Local gift shops in Europe
Popular European cities tend to be full of tacky souvenir shops selling mass-produced items (probably made under terrible working conditions in China). Thankfully, there are also plenty of concept stores and locally-owned gift shops to be found in Europe. If you’re looking for handmade souvenirs, check out the shops listed below. Oftentimes, buying something in a small, independent shop supports artists and crafters from the region you’re visiting. I personally think souvenirs are much nicer if they’re not only functional, but also have a story. If you know of any great concept stores or gift shops in Europe that I forgot to mention, please leave a comment!
Index
To make the search for local gift shops in Europe a bit easier, I have enclosed a map at the bottom of this page.
Belgium
Bruxelles
If you’re looking for a non-typical souvenir shop, Belge une foise is definitely worth a visit. With a good dose of activism, the local owners set up a vibrant store. They sell some city guides including a beer map, but mostly (kids) clothing, tote bags and mugs with catchy slogans. You will also find a wide range of posters, pins and postcards. The latter include LGBTQ+ friendly cards, for example to congratulate gay couples on their wedding. You don’t find those everywhere!
Czech Republic
Praha
There are no less than 5 branches of LOCAL ARTISTS to be found in Praha! Despite these shops forming a small chain, they are locally owned and only sell items made in Czech Republic. Because Praha is a very popular tourist destination, LOCAL ARTISTS serves as a good alternative to the overflow of crappy souvenir shops. At LOCAL ARTISTS, you will find postcards, soaps, decorations, toys and notebooks. Many items include business cards of the makers, so you can learn more about how and where they were made.
Brno
PLACE Store is one of my absolute favourite local gift shops in Europe. It’s a fantastic place for cute stationary and stickers, but they also sell a range of other things. At the front for the shop, there are candles, notebooks and postcards. In the back, you can browse clothing, jewelry and cosmetics. I found the staff really friendly, and the shop was well-organised. But I mostly loved PLACE Store for the beautiful sticker sheets for my Europe travel scrapbook. PLACE Store also has locations in Bratislava, Praha, Zlín and various other places in Czech Republic. All branches are tagged on the map at the bottom of this page.
England
London
There are numerous non-traditional gift shops and concept stores across London, of which Earl of East is one. This small candle and fragrance brand has 4 shops in London (Regent Street, Coal Drops Yard, Redchurch Street and Spitalfields). The vegan, non-GMO candles are blended by hand in a studio in the east of the city. Aside from lovely smelling things, Earl of East also sells merch, travel accessoires, ceramics and furniture from independent brands. If you’re looking for a fun activity, you can join one of their candle making workshops.
If you really want to make a difference for a small designer, head over to Not just a shop in High Holborn. The shop showcases work from students and alumni at the University of the Arts London. The aim is to provide students with realistic commercial experience. Not only can students sell their art and designs to be sold at Not just a shop, the initiative also hosts additional learning opportunities through awards and funding, pricing and branding workshops, competitions, and more. Needless to say, Not just is a shop is a non-profit.
Newcastle
Close to the castle and hidden under a bridge, UpSide Down Presents is easy to miss. The shop items are curated by owner Sean (and his dog Oscar). UpSide Down is a great place to find Newcastle/Geordie souvenirs made by locals. But you’re also welcome to come in just for a chat. To describe this gift shops in 3 works: small, quirky and affordable.
If you’re looking for something more high-end, head over to The Biscuit Factory. This is an independent art gallery, where everything you see is for sale. Though the impressive art pieces upstairs are probably outside of the budget you’d normally spend on souvenirs, the downstairs is more like a massive gift shop. There’s books, jewellery, ceramics, postcards, prints and more. If you’re not looking to buy anything, it’s a wonderful place to look around, though I regret not getting one of the beautiful mugs!
