Mosaic is a great wee shop in the centre of town. It has been painted a blue/green colour so you…read morecan't miss it. It is a small shop but it has lots of beautiful items. The shop has a clean fresh feel to it with wooden floors and white walls. They sell a range of gifts as well as items made by local crafters. From Harris Tweed cushions and bags to jewellery and notebooks. They also sell incense and beautifully made candles. This shop is definitely worth going into when visiting Stornoway, it is unlikely you will not find a gift (or three) that you like. The staff are friendly and helpful and if they have sold out of an item you are looking for they will re-order it for you.

A great little independent gift shop relocated to the town centre…read more Bright, clean and airy inside they stock a nice variety of gifts and trinkets aswell as jewellery, glassware and a fab selection of candles, bath bombs and cards. The emphasis is on the more modern, quirky but beatiful items, though sometimes items can be a bit on the pricey side. They fully support local craftspeople and stock a range of handcrafted local items including tweed bags and notebooks. The staff are always friendly and super helpful, well worth a visit.

Events is the place to go when looking for a birthday gift or a gift for many occasions really…read more They have a large range of cards from birthdays to christening to humerous. They have a selection of little birthday cakes and many little trinkets like photo frames and jewellery boxes. Comedy t-shirts are available as well as a range of posters, books, 21st birthday gifts. The shop is small and crammed with items so walking with caution is advisable. The staff are friendly and helpful. An ideal place to come for many things from a joke gift to a graduation present. Highly recommended!

Events is one of the more expensive places to go in the town for a gift or card…read more When I went in last for a birthday card their selection wasn't that great and what was there was expensive for the kind of card they are. They stock a range of little gifts for special birthdays, anniversaries etc from baby girl piggybanks to me to you bears. There's also a small range of jokes, hen & stag night props, fancy dress costumes and so on. Small range of gift paper and bags but do stock some fabuous helium balloons. Staff are always friendly and helpful, worth popping in just to see what they've got.

Toy World on the very outskirts of town is the place to go if you have kids. It is a huge shop with…read moreevery toy you can think of! They also have daily newspaper delivered to them each morning. There is ample parking outside although it is next to the main roundabout entering Stornoway so at busy times it can usually take a while to get out usually a kind driver will let you out! From board games, to costumes, to face paints and toys galore it is the best place in Stornoway to go if you are in need of kids toys. Although it can be very difficult to get kids back out of the shop!

Toy World Stornoway is the only dedicated toy shop in the town, and now that Woolworths has closed…read moreit's the main place to buy toys, though some are a bit on the expensive side. Situated inbetween the Western Isles hospital and one of the busiest roundabouts in town there's ample parking space. Inside the shop itself is quite gloomy feeling as there aren't many windows but it's packed full of toys and games for all ages. Lots of baby and pre-school toys and activities, Lego, Cars, Jigsaws, Barbie, Board Games, Paints & Crafts, TV spin off toys and lots more. There's also a small selection of sweets and daily newspapers and the staff are always willing to help. Also in the building are a Bike Shop whth lots of cycling accessories and up the stairs is nursery World with prams, cots, bedding and lots of other baby and nursery items. Great shop to take the kids as there are small value items theres too.

Maclean, Mair Nicolson and Co, more commonly known as Nicolson's to locals is one of two newsagents…read morefound in the centre of town. They are the smaller of the two but stock much more magazines. They have an entire wall filled with magazines of all kinds music, fashion, cars, knitting, pregnancy etc. I've found I can usually find the magazine I'm looking for here when the other newsagents doesn't stock it. They also have the daily newspapers. They also have shelves full of puzzle books like sudoku and crosswords, local magazines from Comunn Eachdraidh's, fios etc. To the back of the shop is a section for stationary, cards, gift wrap and pens. An added bonus since Woolies closed down. They have a selection of confectionary, soft drinks and a fridge with sandwiches as well. So many times when you go in here for a paper you come out with much more!

