebug during a trip to Cwmbran for some Christmas shopping and I just didn't want to…read moreleave! Doodlebug is a tiny gift shop filled with fun knick knacks that anyone can love. Value: The most surprising part about this store. Usually, whenever I come across a small independent gift shop the prices are very dear. However, Doodlebug's merchandise is relatively reasonably priced and of great quality as well. Variety: There's loads of goodies you can get from Doodlebug. I bought cute scented erasers for my little cousins. Essentially, a visit here will probably leave you wishing you were rich to buy everything. From adorable money banks, hilarious cards, to adorable stationary. If you're all out of gift ideas this Christmas, there might be something at Doodlebug to inspire you. Customer Service: The downside. The staff here had anything BUT holiday cheer and weren't very welcoming. When I went to the counter with my purchases they were not friendly at all. Just told me the price and then turned around to talk to each other. I mean I know retail jobs suck, but at least PRETEND like you have some holiday cheer. --- Overall, I quite like Doodlebug for its reasonably priced and adorable merchandise. However, the staff really need to step up their game because they don't exactly make me want to come back.

From the owner: Contemporary cards & gifts with a nostalgic twist. Independent store at Cwmbran Centre…read more#doodlebugshop

Absolutely awful job done on the framing of an oil painting that was a gift from my daughter and…read morehubby from their honeymoon. I had spent 10 minutes 3 weeks before describing what I wanted and how I wanted the painting to look, after framing. They made an absolute pig's breakfast of the job and had actually stapled the edges of the oil painting around the wooden frame, taking out 1/2" each side and 1" top and bottom. The painting was small and of course spoilt the whole view of what the artist had done. I complained bitterly and the obnoxious little man who owns the place stated I did not know what I was talking about. After emphasising most strongly that as a customer I had the right to ask for my painting to have part of the white border visible so that you could see everything that the artist had painted. He seemed to disagree, showed off like a child and I refused, point blank, to pay a penny. He took off the frame and high-tailed himself off to his office. I was most upset as the actual picture that the artist painted is stapled, as I said, around the side of the frame and is not on view. I do not recommend ANYONE to take an oil painting there to be framed.

A great store to pick up bargains especially novels. I've been quite surprised as sometimes you can…read morepick up sensational bargain novels. I've even found a few 1st editions here - didn't realise that until I got home with my bargains! Their cards are great value especially the ones with no message - the notecards. It's so easy to print your own message in them & at often £1 for 10 cards - one heck of a lot less expensive than buying ready made cards - often they look better too! I usually pop into the Works & invariably come out of there pleased with my purchases. I REALLY should go to the library more often - could save me a fortune!

Not a bad book shop. The are at the cheaper end of the market, and don't pretend to be anything…read moreelse, which means that you can pick up a bargain novel, documentary or biography. They also sell stationery, and a few musical instruments and some art supplies, and a lot of children's books. You can also pick up seasonal items such as Christmas Cards, Easter Gifts and Halloween Bits. They do not stock a full range of book titles though as you would find in for example borders, or water stones, so if you are looking for a specialist or particular book, you would probably be better off going somewhere else.

Fantastic selection of Fancy Dress costumes, accessories,wigs, hats.Wales souvenirs,traditional…read morewelsh costumes, rugby shirts and supporters accessories

Who doesn't love shopping for stationary? Seriously…read more Back when I was a little girl going to school, it was the highlight of my year - the back-to -school shopping feel of purchasing fresh binders, pens, notebooks, etc. Unfortunately now as an adult, you have very little reason to purchase stationary supplies nowadays. However, on the rare occasion that you need to increase your stash, I'm quite happy with heading over to Ryman Stationary to get the job done. Location: As with everything else in Cwmbran Shopping Centre, the location is very convenient - near other shops as well as dining facilities so doing your shopping isn't a complete chore and can make for a fun day's outing. Atmosphere: One downside of this place. I find it to be a bit dense, cramped, and cluttered. The shop is very small, so if more than a handful of people are inside browsing at once, be prepared to feel a bit claustrophobic. However, they do fit a lot in this shop to pack in as much variety as possible, which isn't too bad. I just wish the store was a bit bigger is all. Variety: Like I said, for the size of the shop they have great variety. This store has an incredible selection of pens as well as handheld calculators. Pricing wise, I would say you can probably get better from large department stores. I probably would explore other options, but Ryman is most definitely not bad either.