Kudos to Curate for braving the pandemic and bringing a new gift shop to Cushing Square at a…read morechallenging time! It's conveniently located in the heart of the Square near Savino's, Ovenbird, and the Spirited Gourmet, my other favorite neighbor businesses. Curate is a bright little shop with a variety of classy and fun gifts, stationary, and home items that change with the seasons. I usually pop in to buy a card and a chat with the owner. I've found gifts for hosts, housewarmings, and occasions in between. I especially like their candle selection, many of which are soy based. They carry amazing scents from a small business in Rhode Island, with candles and lotions that smell exactly like the seashore. After a cousin fell in love with one of them, I bought a bagful at the end of the season clearance to treat relatives to a scent party. They also carry British Christmas crackers when in season (like now!). These are so hard to find! The crackers (beautiful wrapped cylinders that pop open when pulled to reveal little gifts) delighted my family when I brought them to our holiday gatherings last year. (Note that crackers contain a tiny amount of gunpowder and technically can't go on a flight, something I had tried before...!) Curate's products tend towards the classy side with mid to higher prices to match. Sometimes I just go to poke around and see what's new. They have some baby gifts and customized items for Belmont and Watertown, but if you want a wider selection, I would go elsewhere. The owner has also kindly offered to order things that I couldn't find directly in the shop, but I haven't tried that option yet.

I found a very thoughtful selection of gifts and items I wanted for myself at Curate. The…read moreshopkeeper was personable and friendly but not intrusive. I look forward to seeing what other treasures are offered from this shop.

I've shopped here many times. Awesome place for gifts. Today I treated myself, and purchased…read morehedgehog measuring cups. So adorable! Actually using for an appetizer station. So many quality items, not overly expensive. Incredible sale area, merchandise from bright and colorful to muted and relaxing. Service is excellent thank you to the owner and coworker. I always enjoyed my time there.

this is the perfect shop to get cute things! I am so happy that I discovered this store on one of…read moremy walks - it is such good quality items with a good price point as well. this is my new go-to place for seasonal decor to make my home cute. I can't wait to give all my friends little gifts from here. The owner is so nice and helpful and makes the experience even better than it already is. probably my new favorite place to shop for home items :) I recommend following their instagram to stay in touch with the new items they get

It's just the best place for fountain pens, paper, ink, gifts! Local owner. Great items for…read morereasonable prices. Love it!

The staff are amazing, and very responsive. The selection at the store is fantastic, very diverse…read more They have some very high-quality items and some very affordable items. I placed an order during the Hobonichi event. I made a mistake in my order and during the event I sent an email to the store. They responded incredibly quickly and fixed the problem with no issues.

This a nice store and the owner moved from Chinatown boston to Arlington. They moved from 44…read moreKneeland St Boston about two years ago. I can find all kinds of things here, including hand crafted jade, stress relief toys and table games. The owner is very friendly and very knowledgeable about the jade. He also showed me a lot of his own collection, which are very rare and hard to find nowadays. Plenty of free street parking for 2hrs on weekdays. And bus stop is also in the front of the store.

Gifts at Peppermint Place is absolutely adorable and supports a great cause!!…read more I stopped in on a whim trying to waste time before an appointment. They had really cool glass pieces hanging in the store front and I was looking for a gift for my super artsy bridesmaid. They sell local art, jewelery, crafts, knick-knacks and furniture - some even made by residents of Beaverbrook (a non-profit program for adults with disabilities). In fact, the store itself is a training module for its residents with developmental disabilities,helping them transition into the workplace with some confidence and skills. Everything is unique and I would highly recommended bringing your business there. Why not get some totally awesome art and do something good while you're at it?!

They have a lot of different things and at good prices. Last year I went in right before Christmas…read moreto do a little gift shopping and I managed to find some cute things to give as presents and a little something for myself. If you like stores like 10000 villages, you should check this place out.

My daughter was asking for a simple silver ring after her friend showed up with a snake ring at…read moreschool. She was looking at some rings online but I was unsure about the quality and I always prefer to support local business. First we stopped by a different store in the center and they did not have any good quality rings so we kept going down mass Avenue towards the Heights until we got to the Artful Heart. I remembered from buying a sun hat at their old location that they had a good selection of jewelry. The location is about the same size as the old location. Maybe a tiny bit smaller. I would not necessarily call it a gallery, although they do have some pieces of art. It specializes in costume jewelry and small gifts. Lots of the jewelry is not quite my style, but my daughter was able to find a simple silver heart knot ring for about $25. While we were in the store, the person behind the desk was very friendly and sweet. One of my favorite songs came on the radio and it turns out it is one of her favorite as well and she has seen them live. Bottom line is that I would recommend the Artful Heart Gallery as a good local shop for purchasing gifts for people who like jewelry (including yourself!).

