Alice in Stickerland
November 16, 2017 1:35 PM Subscribe
Where are all the brick-and-mortar stores that sell stickers? Difficulty level: UK, not Paperchase. Minor snowflake flurry inside.
I have a bullet journal, a diary, and a small pile of notebooks in regular use, and I like decorating them. This (to me) means washi tape and stickers. I've got a small pile of washi tape rolls, I've got a subscription to Pipsticks and the beginnings of a sticker collection.
The problem is, I don't like sticker shopping online. What I want is the instant gratification of just popping into a store, browsing their selection of stickers, and picking one or two sheets I like. But I've no idea where to find such a shop.
I was in Berlin recently with a friend, and we went shopping in the Mall of Berlin for lack of anything better to do, and there were not one but two general craft / creativity stores with a variety of stickers and washi tape that I would consider sufficient (lots and lots of varieties of stickers - I would estimate 50+ although I didn't count, there was a whole section of racks - and 10-20+ varieties of washi tape), plus a ton of other crafting supplies that would likely tickle my fancy every now and then.
Surely that kind of store exists in the UK, too. But I can't find one. I've tried Paperchase, and that was a no go. They have a bunch of stickers, but the vast majority of them is of the puffy variety, which I would never really use since I hate the resulting bumpiness. Other stores (Tiger, C&H, even Primark) will occasionally have some sheets of stickers, or washi tape rolls, or both, but not regularly enough for my liking (if I want to vent some stress or reward myself by buying a set of stickers and I can't find any, it's not helping).
If you can point me to a store that is local to me (Brighton), I will love you forever. But I go to London often enough that I'll take something in London, too, as long as it's relatively central.
Bonus points:
- Also carries washi tape
- Also carries other crafting supplies (paper, beads, clay, art supplies, general creativity stuff)
- Also carries sticker rolls in addition to prepackaged sticker sheets (purely for nostalgia's sake, I was a teenager in the '90s and poking through the sticker rolls at my local paper goods store is something I dearly miss)
Help?
I have a bullet journal, a diary, and a small pile of notebooks in regular use, and I like decorating them. This (to me) means washi tape and stickers. I've got a small pile of washi tape rolls, I've got a subscription to Pipsticks and the beginnings of a sticker collection.
The problem is, I don't like sticker shopping online. What I want is the instant gratification of just popping into a store, browsing their selection of stickers, and picking one or two sheets I like. But I've no idea where to find such a shop.
I was in Berlin recently with a friend, and we went shopping in the Mall of Berlin for lack of anything better to do, and there were not one but two general craft / creativity stores with a variety of stickers and washi tape that I would consider sufficient (lots and lots of varieties of stickers - I would estimate 50+ although I didn't count, there was a whole section of racks - and 10-20+ varieties of washi tape), plus a ton of other crafting supplies that would likely tickle my fancy every now and then.
Surely that kind of store exists in the UK, too. But I can't find one. I've tried Paperchase, and that was a no go. They have a bunch of stickers, but the vast majority of them is of the puffy variety, which I would never really use since I hate the resulting bumpiness. Other stores (Tiger, C&H, even Primark) will occasionally have some sheets of stickers, or washi tape rolls, or both, but not regularly enough for my liking (if I want to vent some stress or reward myself by buying a set of stickers and I can't find any, it's not helping).
If you can point me to a store that is local to me (Brighton), I will love you forever. But I go to London often enough that I'll take something in London, too, as long as it's relatively central.
Bonus points:
- Also carries washi tape
- Also carries other crafting supplies (paper, beads, clay, art supplies, general creativity stuff)
- Also carries sticker rolls in addition to prepackaged sticker sheets (purely for nostalgia's sake, I was a teenager in the '90s and poking through the sticker rolls at my local paper goods store is something I dearly miss)
Help?
My instinct is Hobbycraft has those things, but don't tend to be in very accessible locations (unless you can drive), they're usually on industrial estates. Crawley definitely has one, which is probably the closest to you, and so does Croydon which might be the easiest by public transport but would still be a bit of a faff.
posted by theseldomseenkid at 1:55 PM on November 16, 2017
posted by theseldomseenkid at 1:55 PM on November 16, 2017
Best answer: The Works, Wilkinsons and Hobbycraft are the places I would normally go for this. Possibly WH Smith as well.
posted by threetwentytwo at 2:10 PM on November 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by threetwentytwo at 2:10 PM on November 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There's a Smiggle in Brighton. It says they do stickers on the website, and if I were looking for stickers where I live, that's the shop I've walked past lots which I've never been in.
posted by ambrosen at 2:14 PM on November 16, 2017
posted by ambrosen at 2:14 PM on November 16, 2017
Daiso appears to have not yet penetrated the UK, but I don't imagine it will be long, and I suspect you may already have the equivalent (there are at least two other copycat places here in Australia). It is a Japanese $2-dollar (I guess, .99p) store, that sells all kinds of mass-produced Japanese bits and bobs, and has a very comprehensive stationery section with loads of stickers of exactly the type you describe. I guess Japanese students are mad for stickers? That might be a lead - follow the Japanese students!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:54 PM on November 16, 2017
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:54 PM on November 16, 2017
Best answer: Artbox in London's Covent Garden has a lot of stickers.
posted by tavegyl at 6:23 PM on November 16, 2017
posted by tavegyl at 6:23 PM on November 16, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by KatlaDragon at 1:45 PM on November 16, 2017