Oxford
This is probably the most surprising gift shop on the list: Y.O.U. Underwear. Because, yes, it’s primarily an underwear shop! Aside from organic underwear, this B Corp certified store in the Covered Market also sells lots of other low-waste and eco-friendly items. Examples include bamboo socks, natural soap, tea towels depicting famous landmarks in England, vegan candles, and so on.
In case you’re planning to visit Oxford, do check out my other post with 7 cafés that give back to the local community (Common Ground Café also sells some coffee blends, second-hand books and vintage clothing).
Sheffield
At the back of the indoor Winter Gardens in Sheffield’s city centre, you will find one of the locations of Sheffield Makers (the other one being on the corner of Hunters Bar roundabout). I regularly get my friends gifts or postcards from this shop. Some of my favourite gifts to get from here are dog toys made from upcycled climbing robes, Sheffield-themed colouring books and Yorkshire candles. Sheffield Makers is also the place to get cool prints to decorate your walls with.
Similar to Sheffield Makers and located just off the Moor shopping street is Bird’s Yard. Although it’s a bit hidden now, Chapel Walk used to be the main market street in Sheffield. It’s finally starting to be revamped after a few decades of decline. The opening of a gift shop for anything Yorkshire-themed has been a good start! Bird’s Yard sells beautiful illustrations of Sheffield and South Yorkshire on postcards, mugs, bookmarks and more. They also have a good collection of pins, badges and jewellery. All locally made, of course!
Good Taste is located further out from the city centre. It’s a fair trade shop in the Broomhill area with items from all over the world. Good Taste is run as a non-profit organisation, meaning that it is partly managed by volunteers. Profits go to an organisation in Nigeria that improves access to clean drinking water and sanitary facilities. The shop sells a combination of food, cosmetics, toys and homeware.
Even further out, Gifted is another shop you don’t want to miss out on when in Sheffield. Gifted is comparable to Sheffield Makers and Bird’s Yard in that it’s full of products made by locals. There’s art, postcards and a myriad of other giftable things. Where possible, the items for sale are fairtrade, recycled or otherwise eco-friendly.
If you’re looking for edible gifts, some of the places on my Sheffield Vegan Food A-Z might be good to consult. I especially like All Carrot No Stick for vegan specialities.
The Netherlands
Rotterdam
Swan Market has 2 locations in Rotterdam (Oude Binnenweg and Witte de Withstraat), as well as branches in 7 other Dutch cities. All locations can be found on the map at the bottom of the page. The idea of Swan Market is to provide a place where you can find unique gifts from creative small businesses. I got one of my favourite pairs of earrings at Swan Market in Rotterdam, but they also sell cosmetics made from natural ingredients, handmade fashion items, tableware, stationary and quirky postcards. Also keep an eye out for Swan Market events!
Basecamp prides itself as a sustainable gift shop and coffee bar. Rotterdam really is the basecamp for its owners: they bring back unique items from all over the world to sell at their shop. Examples include crockery from Spain, baskets woven in Senegal, and colourful lampshades from Morocco. There are also plenty of more local wares to be admired at Basecamp. Other sustainable things include dried flowers for decoration, upcycled gift wrappings, outdoor candles from recycled wax, and much more (including freshly brewed coffee!).
Utrecht
The name of E&co Warenhuis gives it away: this is a warehouse fully focused on sustainability. Here, you can buy eco-friendly household items, upcycled furniture and plantbased food gifts. The building houses a collective of sellers that all wish to promote more sustainable consumption. Currently, you can find E&co Warenhouse right next to the world’s busiest cycle lane.
Towards the southern end of the historic city centre of Utrecht, you will come across a social impact café and gift shop called ZiZo. ZiZo works together with a care home to provide people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to develop themselves by working in hospitality. The decorations sold in the gift shop are also made by intellectually disabled people. Safe to say the money you spend at ZiZo leaves a positive impact! The café at ZiZo is also included in my Utrecht food guide.
