We visited Sheffield's best independent shopping street to find the top Christmas gifts
Christmas has snuck up on us once again, and that promise you made yourself to be organised and buy your presents early lies in tatters.
But you can’t touch, smell or taste the gifts you’re buying online like you can in an actual shop, you’re relying on the British postal system and, crucially, you’re not supporting local businesses.
Ahead of Small Business Saturday, on December 7, we visited the independent shopping paradise that is Division Street and Devonshire Street to seek out some Christmas gift inspiration.
These two streets, which are a continuation of one another, are brimming with independent shops selling everything from candles to cowboy boots.
You’re bound to find something amazing there for that someone special in your life, and plenty more besides for those slightly less special people with whom you’re contractually obliged to exchange gifts each December.
As well as the quirky independent shops, there are several excellent cafes, pubs and restaurants at which to relax and refuel if the present-hunting gets a bit too much.
Our first stop was MoonKo, which is a real treasure trove and perhaps Sheffield’s best-smelling shop, thanks to the beautiful and highly aromatic dried flowers hanging from its ceiling.
Owner Deborah Nelson-Moon, who has had the shop for 12 years, said she loved being on Division Street.
“It’s busy, we have lovely customers, and there’s a lovely vibe,” she told The Star.
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As well as the dried flowers, gift ideas there include some gorgeous Peak District prints, wonderfully illustrated classic children’s books, and beautifully scented handmade soap.
Across the road is the florists Plantology, where staff were busy making up wreaths for one of Sheffield’s many Christmas markets.
They also sell a range of dried plants and house plants, along with candles, wax melts and other small gifts, which would make perfect stocking fillers, and they run wreath-making workshops.
Plantology’s claim to fame is that Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker famously fell from a flat above aged 22, in 1985, and ended up in hospital after trying to impress a girl by climbing out of a window.
Mint! is one of Division Street’s more eclectic stores, with quirky hats, incense sticks and a selection of minerals and crystals among the delights awaiting customers. Upstairs is the Cowboy Boot Store, a more niche offering if you’re after something for the cowboy in your life.
Collard Manson is so trendy it doesn’t even need to display the name above the shop. Inside, it oozes style and sophistication, but without the exorbitant prices to match which you might find elsewhere.
It stocks everything from dresses, bags and jewellery to tasteful homewares such as cushions and a lovely range of rustic glazed mugs.
Further up the road, opposite Devonshire Green, is the excellent Within Reason gift store, where there’s something for all tastes.
The most popular items include the huge range of Jellycat toys, the Peanuts mugs, the quirky vases, and the cosy Fair Isle socks, but there’s plenty more, including books, bags, toys, hats, scarves and a large selection of cards.
These are just some of the shops you’ll find on Division Street and Devonshire Street.
There’s also a fantastic selection of vintage stores, including Vulgar and Glass Onion, which are ideal if you’re looking for a more sustainable gifts, the excellent Bear Tree Records, within The Forum, which stocks a huge range of new and used vinyl, and many more shops to browse.
Other independent shopping hotspots around the city centre including Chapel Walk, tucked away off Fargate, and the newly opened Leah’s Yard, off Cambridge Street, both of which are just a stone’s throw away.
The Star’s #LoveYour campaign is highlighting all that makes Sheffield great and proud - from businesses, to parks, our history, our characters and quirks.
December 7 is Small Business Saturday UK - a grassroots campaign encouraging businesses to promote themselves and work with other small businesses and consumers to shop local.
Small businesses in the local community need our help, in the face of competition from the large online sellers and supermarkets, particularly in the run up to Christmas.