Great little independent bookshop in central London run by Tamsin Clark. Weird and wonderful selection of photo books, magazines, artist books, poetry and more.

It’s coming up to Christmas and if you’re like me, i.e. like to avoid the hustle and bustle of a jam packed Oxford Street to find that perfect item for that special someone why not check out Folk Clothing which is tucked away close to Central St. Martin’s near Southampton Row and surrounded by some really interesting shops including the People’s Supermarket.

Inspired by Dave Eggers’ projects in the USA such as the Pirate Store in San Francisco and Superhero store in Brooklyn, The Monster Supplies Store in Hoxton is home to the Ministry of Stories: A volunteer run organization, founded by Nick Hornby, to help young people with creative writing of all kinds through workshops and free mentoring sessions. The store is the “Purveyor of quality goods for monsters of every kind” with fascinating bottles and tins containing everything from eyeballs to Zadie Smith’s short story Mortal Terror.

Sit. Drink coffee. Buy Leica. Leave penniless.

I personally love photo arts and this gallery puts on some amazing exhibitions by the best artists, such as Vivane Sassen and Gregory Crewdson. The Gallerys’ six-storey space is located right by Oxford Street, so if you are doing some shopping in London, you might as well stop by this gallery. The upper floors consist of two new galleries, while the ground floor hosts a nice café/restaurant. Together with the print sales, the bookstore occupies the basement of the building. I can spend hours just looking at the books, how it is designed, bound, as well as the prints for sale. You can buy all kinds of film; medium format to polaroid film at the store. After some hours at this gallery you just want to go home and start making some photography!