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.

If you're looking for somewhere to buy an unusual and beautiful gift for someone then Made-Here is…read morewhere you should head. Offering a huge array of delightful and quirky hand made items from greetings cards to jewellery to toiletries to art, this shop has the added bonus of only stocking goods that are made by local practitioners. Everything in this shop is literally made here in Merseyside. This means that when you browse around this very cool place (and invariably buy something - I challenge you to walk out of there without even a pencil or a keyring) you have the pleasure of looking at truly unique creations that you won't find anywhere on the high street plus an additional slight feeling of smugness knowing that you're supporting local, independent business. One of my favourite things about Made-here is the stunning hand made jewellery and the extremely affordable but often original and limited edition art works. Buy a piece of art from Made-here, pop it on your wall and you'll automatically feel like a art collector. Well, it worked for me. So if you're a fan of the unusual, the individual, the quirky, the cool and the beautiful then get yourself to the Met Quarter and have a look round - you won't be disappointed.

This branch of Clintons Cards has a fancy dress and party shop amalgamated into it which can only…read morebe a good thing as the actual selection of cards here is pretty awful. With row upon row of 'funny' cards filled with nob gag after nob gag there is almost nothing to please your friends or the joker in your family. The traditional cards are so sentimental they border on plain maudlin (I was going to get my Grandma a card from here but I couldn't seem to find one for a grandmother that didn't seem to imply they were about to leave this world for good). The best bet are the plain awful 'value range' with animals stuck with googly eyes, wearing stupid hats at least these are actually a bit so-bad-they're-good funny. The party shop, Pure Party, is full of all the sort of absolutely useless stuff that you had no idea you needed to throw a party until you came here and found it. It's expensive (as you might expect for party supplies which have the lowest value-for-money standing of almost anything you could want to buy) but the staff are cheerful and helpful and the inflatable palm trees did turn a standard BBQ into...well, a BBQ with some inflatable palm trees.

Clinton's Cards in Liverpool One is a place that leaves you with a smile on your face as it is a…read morecelebration of special occasions. I often find these kinds of places to be tacky and annoying as they push needless tat in your face and although there is evidence of that here this place seems to handle itself with a touch more class than some establishments. The prices here are still too high and it is a little annoying to see that establishments can play on special occasions in order to make people part with extortionate amounts of their hard earned money. On the whole this is a well run store which does a better job than many I have seen and this is in no small part due to their plush surroundings in the wonderful Liverpool One.

You're not likely to find a copy of The Protestor's Handbook or The Rough Guide to The Universe in…read moreThe Works. You might however, find something you like if you're into baking, cooking, biographies, art, film or crime. A discount shop specialising in books, stationary and art supplies, The Works sells a wide range of hardback and paperback books at bargain basement prices. Most of the stock looks brand new and they seem to get a lot from certain publishers. The fiction section isn't a patch on Oxfam or any of the bookstores in the area but they do get some decent art, true crime and crime noir, travel, gardening and food and drink books. Last week I spotted copies of The Polaroid Book and Green and Blacks Chocolate Recipes for £7.99 each (RRP £15.99).

The Works is the perfect place to find stationery, small gifts, hobby and children's books because…read moreit is a compact store serving two floors where you can easily seek what you're looking for. It is ideal for kids to browse as items are cheap too, so it's a great place to spend some of their pocket money. I always go here to buy my annual calendar (that's what I remember The Works most for). Other than that, I recall that I used to buy all my art equipment from here for my school art lessons, which was my favourite subject so I ended up buying nearly all their pencils, charcoal, chalk pastilles and paint brushes! Above all, a brilliant shop to spend your time.

Whilst Utility's Bold Street store stocks all kind of stylish furniture from designers like Vitra,…read moreKartell and Philippe Starck, their new Liverpool ONE store is a haven to cute and colourful home decor. Alongside cool coat wracks, clocks, cake stands and Alessi espresso cups, there's playful screenprints, mirrored swallows and Moleskin notebooks. They also have lots of gorgeous gifts including Tatty Devine necklaces, bracelets and cuff links, striped scarves, Nixon watches and Airmail envelope wallets. The thing I fell hook, line and sinker for however, was Rob Ryan's adorable mugs emblazoned with the words Listen To The World and Believe in People.

