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 ;-)

If you are familiar with hip card shops, you won't be surprised or disappointed by Office Dog…read more This shop had 50's retro cards with snarky sayings, a collection of Edward Monkton stuff, and those candles with gooey bits. One thing I did notice of interest was these strange wellie boats in all different designs including animal print. I thought they just came in green! See how fashion forward I am! I want to also say the prices are fair to low here. You won't pay more than 4 pounds for an Edward Monkton gift bag.

So disappointing that the sales assistant closed the doors infront of my face on the dot of 16.30…read moreso that i did not get the items i needed. In addition, for some reason the muswell hill shop does not do click and collect so i will have to go in and try and find what i need. I agree with another reviewer, the items for sale are not the most exciting, i would like to see more colourful diaries and notebooks.

I think I have a bit of a problem. I'm addicted to stationery…read more Diaries are dreamy. Pens are my pleasure. Staplers are sexy. Folders make me frisky. Ok, I'm getting a little carried away. I popped into Rymans as I needed some pages for my beautiful, trusty, leather-bound Filofax and was seduced by all of the notebooks, highlighters, post-its, coloured paper, the wall of pens, even all of the desktop accessories at the back! Rymans is a little boring in that it has a lot of basic things in boring colours. Me? I'm drawn to colourful things and notebooks with pretty covers. Anyway, the nearby WH Smith is never very well stocked and this is a handy Rymans for some basic stationery bits and bobs. I would always choose Paperchase over it for something special though.

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.

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.

The Only Place for Pictures sells so much more than posters. I have yet to find another store that…read moresold such a wide variety of picture frames. I was almost overwhelmed at the selection and quality. The store also sells beautiful cards, books, mugs and oh yeah pictures. What I like the most about the shop is that they will frame pictures you bring in and when I asked about pricing they seemed to be pretty reasonable. In addition the store does carry some incredible pictures, including one of Audrey Hepburn that I had not seen before and I'm a huge fan! This is a great shop to find a gift for someone who likes interesting and clever gifts.

This is where I come to get my posters of the plays shown at the Almeida framed. I am not going to…read morepretend that framing these posters is difficult - I could probably do the job myself if I thought about it. However, the results are great and (if you are not invited to chez moi) can also be viewed at the Almeida (who also utilise the same service). I am not sure what they would be like if given a more complicated task. Other than framing, the shop sells a variety of posters, pictures, calenders, small gifts and cards. I am a particular fan of the cards which are more unusual than standard Clintons fare.

Such a cute store! I got lost looking at all the stuff they had to offer, from party supplies to…read moregiant posters. They had really good deals and really unique cards (I got two since my friends had just had their birthday's.) I definitely recommend this store for their cute, different products. If you're from out of the country like I am, they have really good, unique souvenirs, too!

This Paperchase store is a really large store and is one of three of the brand's flagship stores,…read morealongside my local store in Manchester and a branch in Glasgow. The location of this store is decent, it is on Tottenham Court Road and is basically right next to Argos, and opposite Superdrug and Natwest (or at least a few minutes walk away on the other side of the road) This store is quite large, but the selection of stock is merely average for a store of its size, even compared to other Paperchase stores, I didn't notice a lot of cool items which they didn't sell in other stores, for example in terms of lever arch folders, they all seemed the same with nothing new compared to other flagship stores such as Manchester, and more smaller stores such as Newcastle or Liverpool. The store is over three floors, there is a bookshop and Tinderbox Coffee Shop on the first floor and a Crafts / Magazine floor on the Second. The staff around the store didn't seem too friendly either. This store overall was quite impressive in terms of size but for everything else, it was just average. I'm struggling here, although the size of the store is impressive I can't help but feel some aspects with the feel of the store, the service not being great, the level of products not being as good as one would expect from the size of the store, and the unwelcoming nature as you enter the store, I sadly feel it deserves just two-stars.

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.

Ultimate Craft is great as you will find here anything that you might need for your handicraft…read moreprojects: from simple glue, to stationary, knitting supplies, yarn, beads...seriously anything. What I like about Ultimate Craft is that they offer solid and good quality goods without charging premium prices. By no means, is this a place where they are trying to compete with the yuppie/hipster places on nearby Stoke Newington Church Street. I love coming here as I know that they carry what I need for my current handicraft project.

I feel torn about this place. As I am such a regular client it doesn't feel right to mark it with…read morejust 3 stars and yet the high prices and mediocre service do not encourage me to add a 4th. You can find a whole load of crafts supplies in this shop; it's the ideal place for kiddies supplies or costume materials if you live in Stoke Newington. However if you are willing to shop outside of this area you're better off going to a cheaper store as prices really are very high for low to standard quality supplies. Having said that, my work involves a lot of crafty projects and because I don't have time to source elsewhere I buy from here on a monthly basis. Unfortunately the staff are not interested in looking after their loyal clients and would not even consider a discount when I was buying hundreds of pounds worth of materials. I also had issues with dirty fabric I was told would be fine after a wash... Again, not a commercial effort in sight. In a nutshell, this shop has a wide range of products but is expensive and offers poor customer service.