Khoollect discovers: London’s finest independent stores

Be it shopping for the very gift your friend will cherish, the perfect ornament to complete your living room’s decor, a piece of statement jewellery to lift a drab workday outfit, or perhaps a work of art to hang above your bed, London is dappled with independent stores and eye-catching wares.

Not only do we, Team Khoollect, love to support the smaller local businesses in our part of the world, but we also enjoy exploring independent stores to find pieces and gifts created by small-scale makers and emerging artists we mightn’t have spotted otherwise.

If you’d like to shop local in London, try these treasure troves:

• Smug: Nestled between the vintage stores and coffee houses of Camden Passage, Islington, Smug is a store (and workshop space) filled with fun and functional wares, from stationery to plants, to magazines and soft furnishings, for the well-curated home.
• Family Tree: Wedged beside the restaurants of Exmouth Market lies an unassuming store filled with ethical, sustainable and charitable wares, alongside beautiful gifts made by local makers. The store is also home to a range of inimitable jewellery made in-house.
• T&Shop: Bringing together all the best things in life: tea, comfort food and items of beauty, T&Shop is a Stoke Newington-based concept store that’ll make you feel right at home.
• We Built This City: For gifts, souvenirs and homewares that scream ‘I’ve been to London,’ in a not-so corny way, Carnaby’s We Built This City is your new go-to. We’re lusting after its London-inspired prints, maps and books. Oh, and its super-cute pins (featuring the likes of Sir David Attenborough).
• The Cross: If you ever find yourself staring at London’s grey skies wondering where all the colour has gone, we’ve found it. It’s hidden within the windows of Holland Park’s The Cross, a store with a collection of vibrant wares for those who like to exhibit a glimmer of personality in their wardrobe choices.
• Quill London: Be still, the hearts of stationery lovers, for this is a store that is bound to get your tickers racing. Quill London is a calligraphy workshop hub and merchant of gorgeous papery goods, that’ll certainly prove irresistible to those who love a freshly sharpened pencil and blank notebook.

Where are your favourite stores to peruse? Tell us all about ’em in the comments below …