I absolutely love 'In...'. If you're not careful you may miss it but if you work your way through…read moreall the stalls in Spitalfields you'll fihnd this gorgeous home furnishings shop. They have beautiful furniture (dinning room tabels, chairs, cabinets and shelving) all of which have great individual style. My favourite items in here are the trinkets and decor. They have beautiful bird cages for decor that you can put candles in as well as beautiful lighting and ornaments. It's a brilliant place if you're looking for gifts as they have stuff for men, women and children. The prices are reasonable and the staff are great.

I love this unique shop. They sell mainly quirky home decor items, as well as a small selection of…read morebooks (pop culture, fashion etc), jewellery, cards and gifts. It's a great place to head for an unusual gift or for someone hard to buy for. A lot of the stuff is a bit pricey but you can tell it's good quality. I'll definitely be popping in here when I move house to get some of the kitsch lighting and kitchenware they stock.

So this was a wonderful surprise. Every block is filled with some sort of ethnic or cultural gem,…read morenot to mention all the breathtaking street art and wall graffiti that is there to discover. There's a market that happens only on Sundays til 4pm, so try to go then, but even when it's not happening, Brick Lane is such an adventure to walk through. It has a serious Brooklyn vibe - thank you, hipsters of the world. If you're at all into vintage clothes, arts, jewelry, maps, antiques, home decor, and bric-a-brac, this is the mecca for it. I've never seen this much vintage merchandise in one location! Make sure to check out the underground vintage market halfway through the street, because if you're into shopping at all, you'll find tons of second-hand designer clothing and accessories. The food options literally left my jaw dropped, and the same will happen to your Instagram followers. The crux of it is geared towards Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisines and dollar stores (hence the unofficial nickname, Curry Lane), but you can find all sorts of shops on the street, like chocolatiers, donuts, a world-famous cereal bar, Lithuanian food, Ethiopian food, Middle Eastern food, and more. There is so much personality and eclectic energy to Brick Lane - I can't recommend it enough that you add it to your itinerary!

pretty cool slept on area? similar vibes to kensington (toronto). tons of food optionsread more

A unique gift shop a la Magma meets Design Museum. The stock…read moreconsists of the wittiest cards, toys, home accessories, books, games, jewellery... and most importantly of those crazy arty 'things.' (i.e. plastic egg hatching a basil plant)

This place has a unique selection of interesting and kitschy gifts. They even threw in a miniature…read morerubber ducky at my request. Can't wait to see what they have next time I visit.

This store is middle age signed, sealed and delivered in one room. I don't even know what half the…read morestuff they sell is, but I found myself, literally minutes away from Christmas, neck deep in a credit crunch and scrabbling around trying to buy an £18 colander. They do sell lots of lovely house hold bits and bobs but until I have a house, Labrador and a child called Mimi Fifi Orchid Clooney (a girl can dream) I wont be buying anything from here. It's a personal thing, possibly connected to being a huge consumerist ass hole whilst having a huge problem with consumerism. For me, buying a £300 pair of shoes is wrong but necessary, where as buying two plain white enamel breakfast bowls for £16 seems ridiculous. I am aware that this statement is ridiculous in itself, in fact, I just don't want to talk about it anymore. I will say though, that this shop is lovely, but I prefer Ikea.