Nicolsons is a great little local newsagents…read more They stock a wide variety of magazines and newspapers from national to local along with soft drinks, filled rolls and sandwiches, sweets and tobacco. You can order your newspapers and magazines here to make sure you get them everyday. They also have a great selection of stationary, party stuff like balloons and crepe paper, diaries and notebooks and a fab selection of greetings cards at very reasonable prices. Staff are always very helpful and friendly. The only downside to the shop is that it's quite small so can sometimes feel a tad claustrophobic

Murdo Macleans is located smack bang in the centre of town. It has 2 floors the downstairs floor is…read moremy favourite part. It is an ideal place to come when looking for a gift for weddings or anniversaries or even just for a birthday. The floor is full of household items like plates, cups, wine glasses and much more. To the back is a section of materials and sewing items. Lots of organza, silk and other linings as well as thread, ribbons and needles. The staff here are friendly and helpful and wrap all items well. Gift wrap is also available for an added cost. Upstairs is the clothes, I personally never shop here but it is popular with locals. They have a large range of men and women's clothes and shoes. I find them a bit overpriced and dated but it is worth a look anyway as you never know what you may find!

Murdo Maclean's is a great local shop stocking a massive range of goods…read more Right in the centre of town there's a large downstairs area the front filled with ornaments, cookwear, glasses, mirrors, clocks, cutlery sets - lots of great gift ideas or just to treat yourself. In the back downstairs has a large range of soft furnishings and a nice selection of fabrics (The only place to buy fabrics off the bolt on the island) and a nice selection of ribbons, trims and associated sewing supplies. Staff are always super friendly and helpful and always make sure your purchases are well protected. Upstairs is split levels, in the middle is the shoe section, they sometimes have nice shoes at a very reasonable price, but others can be on the more expensive side, you just have too know what to look for. Staff are trained to measure feet and are always helpful when trying on footwear. There's also a mens section which mostly stocks posh clothes, work shirts, suits etc but has a small selection of casualwear too. There's a nice selection of Posh womens hats and bags (Think weddings and church) and a range of womens wear and underwear which is mostly suited to the more mature lady but sometimes you can find a great modern young person piece. Staff are always helpful and you can nearly always find something to suit your budget.

Morven Gallery, situated 20 minutes by car from Stornoway, is a great gallery. Open from Easter…read moreuntil October, they showcase several art exhibits by well known artists over the summer months. The gallery is spacious, giving enough room to walk around without bumping into others whilst admiring the many paintings and sculptures. The space is well lit an important factor in a gallery! It's a great place to go for a day out. Not only can you peruse the gallery, they have a gift shop with many items made from local craft producers and also a café which provides fresh tea, coffee and home baking. The owners are very friendly, helpful and welcoming!

The Hebridean Hobby Shop opened recently and is proving to be a much valued shop. It is the only…read morededicated shop to hobbies such as painting, crafts, jewellery making and such. It is a small shop filled with crafting items so you need to walk around carefully watching your bag does not hit into the shelves. It is about time we got a dedicated hobby shop but the one bad thing is that they are quite expensive. Certainly not a place to go for all your crafting needs if you are on a budget! You are able to walk there from the town centre although there is usually a space or two outside for parking.

The only dedicated hobby & craft shop on the Island is just a couple of minutes walk from the town…read morecentre carpark, which is good as though there is street parking it's usually difficult to nab a free space. They stock a wide range of goods from paper and card supplies, to stamping, knitting, glass painting, model building, beer brewing kits and so on. The shop itself is quite small and packed full of things but though the range of goods is wide they tend to only stock a small selection of goods in each category. Unfortunately too they're rather expensive so unless I'm in desperate need for something I usually just use the internet which is a shame really as the staff are always friendly and helpful. Worth a browse around anyway, you might find out about a new hobby you'd like to try!

Blythswood book shop is a very small bookshop located just off the main street in Stornoway. It is…read moreat the top of a cobbled street (along from the great chip shop). It is small but full of books of all varieties. I really like coming to this shop. It is quite amazing what you can find in there! Sometimes relatively recent books to older book you have always wanted to read but struggled to find a copy of! Their books are affordable and it's not uncommon to leave with an arm full. There is usually only one member of staff on when you go in as it's a pretty quiet shop but he/she is friendly and often up for a yarn when you go in. If visiting it cold be worth a look to see what gem you may find!