Opulent Design is another of those quaint delights within Ilkley. It seems mostly to be a gift…read moreshop, although home wares feature heavily too. Inside it is literally like a magpie's dream, immediately to the left as you enter the door is a glass cabinet area filled with shiny - beautiful jewellery, necklaces, earrings and such, which had the air of an indie designer. The shop is literally packed with cabinets and tables of goodies, I was actually worried about knocking things over with my bag! As well jewellery there were games, pottery items, ceramics, wicker baskets, ornaments and all sorts of knick-knacks and exciting little bits. My favourite items worthy of noting were the little cloth owl and kitty purses, by 'Cotton Zoo' and a cat's bum tea-towel holder (honestly, that's what it is!) which, curiously, won 'gift of the year'! A seriously exciting and cute shop, well worth a peek.

As I walked into this shop I made a bit of a din by jangling all the wind chimes that hung above my…read morehead at the front of the shop. Opulent Designs is quite large for a gift shop and sells a strange but delightful mishmash of gifts, jewelry, cards and novelty items. The front is very colourful and clearly geared towards children with one wall full of toys. There is a lively feel to the place - The Beachboys were playing as I was browsing. I was intrigued by the table holding only 'The Beano' themed things, from note books to coasters to thermos flasks, having never seen anything quite like it. Further into the shop there is an area selling cosmetic gifts like little bath bombs in the shape of cakes and ice cream shower cream, in ice cream flavors - mint, vanilla and chocolate! There is also a wide range of jewelry and some smart silver picture frames on offer so Opulent Designs covers most bases when it comes to gift ideas from children to your Granny to your friend that is getting married and has things for all budgets!

I took my Mum here recently and she adored it! On second glance, I realised that I too was finding…read moretrinkets and treats galore in every corner. Whilst it's your standard gift shop, housing all kinds of clocks, jewellery, scented candles, and the like, the items inside are actually pretty unique and interesting. I remember being particularly enamoured of their clocks, so perhaps enough hints will get me one for Christmas... ! The main event on this occasion was the jewellery. My Mum needed to pick up some gifts for the girls at work and so spent a good deal of time deciding over a few of the items that were artfully displayed on this lovely fake tree. I ended up chatting with the lady about the tree and she gave me some suggestions of where to find one, as this would solve a myriad of problems in storing my many necklaces and earrings! In the end Mum opted for two of the bracelets, sort of chunky gemstone and shiny beaded ones, and she was really pleased. The lovely lady was really patient with us whilst we mulled over the options and all in all it was a really pleasant shopping experience. One to watch for Christmas goodies!

Ilkley, darling, has a higher caliber of people, I am told, therefore their gift shops meet the…read moreneeds of these - the middle aged, the higher-middle class and the higher-earning. Bluebell Gifts is one of a few gift shops in Ilkley, a nicer shop than anything you will find towards the city of Leeds, even in the Victoria Quarter or Chapel Allerton. It sells a large range of gifts that would come under the home-ware category. Many of these are of a designer and novelty kind. There are Alessi corkscrews and salt shakers, in the shape of people; Black Ginger chopping boards in silhouettes of cats; Cath Kidston and Emma Bridgewater china that you have probably seen in someone's kitchen at some point. All of this is luxury and would make a good gift for any home-owner. They also sell scented candles, soft toys, wedding gifts, and amazingly coloured tea pot and tea cup clocks. I loved these and would have impulse-bought one if they weren't about £50!

My friend and I were going for a wee jaunt in Rawdon and we came across this delightful shop. She…read morehad just passed her driving test so I suggested a drive out to a random Leeds town and we decided to visit Rawdon - it was a total off the cuff find! The layout of the shop is most curious, being on the corner of the street almost, the shop itself opens out on the the street at both sides! This was a little disorientating from the inside, but I soon cottoned on. From one entrance you were met with a plethora of beautiful glass ware, hand made delightful wine glasses, little trinkets and key rings, beautiful cardigans, home ware tea sets and other gorgeous gift items. My favourite of this room was a lovely Indian (?) style lamp shade like a metal framed globe with different coloured gems which made up the body of it. At £55 I decided to think on it, but it was beautiful. Upstairs was a gallery of different floral prints, material prints and other really interesting art works. In the other room through to the other side of the street was a lovely hand made card section (situated in the through-fare) and then a gorgeous jewellery and toy section where we were greeted by a lovely sales lady. The shop is beautifully laid out, with exquisite and imaginative gift items from all kinds of indie designers and crafters, and it was most definitely worth stopping by. Prices range with some sale pieces, but expect to take a while as it is mesmerising!