I've been meaning to visit Labour and Wait ever since I read an article sometime ago in The…read moreGuardian profiling couples who had started up new and innovative businesses in the East End, and the L&W concept really struck a cord. You can be assured the new shop in Redchurch Street sells the same functional products for the kitchen, home and garden as the existing shop on Cheshire St, however I believe L&W are moving from Cheshire St to Redchurch St in the not-too-distant future. For too long, consumers have been lulled into a false sense of security with large, "convenient" hardware stores such as Homebase and B&Q etc. who unfortunately have, over the years got away with cheap replicas of good quality homeware goods. L&W moves away from this methodolgy and focuses fully on sustainable goods made in enamel, stainless steel and wood, rather than plastic and throw-away alternatives. The shop is minimalist in style, but all the products are displayed in a creative and alternative way, which I'd liken a little to the layout of Muji stores. As most shoppers today, I am mindful of what I buy having an effect on our environment and planet, but love L&W's ethos. I especially love the enamel kitchen sets, glass jugs, butter dishes and stainless steel buckets and watering cans. True classics! Now, don't get me wrong, you can't get anywhere near the vast selection (though often poor and low quality) of hardware and homeware products from L&W that you get in chain hardware stores, but what you do get (as the blackboard outside the shop and web home page state!) is "high quality, traditional goods for the home", with the added bonus of browsing a low-tech shop and experiencing a low stress retail experience. Now that has to be worth a trip to Shoreditch any day of the week!

Came by the other day and it was like walking into a candy store! Marks and Spencer is located by…read morethe Moorgate underground and is walking distance from Shoreditch. There is staff by the entrance in a M&S jumper with a body worn camera and headset. The basement level is a food hall with a wide variety of premium food products, fruit, vegetables, pre-cooked meals, ready to eat meals, ready to cook meals! They also had a wide variety of premium biscuits, chocolates, sandwiches, and beverages including wine! They had some pretty high end towels that were 50% off too! Upper level had an assortment of clothes for men. Their in-house cologne was quite nice! 2 bottles for 25!

Too bad location is closing....found great men's clothing, food area too busy for me, but massive…read moreselection

To say I am a fan is actually a wild understatement…read more I couldn't be MORE of a fan of this place if I tried. The entire experience has been nothing short of absolutely incredible, professional, cool and collected. This is as indie as it gets folks. A beautiful shop in Shoreditch run by two artists (Richard & Robin) with a real passion for not only reclaimed vintage pieces and sustainable function, but in welding these elements together to create beauty. They do custom work as well, are extremely skilled with iron (check out the fixtures in the store -- and they can customise anything), and a keen eye for eccentric pieces. Now, I know what you are thinking: "must cost a fortune." AND, you'd be wrong. I was shocked too at how reasonably priced their pieces are. We purchased a coffee table (an old kindergarten school table) for 45, a storage trug for 45 and the crown jewel: a salvaged steel table (HEAVY) with custom built wood slat top for 475. Compare that to the junk you can get on Tottenham Court Road, no contest. Better looking, cooler, independent business and...cheaper. What's the risk!? None! Richard and Robin delivered it to my home today (obviously this costs a bit extra) and managed to get this very heavy and slightly awkward shaped table into my kitchen. I don't even really know how they did it...but they did so and with grace. Barely a nick on a wall...if it had been me, the whole building would've been banged up after that job. They were polite, professional, and genuinely so cool to work with. We'll be coming back, signing up for the mailing list and shouting it from the rooftops...I also love their typewriter keychains and they have 2 old Stik (graffiti artist) doors that are on sale (a bit worn), that I so wish I could buy. My roommate is not in agreement, but please...go own an original! (orange background). Their website is also a good resource -- they have almost everything listed on there. *accepts credit cards. *open Sundays. Super fan girl, right here.

This place is a real hidden gem... tucked away in Shoreditch. They make their own furniture out of…read morereclaimed items and seem to stay as true to their typewrite theme as possible... key chains, etc. I found this place while I was wondering around my neighborhood and soon came back to look at furniture. Many of their pieces are made of steel & old growth wood and they have a gritty industrial feel to them. Richard, the co-owner was gracious on each of my visits and explained enough about the pieces to give me a quick anecdote if i needed to boast to my friends (this one was in vogue uk, this one is made from floorboards, etc). What is great though, is how well these pieces are priced. I love looking for furniture like this and tables like these can go for thousands, instead you get them for hundreds. Very good deal at the price point. They also offer delivery and can build custom pieces. The typewriter may be obsolete, but if Richard & co can keep finding, making and selling furniture at such realistic price points, I think Type will be around for a while... ...maybe long enough to be in business when we all are using typewriters again... trust me.. I watch enough scifi to know that big changes are coming