MUS Conceptstore is a great place for sustainable fashion. The collection at MUS is carefully curated: it only includes brands that focus on quality, durability and eco-friendliness. The store itself is female-owned and independent. At MUS, you will find anything from shoes to jumpsuits and from handbags to socks. In terms of non-fashion items, it’s also the right place for cute ceramics, teapots, books and towels.
Poland
Kraków
This tiny shop between St. Florian’s Gate and the Old Market Square is easy to overlook. The name of Hello Handmade gives away its premise: everything you see here is hand-made in Poland! From colourful earrings to unique mugs to enamel pins, Hello Handmade has it all. I would have liked some more time to look around, but the store is really small, so it only fits a handful of people at once.
Scotland
Edinburgh
When you visit Edinburgh, there is no escaping a stroll through Tron Kirk Market. You might think you’re just entering a church on the middle of High Street, but it’s actually a collective of stands displaying the work of over 300 designers and creators. The idea behind the Scottish Design Exchange that runs Tron Kirk Market is to rejuvenate the main shopping street by selling items made with love. Rather than supporting big companies behind mass-produced, poor quality stuff you don’t really need, 99% of your purchase at Tron Kirk Market goes directly to the artist. The only downside (probably due to a combination of the cost of living crisis and the prime location) is that I found most of the items at Tron Kirk Market just a bit too pricey.
Lackdhu Arts may be slightly more hidden, but also has a premium location in Edinburgh’s Old Town. Most of the products for sale at this independent art and craft studio are made by people from Edinburgh or elsewhere in the UK. You’ll be amazed by the stylish prints, etchings, cards and glass works. If you’re more into cosmetics, candles or accessories, there’s plenty of that, too! Either way, it’s hard to choose from the extensive collection of non-typical souvenirs. In the end, I went for glass earrings made from an upcycled whiskey bottle.
Pippin is a woman-owned independent gift shop in Edinburgh’s West End shopping area. Every item at Pippin has been hand-picked to provide a mix of established brands and upcoming British designers. There’s a wide variety of both decorative and useful gifts to choose from, either in-shop or online. Some sustainable highlights include solid cologne, seedballs, a flower press and upcycled leather handbags. Another unique gift worth mentioning are the crinkly newspapers for babies.
Glasgow
For funny socks, handmade decorations, beautiful postcards and vegetable-themed keyrings, head to Knock Nook. The shop is tucked away in a corner on the first floor of the Princes Square mini mall. It’s a great place for both Scottish gifts and general (birthday) presents, such as adorable stuffed animals or faux-plants made from yarn or felt. They exclusively work with small, independent artists from the UK.
Another shop in Glasgow’s city centre that deserves a mention is Maia Gifts. Although you will also find more popular Schotland-themed souvenirs here (highland coos, wool socks and tartan scarves), it’s worth a visit. Maia Gifts stocks a good selection of funny postcards, as well as many items made by locals. It takes some time looking through the fully stocked shelves, but if you ignore the seasonal stuff and jellycat plushies, there are definitely some gems to be found at Maia Gifts.
Kirkwall (Orkney Islands)
You’d be surprised how many jewellers and other designers call Orkney their home. A great place to browse such handcrafted items is The Longship in Kirkwall. Run as a family business, The Longship focuses on durable fashion and homeware. With the current owner being a fashion designer and the previous owner having founded the first jewellery studio in Orkney, it doesn’t get more local than that. Whatever you buy at The Longship will not be cheap, but it will be a unique, long-lasting addition to your home.
Slovakia
Bratislava
In Vivo is a gift shop in the heart of Bratislava’s Old Town. In Vivo mainly sells ceramics and home accessories. Other items for sale include handmade jewelry, postcards, hats, wallets, shawls and reusable water bottles. Most things in the small shop are eye-catching and colourful, so it’s hard to know where to look! I bought a beautiful white-blue mug for myself at In Vivo. There’s also a small café inside called ‘Pasteleria’. The cafe serves hot and cold drinks (including plant-based milk options) and cakes.
Map
To find the exact location of all the gift shops in Europe mentioned in this post, check out the map below.
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