Wheel & Barrow have a decent range of home wares, including pots, pans, crockery, glasses, kitchen…read moregadgets. I love coming here and browsing through the many kitchen accessories I can't afford to buy. In all seriousness though, the prices aren't too bad, especially for the location, but I'm a stickler for a bargain so I usually come in here, look for ideas on what I want, and then buy them cheaper online.. I have, on occasion picked up a sale here though, including my scanpan wok that I use on a regular basis.

Last year while looking for a present for a dear friend who loves to cook and entertain, I went…read moreinto Wheel&Barrow on High Street and I've since become a regular customer. With a huge array of kitchen and barware on offer, it's easy to lose yourself in the wide array of products but it's great that the staff at this store are so helpful. I remember looking for some stemware on one occasion and the sales staff were so helpful as they advised me which brand would be better value for my exact needs. On another occasion, I was looking at getting new bakeware and was again given very good advice to do with my own occasional baking needs, which helped me save some money as well. They have a good range of awesome wine decanters, martini glaases and decadent barware. If you're looking for quality barware, stemware, cooking utensils, crockery, cutlery or serving platters, start at Wheel&Barrow. Chances are you won't have to go elsewhere.

Gift shopping anyone? Spare yourself some time and just come straight here. Very easy for stocking…read morestuffer type presents that aren't cheap and nasty. I want to call it a kind of hipster book shop. There's loads of books and quirky/cool gifts at Happy Valley. My friend and I got caught up smelling all of the golden skull candles...I am not really a candle fan and ordinarily I think giving them as gifts is laaaame - but these ones are awesome and smell very different to ones I've come across elsewhere. If you're over Hallmark, there's lots of unique cards for your weirder or pop-culture obsessed friends. Actually any of the gifts here would work for friends in those categories. Plenty of useful stuff, but nothing too serious. I'm a fan.

Happy Valley is a great little book and gift store on Smith St. Their selection is smaller than…read morededicated book stores but it's well curated and it compliments the types of gifts they have available. They stock a number of interesting greeting cards, some (all?) of which are made locally. Gifts that you'll find in the store include prints, "gourmet" skin care products, wooden bow-ties, beautiful candles, and much more. It's worth taking a browse even if you're not necessarily looking to buy something. Although be warned, you may not walk out empty handed.

Cool giftware & lifestyle store. Makes it real easy for a guy to find plenty of gift ideas without…read morebeing overwhelmed for choice. My new "go to store "

I really have never been a big fan of designer wrapping paper, or personalized stationery, but this…read moreplace makes you want to start hand-writing personal messages to friends. Kami has some of the most beautiful papers and gifts that have to do with this type of hobby. Cool notepads, pens, and stationery sets. It's a great place to find a nice, unique gift for someone that seems to have everything, or just get something for yourself to resurrect the lost art of handwriting and personal contact.

As someone who keeps every card and letter they're given, I firmly believe that a beautiful card is…read morean investment. And if you're after a beautiful card in Melbourne there is no place better to go than Kami, meaning 'paper' in Japanese. A card, paper and stationery retailer specialising in absolutely beautiful Japanese inspired and locally designed wares, Kami is one of Fitzroy's most magical little boutiques. From the omnipresently beautiful window displays - rendered in paper of course! - to the incredibly vast range of cards on offer, Kami is an aesthete's dream. I spent far too long to confess at Kami yesterday choosing a card for a loved one and settled on one of Kami's 'Katazone' square cards with an abstract floral motif individually printed on the card. At around $5 - 8 a pop Kami's cards aren't cheap but considering how beautiful and bespoke they are, they're a virtual bargain.

Through the Looking Glass is a cosy little store that has a book for just about everyone. The…read moreshelves all tall and crammed with books divided up into sections like Teenage, Crime, and Poetry. There is a section for children's books and even a basket with second hand music books for pianos. Up the front near the window is an old large cushioned chair, which you can sit in while you have a read of some books. It is really comfy too! The shop has books that are quite new as well as some older ones. I actually saw quite a few books in there that I own which was surprising as I normally associate second hand book stores with really old, musty novels. While this store does stock some of those, it has a lot more modern books at really good prices. A relatively new book costs around $5 -$10 with anything older being cheaper. The owner is really nice and was very friendly. The store is generally closed on Sundays but occasionally she opens it up when she feels like it. It is open 10-5 Monday to Friday and 10-4 on Saturdays.

I was dismayed at the recent demise of bookstores Angus and Robertson and Borders. It was sadly…read moresignaling the end of the paperback era and a glimpse of how technology has the power to change the way we will read and communicate in the future. Feeling the need to support the publishing industry, I recently came across All Books for Less. I guess the point of difference is the $5 price of all books for sale which gives them some hope of remaining viable in the foreseeable future. But if you're like me and prefer the smell and feel of a book made of paper rather than reading from an avatar from Amazon.com, go to All Books for Less and support our bookstores! They've got an immense and varied selection available. I came across sections for gardening, history, crime, romance, biographies and drama. Not being up to date on the current best sellers list and unsure of what to get, I chose the prequel to SATC (Sex and the City), and a true story of a talented writer's battle with anorexia which resulted in her death, titled 'Daddy's Little Girl'. It's not a bad read but I probably wouldn't recommend it, and the SATC prequel is a big fat flop and will be a box office disaster should it make it to the big screen. But the point is there is now another player out there with the buying power to stock a great variety of new and best sellers. Lets get behind them and support a store that could save the paperback from extinction.

There is nothing better than a shop that is designed for impulse purchases. Hut 13 is a very cute…read morelittle gift shop that has a range of tempting items both sourced from local artists and from overseas. I recently popped in whilst waiting for my brunch to arrive from the yummy Sardine café next door. I was in need of a silly little gift for an international friend of mine that was visiting. What better to get her than a unique little notepad that fans out into the shape of an apple. They also had a really cute little rabbit that was covered in fake grass that caught my eye. Maybe I'll go back and get that for my desk.

I just love this bookshop for being so completely different to other bookshops around here. The…read morebooks and CDs are mostly Chinese, but there are a few English ones too. The Chinese books cover all manner of subjects from cooking to philosophy, and the thing I really like is the children's picture books, and I don't even have kids. They also stock huge, educational wall posters featuring different theme with pictures and their corresponding Chinese word character. If you like Chinese films, this shop has a fine selection of Chinese DVDs. And then there's a few odd bits and bobs around like ceramic vases and plastic flowers, and cutesy little ornamental things to hang from ones mobile phone or wherever one hangs these things from.