Space EC1

What do you get the girl/​guy who has everything? If you find yourself in need of inspiration, then look no further than Space.
Space’s sky blue exterior and eye catching, innovative window display entices the shopper in from the offset.
Step inside to be greeted by a veritable treasure chest. The ceilings are adorned with stars and shimmering lights, while the shelves positively bulge with divine 50s inspired delights. From vintage bags and quirky retro t-​shirts to funky, fluffy hot water bottle covers and best sellers like the Marilyn mirror and 007 cuff links. I defy you to leave empty handed.
One negative? The proprietors are helpful to the point of irritation. This is London after all — we don’t do familiar.
Space, 25a Exmouth Market, (0207 837 1344), Farringdon tube.

What a lovely shop. When I went in last week, it was absolutely packed. It is quite a small shop but there must have been thirty people in there, stuffed in like sardines. Whether it is usually like that or not during lunchtimes I’m not sure, but a lot of the people looked like local office workers that might be trying to find ‘secret santa’ presents for their colleagues. For that purpose, the shop is perfect– there is a vast selection of inexpensive, and slightly unusual gifts that are perfect for people you don’t know that well. There is a lot to choose from– a variety of different gifts such as comic games, tea cosies and hot water bottle covers, cards and wrapping paper.

I like finding little shops where I can find all sorts of gifts. Space sells a little bit of everything. You can find jewelry, books, mugs, cards, and wrapping paper. The way I list things you would think the store would be cluttered with junk, but that is not the case. Space is beautifully arranged in a small area. Everything is interesting, I found myself poking and prodding looking for a birthday gift for a dear friend.
The hard part is that there is so much to choose from that it takes time to make a selection. Space is not the store for those in a rush and uncertain of what they are looking for. If you have time, it is a wonderful store to explore; it’s small so it doesn’t take long to look at everything. The hard part is making a decision.
I do love that it’s a one stop shop. I bought a card, a gift (settled on earrings) and wrapping paper. It’s nice when I don’t have to rush around putting a gift together!

On the face of it, and indeed looking inside, Space EC1 is a lovely wee shop. It really is. But there’s something not that good about it. I had to ask the assistant what they actually sold. Oops. «We’re an independent gift shop» she replied, a big indignantly. And I kind of think this is one of those shops where you don’t really know what they sell. I’m tempted to say ‘tat’.
It is tat, but it’s really nice tate. So you can buy a teapot with a cover that makes it look like it’s wearing a ‘terrorist’s balaclava’. Haw Haw. There’s going to be someone out there, who will open the patterned fork and trowel and think that it’s the best present they’ve ever had. But I don’t know them.
There’s a bit of jewelry on sale, some nice greetings cards. Some moleskin diaries. Things like pocket gardens, where bulbs come pre-​planted in the soil in the wrapping, so you just open and water.
Dunno, as I said, it’s all very nice, just not that usefull.

Great shop for getting cards and little bits and pieces as gifts. Very popular (and busy) around Christmas time as everyone nips in to find the secret Santa gifts they need for under a fiver. Space change their range on a regular basis and the staff (owners?) are friendly. They stock a selection of decent looking jewellery and photo frames for those wanting to spend a bit more money.