Loot has to be one of my favourite homeware stores. It has an exotic feel, with imported and local…read moreproducts and is a bit artsy with really unique prints, canvases and greeting cards. They have some beautiful decorations for every room in your house like clocks, candles, ornaments and paintings, plus a great range of gifts for different occasions. There are colours and different scents and textures when you walk in and I never know quite where to start or what to look at first. Fortunately, whoever designed the store obviously planned for this because without realising it, there is a very obviously laid out pathway around the store to follow as you look from one display to the next. There are a few different styles, many of them Asian or Indonesian influenced and a light beach or summer feel.

Generally, I am a big fan of homeware stores. Even if I do not buy anything, I enjoy looking around…read moreat the array of decorations. While Anew is good, it seemed to lack something special. Sure, they have the white wooden words and cute piggy banks that I have seen but they also have plastic tigers and tacky dolphin lamps. Perhaps it is just not my particular style overall. There are a few good buys, particularly some kitchen utensils and bits and pieces that I thought would come in handy and that are inexpensive. They have some nice clocks too.

Usually homewares stores are so beautiful; beautifully decorated and full of beautiful things. This…read moreone is somewhat of an exception. While it's always fun roaming through these stores pondering how certain things would look on your own mantelpiece, this one provides a little less scope for imagination of such fantasies than others. While half the products in the store are nice, the other half look quite tacky. The plus side is it's a little cheaper than a lot of homewares stores, although my judgement tells me it's because quality is sometimes compromised a little.

I hate buying presents for people when I know they want for nothing. A lot of my friends with…read moredisposable incomes usually buy what they want when they see it making Christmas and birthday presents unnecessary. As a result, I've taken to buying gifts from Oxfam. Oxfam is a not-for-profit organisation who works with people from developing countries to overcome poverty. One of their strategies is to enable the villagers to use local resources to make products which are sold through Oxfam stores. These products include interesting musical instruments, chocolates, coffees, traditional art, jewellery and cookware. Profit from sales are returned to the villages to assist with development. They also have these fantastic gift ideas where you can buy a family in a developing country a goat, chicken or even mosquito nets. The gifts start at $10 and make a great Christmas card as well. This year I've purchased a gorgeous piglet for a mere $30 -a bargain in any currency. So the next time you're stuck on a present idea, forget the platter or scented candle. Head to Oxfam and buy someone a pig.

From the owner: Oxfam Shop is a passionate supporter of fair trade and deals on a fair trade basis with 60 fair…read moretrade organisations around the world, who support thousands of producers including Indigenous Australians. Through fair trade we are part of a global movement calling for an end to unfair trade practices. Fair trade empowers disadvantaged communities by paying them fair and stable prices for their work, helping them to gain the skills they need to develop their business, and giving them access to world markets.

One of the lucky few places that stocks Hello Kitty and all of the above. If you're into your…read moremanga, your anime and your sanrio products, this shop is one of the few that I would consider to be your personal mecca. It's not the biggest store I've seen, but it's one of the only ones that exist (surprise surprise it's in Sunnybank!) and although small in size, is pack stacked and filled to the brim with all the things I find cute. Cuteness galore and I don't mean puppies. To the passer by, you may think, oh it's another weird ass trinket store with asian things in it and funny looking cats. But to really appreciate what is the 'Hello Kitty' phenomenon you need to google it or educate yourself first. Don't go in store and learn about it, it wouldn't work. If manga, anime and sanrio mean anything to you, you will walk in and fully appreciate the clutter, appreciate the hello kitty in the dinosaur suit. Appreciate the hello kitty earrings, and all the accessories related to the cat. She deserves respect. Get a tissue box cover with some kero kero keroppi or some little pichu dolls. It's crazy, and it makes sense. I love this place.

I wonder if the Sanrio crew are still as treasured in Japan (and elsewhere) as they once were. I'm…read morenot sure if Hello Kitty and her friends are quite as popular with the Australian youth of today, but when I was a teenager they underwent a huge surge in popularity, with every girl desperate for her own cute little pencil case starring these characters, or stationary to write useless notes to their friends. As far as I know, this is one of the few places in Brisbane left as a shrine to these adorable cartoon characters. It's a pretty big shop too, with any object you can imagine available with a Hello Kitty's of My Melody's mug stamped on it. Some of the items looked a little cheap to me, but maybe I've just outgrown it and can finally understand why the stuff is not universally popular.