Paperchase heaven! (Paperchase)

Member Name: sugarcultsweetie

Product:	Paperchase
Date:	09/07/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great range of products, fun designs

Disadvantages: Some things expensive

As a magic but somewhat pricey shop, I tend to limit my Paperchase trips whilst shopping, else I would at this minute be drowning in ribbons and pencil sets. This is a very well known brand, with around 100 stores in the UK, alongside concessions in Borders and House of Fraser.

Paperchase's main sections of products are gift packaging, greeting cards, stationery, art materials, and gifts. This means that the stores - at least my local Manchester Paperchase, which I believe is a flagship store - provide for uni art students and design professionals, as well as members of the public shopping for gifts, stationery and homewares.

Paperchase's art supplies can be found cheaper, to be perfectly honest - but a good range is available for most paper arts and graphic designing.
However, I find their stationery to be Paperchase's stronger theme instore. I always buy my diaries from Paperchase, as they provide a wide range of sizes and designs catered to anyone, for professional or casual use. Similarly, their numerous stationery ranges are diverse enough to please office workers and school children - the younger, more fun stationery and gift wrapping designs are also incorporated in the gift range, so a besotted kiddie can be bought a matching ipod cover, drink bottle and cuddly keychain to go with their pencil case.

Cards range from around £1.50, anywhere up to the £5 mark for handmade pieces, and I have definitely found more than one friend's present budget rise with the addition of Paperchase's cards. They also offer a selection of blank cards and enveloped in a range of colours, sizes and styles (e.g. pearlised papers, cards with cutout windows and multiple folds) - though not realistically much better economically than buying a commercial card, these are a fun idea for people wanting to make their own giftcard, who don't own any craft materials.

The gift wrap products are expensive but gorgeous, my local Paperchase dedicating a full wall to hanging A1 giftwrap sheets which draw you in. Ribbons, bows and tissue paper are available in a veritable rainbow of colours, and giftwrap designs are proferred in packs, rolls and single sheets. These designs are again incorporated more creatively into their giftbags and boxes, which range from the small and simple, to multicoloured hatboxes and monster-cutout bags. Aimed at an audience ranging from youngsters to those receiving wedding favours, Paperchase's huge range do well to please everyone for every situation.


The gifts range from travel journals and ipod covers, to umbrellas, mousemats and bags - making Paperchase a great place to buy presents for those people you never know what to buy. Nothing lifechanging is on offer, but there is something to suit everyone, in a choice of pretty designs. In conclusion, I love paperchase as it offers an interesting range of kooky designs and practical products, but for those on a tight budget there are cheaper places to get your giftwrap.

Summary: Fun, kooky, practical products