Oh, SCP East. Enter…read morethe doors to this stylish lair on Curtain Road...waft dreamily around the luxuriously funky fabrics, tangibly tempting textiles and handmade pretty pieces of pomp and circumstance. The prices are surely not for the faint of heart. Rather, SCP East is a place in which you select an "anchor." Something by which the rest of your home rotates and revolves. An eye-catching pillow. A hand stitched throw. A chair your grandchildren will covet in 50 years. It's surely a splurge, but one that will not be regretful. I popped in on a chilly Sunday to find a bustling shop full of revelers. There's quite a few gifts to be had as well, so if you are looking for that "hard to find" special someone, take a peek in here and see if there might be something you never thought of. As for home decor, SCP East will inspire. A well-curated selection appealing to the upper echelon of the East London crowd. Working on a budget? Come for the creative energy and if something catches your eye...save and build around it. Nothing else will do now that you've seen the potential. Great locally-owned shop with interesting pieces. I'll surely be back once I've gotten a grip on how expensive London is. The throws were literally calling my name from their bundles "Colleen, cuddle with us. Take us home."

Well done on managing to find this review on SCP! I say this because for some reason this shop…read moremakes almost no effort to write its name on anything. I must have been in here hundreds of times and it was only on my last visit that I made a conscious effort to read the small white writing on the door frame that read SCP. Come on guys, I know you're trying to be stylish but with a shop this good you should be screaming your name from the roof top! SCP is the kind of place that most of us will never buy anything from but will nonetheless enjoy roaming through the store. Furniture in here is so stylish it would only suit a very specific style of house and a very full wallet for that matter! However, for the rest of us SCP also stocks a great range of smaller items, kitchen accessories and design books. These things are a lot more affordable and will allow you to take home a bit of SCP's style without breaking the budget. Staff are lovely although I always get the impression they are looking over my shoulder for a more profitable customer. This aside, SCP is a great shop!

Dear Oliver B,…read more Thank you for always keeping me well-equipped with last-minute gifts, sunglasses, jewelry, baby books & gifts, coffee mugs, jewelry stands, cute clothing (love that Poem brand!), wrapping paper, frames, clocks, wall decor... Actually, thanks for just keeping me browsing forever and ever in your delicious little stores. Whomever curates your collect, A+. I'm a huge fan and whenever I see one, I stop in! I can't help myself. I own 7 pairs of sunglasses. I am always given a cute little pouch with them. This is the BEST place to pick up a cute and unique bebe gift, greeting card that makes me seem calm, cool and collected even though I am usually rushing in and out. You make me look cool. I need this. Yours truly and forever, Colleen C

The thing with Oliver Bonas is that you can't stop loving their stuff as the variety of products…read morethey sell is amazing. You can find everything you need for a present (or yourself) from baby clothes to books, jewellery, sleepwear or furniture! I usually like to wander inside the shops, looking at the displays and every now and them, indulging myself with a guilty pleasure, so when I visited this branch with my family, I was expecting more of the same: lovely things and attentive customer service. The thing with this one Oliver Bonas in particular is the customer service. When I have visited some of the other shops, everyone seems happy to help, but not here! There were 3 members of staff in sight, two chatting behind the till in another language and one running around counting the displays. No greetings, no acknowledge of us or the other customer, who seemed very interested in the jewellery cabinet and was trying to gain their attention. We didn't really need anything, we were merely browsing, killing time, but we left very disappointed with the staff. A simple hello would have been nice!

How cute is Oliver Bonas?! Clearly I'm late to the party but I was in love once I finally…read morediscovered this shop/chain. I browsed for a good 20mins while waiting for a friend, and could easily have bought half the shop! I restrained myself though, and bought just a pair of oversize black butterfly earrings. They are easily my favourite bit of junk jewellery I've bought all year! :D Must not come back for a while - but if I win the lottery.... ;)