Inkspot

I have some really warm memories of Ink Spot from when i was a kid. It was always the place i looked forward to coming to when my mum and dad took me shopping to Hamilton. I loved crafty stuff and it sold some pretty cool toys too, like the Anne Geddes Babies i used to collect. It sits apart from the main cluster of shops and the shopping centre, on the way down to the big Asda.
This place is an Aladdin’s Cave of stationery. Need an HB pencil? Come here. A pink Filofax with kittens on it? Second shelf on the left madam. Biro that transforms into a deckchair? Yup, you’ll find one here. But be warned, you’ll pay for it! It really isn’t cheap, so if you only need the basics i would suggest trying somewhere else first. However if you are a crafty connoisseur, or you’re looking for something very specific, Ink Spot is the place for you!
(Disclaimer: A transforming deckchair Biro does not yet exist. I made that bit up. So you may get a funny look if you ask for one here.)

So I must confess — I have a bit of a stationery fetish. Nothing quite like the smell of a freshly sharpened pencil or like rows of coloured pencils lined up by shade (yes yes I did and still do crave the entire set of crayola colours!!!) Anyway, this place has so many cool art supplies that even the most non-​artistic, non-​creative person in the world will be compelled to purchase some funky craft paper or some random modelling clay or engineering grade pencil.
School projects and Brownie badge work has been aided with supplies from here and I can never resist popping in when I have a minute and I am nearby. They have, in the past few years, got a range of fancy dress costumes as well — so they are branching out somewhat from merely traditional stationery supplies. I don’t know if that is a direction I am really loving, but in this economy, anything that helps local independent businesses is fine by me.
This place is NOT cheap though and is its main failing. I would seriously doubt if art students would actually buy their supplies from here, If the prices were a little bit lower and the staff didn’t look at you as if you were about to shop lift then I would love it even more.
It is definitely a stationers as opposed to a full on specialist art store I reckon. As an art shop for true artists (although clearly I am not, and am just surmising, I would definitely give it a 3. As a place to find cool knick knacks, gifts and pens with a good motion (see told you I was obsessed!) then possibly a 4.
On the whole it is a pretty shop with lots of lovely goodies and some luxurious stationery. With slightly lower prices this would be a 4 overall, bit as it stands a solid 3!

Just a walk away from the big Asda in Hamilton. Ink spot sells all sorts of stationery and craft items as well as fancy dress costumes during Halloween. The shop is in an old miners house and is really small and difficult to move around. It’s not very good if you are disabled as the asles are small and it is hard to move past one another. It is a great little shop if you are looking for bit and bobs for art or craft work. The also do printing for leaflets and flyers. The prices are reasonable but can be expensive for fancy dress but can be worth it if you want something unusual.

This is a great shop for craft materials and ideas. On two levels it not only sells stationery goods, it also has just about everything for most hobbies too. Though pretty well sectioned off the very nature of the products can at times make it seem disorganised — but it’s not. Sections include costumes for dressing up, card making, scrap booking, painting and just about every other craft you can think of. Staff are friendly and helpful and also fairly knowledgeable about their products. There is also a printing service available and they run special one day training events to help you get started. Did I mention they sell printer ink too?