We’ve brought together our favourite Leeds local independent businesses to buy gifts from as we get closer to the festive period. You can click on the shop names to access their websites & almost all of the places we have included are offering online for shopping, making them perfect for lockdown.
These shops stock everything you need by local makers and are great to pop to if you don’t know what to buy.
Located in Meanwood, Flavour Like Fancy is the perfect place to browse for that hard-to-buy-for friend or sibling. It has a great greetings card section, prints, ceramics, jewellery and even T-shirts!
Colours May Vary is a shop and gallery space, so you can catch up on some culture before you make a purchase! Its exhibitions change every couple of months, and the shop is known for carrying a variety of magazine, zines and publications, as well as stationery, toys and prints.
Pretty much what it says on the tin, this shop is the perfect place to buy gifts for those Yorkshire lovers. Its Corn Exchange location means it’s surrounded by other indie stores, and you can buy anything from patriotic tea towels to local honey.
If you live in Chapel Allerton you probably already buy your gifts here! But for those who haven’t visited, Chirpy is a gorgeous gift shop filled to the seams with things for kids and adults alike. It’s another great place you’ll pop into for a gift for one person, and end up buying for your whole family!
A self-confessed ‘eco-minded home accessories and global gifts’ shop, Yellow Sunrise is located in Central Arcade. You can get lost looking at all its stock either in store or online and its a great place to buy for that spiritually-minded or well-travelled friend or family member – it even has a section online for Pagans.
Another Meanwood favourite, Tandem is both a cafe and shop, selling vintage and locally made items, from ethical rugs to Yorkshire-made massage oil.
This gift shop in Leeds’ Grand Arcade is filled with products from over 70 different independent designers, artists and makers meaning they are the ultimate little indie, think Etsy on a smaller, more local scale. They stock jewellery, prints, and even tiny knitted cacti!
These shops are completely zero-waste and eco-friendly, and stock ideal gifts for those eco warriors and vegans!
Seagulls on Kirkstall Road started out as a recycled paint store and has expanded into refills so you can pick up your cleaning products and home essentials while getting great eco-friendly gifts like metal straws, beeswax wraps and eco friendly essential oils. Why not make your loved one an eco-friendly hamper to start them on their journey to being more sustainable in 2021?
Horsforth’s latest indie business, Zerø Muda is a zero waste wonderland. They sell delicious vegan gummies, ethical chocolate, dried flowers and even have wine on tap! It’s a great place to find something for the chef of the family.
Here are a few great places to buy alcoholic treats either for yourself or a friend.
Loved by bartenders and those who just love wine, Latitude is the place to find the wine for your Christmas roast, the after-dinner digestif or a great gift for a wine connoisseur.
If you love craft beer, you’re in heaven here in the Corn Exchange’s bottle shop. Little Leeds Beerhouse sells bottled and cans of locally brewed and small-batch beers and ceramics if you need to add a receptacle!
This independent wine shop & bar is a firm favourite in the Chapel Allerton indie scene created by the people behind The Reliance. They’re ‘bringing Parisian drinking culture to Leeds’, and specialise in low-intervention wines from small independent producers.
For those who like tunes and reading…
A small dreamland of magazines and small publications for anyone interested in anything – you’ll find gifts suitable for someone interested in fashion, art, zines, and there’s a good collection of classic books too.
Do they own a record player? Yes? Get them a vinyl from Jumbo Records! This is also the places to get gig tickets and great music magazines.
Officially one of the best comic shops in the world, OK Comics has literally everything and anything you could want in the world of comics. It’s tucked away in Thornton’s Arcade in town and is heaven for any self-proclaimed comic book nerds!
Sometimes the best gifts are the classics: a plant, candle or ornament. So if your friend or family have just got a new house, or if you think they need something more for their dining table or bookshelf, this is the place for you.
Once you’ve walked into The Plant Room you won’t want to leave empty handed. Drying and fresh flowers hang everywhere so you know you’ll be inspired. You can order bouquets for your Christmas table or as a gift and you know they’re going to look incredible.
Golden Hour is only in its second year of business but their unique scents are already so popular we have stocked them in our salon! Focused on calming and stress-relieving scents, these are perfect as part of a gift box or as a standalone gift. They also have a scheme to recycle your empty jar when you’ve finished with your candle!
An emporium of all things Kawaii and quirky in the Corn Exchange, Giant Kitten is the perfect place to find stocking fillers and gifts for children and adults alike. They sell everything from clothes to cards to car fresheners!
Kids can be so hard to buy for but these indie stores will sort you out!
Chapel Allerton’s The Little Bookshop does sell books for adults too, but their extensive children’s section will make it the perfect place to get gifts for kids of any age. Their website is even helpfully divided into age groups and they sell a range of classics and new publications.
Another Chapel Allerton favourite, Armadillo has fun for all ages. They sell board games, educational toys and crafty bits from both global and local brands. You’ll probably end up in here for longer than you anticipated!
Ok, this one is a little further out from the centre of Leeds, but Acorn & Pip location in Slaithwaite Village is gorgeous and they have a cafe so you could make a day of it! They sell a curated collection of children’s clothes and accessories, like nursery decor, baby and children’s clothes, educational toys and even relaxing candles.
We stumbled across Keesha’s instagram via the @black_owned_westyorkshire page and instantly fell in love with her knitted baby wears. Give the gift of a true one of a kind piece to a little one in your family safe in the knowledge it can be handed down through the generations.
Some people love clothes! Help them out with this by getting them some… or a gift card if you’re playing it safe.
If you haven’t heard of Blue Rinse, you haven’t shopped enough vintage! They sell original vintage clothes and accessories for all genders and also have their own seamstresses who rework vintage pieces too. They also run kilo sales pretty often so you can grab a bargain gift (and something for yourself too of course).
Admittedly this is aimed mainly at guys, so if there’s a fashion-conscious man or someone who prefers men’s fashion in your life bring them here. Their collection of brands is clean and curated, and they some gorgeous shoes and accessories too.
This is so aptly named, as walking into Aladdin’s Cave really is walking into a sparkly grotto of jewels. They sell vintage and antique jewellery so you’ll definitely find something really special.
Sometimes the more personal the better, so here’s a little list of some more individual and unique places to consider.
The self-proclaimed ‘proper camera shop’ attracts photography obsessed customers worldwide. They sell rare, antique and restored cameras and film of course.
This gorgeous tattoo place is vegan and collectively run by the tattooists themselves. All four tattooists are equally talented and have varied artistic styles, and they sell self-designed merch and each artist sells their own gift vouchers!
This eco-friendly soap shop is located in the bustling Kirkgate Market and you will find the perfect soaps and accessories for that gift box you’re making. Each batch is handmade and they make great stuff for sensitive skin. They even sell their own festive gift boxes!
This is the gift for that person who loves to make. Today Studios is very close to Leeds Train Station and they run exciting workshops for all adults, from jewellery to calligraphy to perfume making! They also sell online classes and ‘make at home’ kits for those who can’t make it to the workshops.
We will be the first to recognise how important it is to get your nails done – we’re self-confessed nail obsessed! We’re the perfect gift to give, and we have new gift cards you can that will look lovely under the tree! If you’d like us to post one directly to you or the recipient please email hello@thebeautyassembly.com and we will arrange payment/delivery, otherwise for a last minute email job you can grab a paperless version 24hrs a day online on our website.
So, there you have a non-exhaustive but very long list of places to buy festive gifts from! If the perfect shop isn’t on this list, you can also head to Etsy change your location settings (under ‘filters’ once you’ve searched) to find businesses closer to your postcode rather than worldwide. Happy shopping!
