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.

It's an aladins cave ,so many items a great place to browse…read more Great prices and helpful staff. They accept cash and card Don't visit without calling in

Staacks is a wonderful treasure trove. Combination of Gallery, Showcase and Gift Shop. All the…read moreproducts sold are handmade in the UK. Staacks recently moved to a larger premises at 83 Banks Road and has a cute little coffee shop at the back. Fabulous place to have a little mooch around or to find that perfect little birthday gift. Lots of really individual pieces of artwork and gorgeous jewellery. Kara the proprietor is also a total delight and always on hand for help and advice.

All the items for sale in this cute little boutique shop are handmade in the UK, and locally…read moresourced. Here you'll find everything from original paints and hand carved sculptures to baby gifts and shabby chic and country kitchen style home décor. Some of the items I saw for sale: shell necklaces, original art and signed prints of paintings, knitwear, earrings, handbags, stuffed owl decorations, tea pots, and cute mugs. This is definitely a great place to visit if you're looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for a special lady in your life, whatever her age. It's another one of those places I could have poked around in for an hour if I'd had the time. If you love artsy stuff, you'll leave wishing this shop was your living room. Staacks also hosts occasionally open house events including art shows. For more information about the shop or events, visit the Web site: www.staacks.co.uk.

Discovering Tapleys was a happy mistake. I was wandering along the Village and suddenly, there it…read morewas. What, an artsy/gift shop that I didn't know existed?! Pure delight. This little shop is a mixture of painting and other art supplies, stationary items and cards, and gifts. It's really cute, and so girly. Lots of great gifts for females, babies, and children. They also have sundry fun stationary items like autograph books and pretty notebooks, and quite a variety of paints and other supplies for painters. I would highly recommend this shop. The lady is very friendly, and I had a good chat with her and another customer while I browsed.

This is a gorgeous place - recommended that you visit shortly after payday ! Stocks the most…read moreunusual writing implements, cards, wrapping paper, jewellery, soaps, china, scarves, handbags and other gifts as well as business stationery at competitive prices. Irene and all her staff are most helpful and couldn't be more pleasant; they take time with every customer. I love this shop !

After a failed attempt to get breakfast/brunch at The Bagelry in Chinatown, we decided to give The…read moreCow&Co Cafe a try instead. At the 'other end' of the street, it felt like a long walk to get there (especially with a growing hunger after a few drinks the night before) but as soon as we found it we knew we'd made the right choice. The location almost feels like a cul-de-sac, with a dog grooming salon next door and plenty of prams being pushed past. This meant it was a more relaxed vibe than elsewhere, and we easily got a table for two in the sunny window. There is a mezzanine level also, but no table service, which is worth considering if you or someone in your party struggles with stairs. The menu is on a blackboard, with changing specials, and plenty of proper coffee and tea on offer. Orders are taken at the small bar and processed in the same spot, meaning service isn't the quickest, but we were in no rush and everything was done with a smile. I went simple with a cheese and ham croissant, served warm, and a cup of tea. Josh's sandwich was much more substantial and it's fair to say I had food envy; mixed beans, peppers and aubergine on fresh wholemeal bread. Needless to say, with this delicious food and sunny window spot, we didn't really want to move! In no rush, we also shared a chocolate chip shortbread as we finished our drinks. A lovely start to our Saturday.

This place is very small, but the coffee is excellent, pastries and bagel sandwiches are tasty, and…read moreall the details of the decor are exceptionally charming. Very cozy! I liked it a lot.

Located just from the waterfront of Duke's Dock lies this little souvenir shop that is embedded in…read morea small clump of businesses mainly catered to tourists. It's such a gorgeous area, full of great views and clean streets. People coming here are sure to snap away photos during the day, one might as well make something out of it and bring a little piece of Liverpool home with them. Besides, what touristy experience isn't complete with some souvenirs? The shop seems nice and is full of moderately priced items that range from glasses to wall decor to cheesy t-shirts. I managed to find a mini collection of fun coasters and some interesting hats to bring back to the states. Service was splendid. The staff here was nice enough to help us search out various items based on the preferences of our group. The only problem was that none of the stuff really appealed to me, but then again I'm not much of a souvenir shopper.