This is a really lovely gift shop and emporium of beautiful things!…read more It is just by Rawdon Traffic lights so really easy to find. The shop stocks lots of lovely, unusual gift items for a variety of budgets. It is a wonderful place to go in for a browse around (no doubt you will find something you love) or to look for a special present. This shop is always my first port of call when looking for a mother's day present, or gifts for my other female relatives. Staff are happy to help and quick to come up with helpful suggestions if you are struggling for ideas. It can be a little expensive, but makes up for this with the convenience of it's location

Attractive gift shop with a nice silver jewellery, gifts & cards. Will gift wrap for you which is…read morerather nice

Brilliant little store! Full of vintage odds and ends from the early 1900s. Signs, soap, cuff…read morelinks, books, posters, bags, cups, candy, cards, ornaments, etc etc etc. Perfect shop for fans of old-school!

Highly recommend great gifts and lace friendly staff.read more

What a wonderful little shop lots of gift ideas which certainly helped me choose a valentine's day…read morepresent for my wife.

What a delightful establishment this is! I might even go as far as to say delectable!…read more Nook & Cranny stocks a veritable cornucopia of gorgeous gifts, stationery and homewares, all utterly charming. The first thing that caught my eye (and drew me in from my journey up Bold Street) were the beautiful Cable & Cotton fairy lights displayed in the window - these stunning textured, multi coloured, orb fairy lights are just magical and certainly set the scene for the rest of the shop. There is so much to gaze or chuckle at and drool over in Nook & Cranny that I just wouldn't know where to start telling you all about it but other highlights include the bear paw oven mitts, the 'My Cuppa Tea' colour matching guide mug and the Knit Your Own Zoo kit. I was in seventh heaven. Imagine my delight when I discovered that the back of the shop (which used to be storage space) has now been turned into a cosy little cafe called Quills & Coffee. Sadly I couldn't stay to sample any of the beautiful looking cakes but I vowed there and then to visit again as soon as possible. Yet more delight...Nook & Cranny and Quills & Coffee put on occasional film screenings at the back of the store!! The next one is American Beauty on Saturday 28th March at 7pm - tickets are £10 and include free drinks and pizza and available from www.nookandcrannyshop.co.uk. Magic

This is a fantastic independent biz that I ventured into when in Liverpool a couple of weeks back…read more We actually held an event in the back part of the business and I didn't realise it existed until Liverpool CA Gemma A introduced me to it - but the space is really cavernous and it was great to temporarily see Quills coffee set up in the back. Very very cool cards and gifts throughout, I was especially impressed with the awesome range of band music posters in the back - everything from Queens of the stone age to classic hiphop ones - really worth a look if you're nearby and fancy some colourful artwork to brighten up your walls. Very friendly staff, they hopefully will do well in this prime location in Liverpool.

Incredible art store. I was blown away by how well stocked the store is. I loved the top floor with…read morecool crafts and unique art gifts to purchase. The second floor had every art supplies I could dream of, and the bottom floor was an amazing selection of paper and canvas. Truly a great art store for all

Incredible place, but dangerous at the same time as you could easily spend a lot of money in here!…read more The first time I popped in was when I needed a few items for an event and I thought I'd gamble on Fred Aldous having the stuff I needed - they did! Anything you need for arts & craft or decorations they have it and with some good choice! I've now been in a few times when I need to pick up bits and bobs or essentials for work i.e. scissors etc. Loads of interesting present and gift ideas in here as well so if you're out and about birthday shopping or it's coming up to christmas - I'd say Fred Aldous is a great option with some similar style stuff to Oklahoma! Most of the stuff here is well priced and I've always been fairly surprised that my total wasn't higher when purchasing as I think the interior and style gives off an expensive vibe but really it's good value for money! A short simple review for a top NQ shop!

This is actually one of my favourite gift shops, on parr with favourites in Warwick, Brewood,…read moreBridgnorth and Middlewich- I like eclectic shops that are mazes, the host other shops within them. There's a lovely cafe in the back, and a real range of things- from quality homewares, to clothes, and children's toys- with a really nice selection of cards and wrap too. I do like coming here on the run up to Christmas, as there are always lovely gifts and really beautiful decorations. It has been reduced in size slightly, but it's still a well tetris-ed expanse. I would be very shocked if you didnt find something you loved.

This has been reduced in size tremendously, I suppose rents must be high. It takes up about half…read morethe space it used to, and most of the first floor is a good restaurant that I'd review if I could remember the name. Downstairs is mainly great kids toys, gifts, fancy goods and such, but at the back now is a very nice delicatessen/fancy food place, that does good chocolates, olives and the like. There are two nice women's clothes boutiques in the other half of the old shop. In fact Yarm as a whole has had a boom in little fancy boutiques in recent years. Perhaps this explains why Strickland and Holt has had to reduce its size. Shame Stockton couldn't head in that direction too. Or is it possible to fit in another pound shop?