The Artful Heart is the successor to whatever gift shop previously occupied this space. I've been…read morepeering in the window at the "opening soon" sign for several weeks and finally as I wandered by today with another in tow, they were open! According to the owner, they've been open for more more or less 3 days. Both she and the other two ladies running the shop (one was her daughter?) were extremely pleasant and helpful, and invited us to their "grand opening" cocktail party on Friday. I don't know if I'll go, but if you read this in time and want to check them out... I am sure you are invited too. The goods are a mixture of OOAK art, art prints, unique 'gifty' things, scarves, pottery, and lots of jewellery. The concept behind the store seems to be a mixture of showcasing local artists and selling regular but unique goods. It's a little Etsy-ish, although I don't think you'll find anything as outrageous or weird here as you would on Etsy. I did not look at or enquire about the prices of the art, but everything else seemed to be roughly in the $20-$100 price range depending on the item... for instance, I bought a necklace that cost about $60, but a similar but less elaborate version of the necklace (pendant only) was somewhere around $20. The store reminds me a little bit of Firefly Moon, but with a better location and a slightly better selection (not to condemn FM in any way- they are a lovely store as well). My first impression is that I like them and I hope they flourish in Arlington Center.

I was disappointed with the service at this store. A lady working there told us, "this place is for…read moreskinny people," and then laughed. The comment made me feel awkward and uncomfortable, so we decided to leave. I think customers should be treated with respect regardless of their size or appearance. Overall, the items in the store were okay, but the experience with the staff really affected our visit.

I guess for the past decade I've walked by this shop without even a second thought. On this…read moreparticular day (while we were waiting in line for Lizzie's) my little one saw frogs and pigs (handcrafted decorations) outside of the store so we decided to go in- we are so glad that we did. Taylor is simply wonderful and she welcomed us into the store. My son said that it was like a dream for him as he was met with a ton of frog trinkets and cool items that peaked his interest. The price was more than reasonable and the selection is phenomenal! Taylor was so sweet and allowed us to be there a little bit later bc my son was so fascinated with their frog selections, so we ended up with a very original card ( I do not think you can get this on other online establishments) and a frog puppet. We appreciate Taylor and the selected rarer items in this store- we will definitely be back!

I've been to a lot of shops themed similarly, Teehee i must say has been the most clean, most…read moreorganized and most impressive wall of Sanrio haha least that i have been in. The others focus more on beauty products and some blind boxes and bathroom necessities. This store has a ton of cute things for your loved ones, a Photo Booth, cute tidbits for your tooth brushes, phone charms, art supplies etc. Now the BIG BIG hello kitty, Sanrio character plushes i think are $250+ but they are .. what one might think would be life size for what hello kitty would be haha. One staff member working, greeted as we walked in and overall nice. Appreciate how organized and clean the store is, makes it a breeze to navigate.

We were driving by and I noticed there was a store that had a GINORMOUS Hello Kitty in the…read morewindow... definitely had to stop, park, & check Teehee out! Teehee has everything Hello Kitty/Sanrio from plushies, pencil pouch cases, accessories, apparel, & more. I'm OBSESSED with their large Hello Kitties & little knick knacks. Very pricey though, in my opinion, but as expected. There's a couple stores similar Allston & Chinatown (Tao's & Reiwatakiya), but Teehee has much more for options if you're looking for Sanrio.

Such a variety of books and gifts. The shop has something for everyone and they can order books if…read morethey don't have them.

Disrespect customer and so rude hanging up phone calls, don't give any explanation to cancel…read moreorders. Worst experience ever had.

I had a great experience at my glass workshop here! It was very fun and calming experience. The…read moreclass fits six people and it starts with an overview of glass cutting techniques. Then you get to make a creative piece of your own. I made a coaster with a flower design. It didn't come out perfect but I love it anyway!

THE CUTEST LITTLE STORE! You simply must visit. Unique, quirky, colorful homeware, most of it…read morehandmade. Lots of glassware, dishes, and other small home goods. Generally things are on the pricier side but that makes sense for handmade, unique items. A great place to shop for presents! They also have classes where you can make your own coaster or small plate from glass, which I can't comment on since I haven't taken one, but hopefully I will in the future!