The best thing about Utility is the range of craft and design for your home and office such as…read morefunctional modern chairs, tables and lamps perfectly suited to contemporary living, so I was a little disappointed to find that the new Utility store was simply more cards and gifts. Clearly just opening a new store with the Liverpool One area to take advantage of the premium space, this branch of Utility feels like a slightly effeminate Menkind - the 'blokey' gadget shop nearby. It has more of the same useless but pretty trinkets and gadgets that you will find in Utility's other gift shop as well as the more useful and humourous cards and wrapping paper. If you are looking for smaller items to accessories your home with such as clocks and kettles then this store does have a limited selection of trendy models and you can also find some watches and jewellery. More of the same as on Bold St but at least the staff are making an extra effort to make a good impression in this new store.

Paperchase is a sound little shop if you want some fancy stationary equipment or birthday…read morecard/wrapping paper. It's kind of like a stylish and upmarket version of the likes of Ryman and Partners. But beware; this all comes with a rather hefty price tag on a lot of the items in store! They sell all sorts of bits and bobs, from really posh Parker roller balls and biros through to nice fountain pens and even posh pencils! They sell files, folders, envelopes, diaries and journals. They also sell sketch pads, ruled pads and notebooks! Their stock looks good and is really good quality, but if you're just looking for a scribble pad then go to home bargain! This place is great to get a gift for a special someone or to treat yourself! I've got my heart set on a travel journal from here that costs as much as two nights in a cheap hostel.. Decisions.. Decisions!

Wizard Card shop locates itself adjacent to Albert Dock's Tate Gallery but it is no ordinary card…read moreshop. In addition to all the typical cards you would expect, they do sell a whole plethora of what appears to be useless junk in my eyes! There are actually some nice cheap gifts such as Beatles merchandise (unofficial) and many arty pictures on sale which may be your ideal souvenir. On the other hand, they have more stranger gifts like growable fake flowers and grow your own boyfriend mini figures that apparently get bigger within 6 weeks when you immerse them in water! There are more naughtier ones too - better left to the imagination. So eccentric and tacky!

It is amazing how much stuff is in this shop. The usual cards, postcards, balloons, wrapping paper…read morewhich you might expect in a card shop. But what forms a much greater part of the shop are a range of gifts, including tshirts, teatowels, mugs, books, wooden wind chimes (a huge selection of these), mirrors and I could go on and on. Besides some of the beatles memorabilia I think the docks could do without this type of cheap tack however it appears to be what people want.

I just adore the Card Factory because of its great variety of cards for every occasion. Their…read moreprices are affordable and they boast a wide range of small gifts and calendars too. Every card I have bought from there does not have that cheap feel about it and I always know the person receiving the card will realise the quality, as well as the imaginative message inside. If there is a particular card you seek, chances are that there will be that ideal one. Staff will be able to kindly assist even when they may appear busy. This particular branch in Bold Street is smaller than the one in St. John's Precinct yet it still sells most items but in less quantity as one would expect. It gets crammed when there are a lot of customers present; every time I walk past this shop, it always seems to be packed with a big queue. Sometimes it does get a bit frustrating when there is only one person at the till serving. The store is also very warm which does feel agitating. Due to these reasons, the other branch would be a better alternative and it's a lot more spacious. Above all, the Card Factory is definitely my usual place to purchase cards.

We had an emergency at our wedding 21 September 2024 where the bouquet got misplaced. Not sure who…read morewas working that morning but they made a beautiful bouquet which was perfect. Thank you so much and highly recommend

This florist is a little bit special - aside from the bog-standard bouquets you get for when you've…read morejust realised it's your mum's birthday, MQ Flowers offers an upgrade: beautifully arranged flowers and ferns in boxes or pots. Now you don't have to worry about your bouquet dripping all over you because these flowers are neatly packaged with no extra effort needed on your behalf. I've received praise and compliments from boyfriends' mothers, for example, when turning up with one of these boxes (and occasionally a bottle of wine to sweeten the deal), and it always softens the blow of meeting the parents for the first time - especially if the mother then scolds the boyfriend for never bringing her flowers! Yeah, that relationship didn't last very long.... Anyway, back to the flowers. As you can see from the pictures, not just flowers but small trees and bushes. And if you don't want to splash out on a flower box (around £15) you can opt for picking out a few singular stems and have them wrapped up all lovely like!