When you spot a big cardboard cut out of The Yellow Submarine in the window you pretty much know…read morewhat to expect! In fairness this place is not meant for the likes of me, a scouser who has had The Beatles rammed down his throat since birth but for those visiting the city there is plenty of memorabilia and souvenirs to remind you of the trip in scouseland. There are plenty of novelty t shirts, LFC gear - even babygrows and bibs for those eager to ensure their offspring grow up admiring the wrong side of Stanley Park! - and all the usual gubbins such as key rings and fridge magnets. There are also some fairly interesting books about the city and some of its famous sons - not just The Beatles but the clubs of that era, the history of the city as a port, etc - and even a 'How to speak Scouse' handbook. It was very up to date too with words like jarg, bizzie and...shirtlifter? Oh well done, nothing like the scouse 'wit' to really sell the city.

Paperchase is a brand which I have become quite familiar with in the past few months, visiting…read moremultiple branches including those in Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds but one thing I have noticed is how their non-flagship stores located in Manchester, Glasgow and London have been let down, with all the focus going to them stores and this store shows that This branch is only quite small, and doesn't follow the flagship store approach of being over multiple floors with a cafe, where members can get a free coffee if they spend over £5 in store, which is quite a good offer and even rolling it out here with a coffee machine could be a good idea, but with it being in a city centre this might not be used as much with fresher rivals being located nearby including a Thorntons Cafe, Costa, Caffe Nero and Starbucks all being nearby. Due to the size of the store, the store has a basic selection which is a shame. It is also worth nothing about loyalty schemes here, such as My Unidays where students and teachers can get 10% off anything they buy, however this is beaten by rival store Ryman who offer 15% and a loyalty card, where you get £5 back for every £50 spend and a birthday gift. The staff didn't seem too friendly in general, they didn't seem to be promoting the loyalty scheme. The overall feel of this store also was quite poor and it just felt like this store had been forgotten, to conclude I do feel this branch is okay but nothing more than that and it has done nothing to warrant anything over 2 stars, which I'm sorry to report.

We visited this store today and it has a *superb* selection of cards, beautifully-illustrated…read morenotebooks and many other lovely items. Also, the two women working at the registers were very pleasant.

A well-stocked party goods and novelties store, with exceptionally friendly, helpful (and patient)…read morestaff. Wide range of tasteful greetings cards, tags, calendars, balloons, wrapping paper, cuddly teddy bears, and so on, to cover all the bases when planning for a party - or any other celebration. Prices seem reasonable enough, and the variety of stock on display makes it worth making the trip here as a 'one-stop' option (to coordinate your purchases) rather than to, say, a supermarket. Talking of which, parking being the only tricky part (places are at a premium on Banks Rd, where double-yellow lines abound) its maybe easier to park at 'Morrisons' supermarket near the marina, and walk back.

From the owner: We are Wirral's One Stop party shop. We supply fancy dress for adults and children. We have a huge…read morerange of wigs and accessories as well as top quality face paints. We can also create beautiful party and celebration balloons for birthdays, christenings, weddings and more. We have a fantastic range of other party products and party supplies as well as a great range of quality greeting cards at great prices.

Inspirational gift ideas? Debateable, certainly gift fillers when you're stuck for ideas but then…read morethat's not nearly as catchy. Looking around at the array of gifts I assumed that this place sold only paperweights. That seems to be the main function of many of these brightly coloured ornaments and 'gadgets'. Voglio is definately a good place if your cash is burning a hole in your pocket as original Michael Graves' kettles and Phillipe Stark lemon juicers can be found here which are of course pieces of design genius but have also become ubiquitous design copies in much cheaper forms in almost every home store so spending nearly £200 on a kettle is a tad extravagant in my book.

Much like Utility in the city centre, Voglio is the home to all useless items the majority of which…read moreare expensive (which everyone wants). They're the kind of things that you buy the person who has everything: a statue of a lamb banana or a liver bird in loads of bright colours, a funky designer watch, a hand-decorated piggy bank (which would cost more to buy than would fit in it!) They have some gold guilded champagne flutes, baby gifts which are really cute and the usual extra special cards and giftwrap. My favourite? The bunny salad forks. Pointless but amazing!