Check out some of Vancouver’s fabulous paper places

I am so sorry for the delay in posts, guys! I went on vacation and my mind’s taken some time to catch up since. One of my highlights of my vacation to Vancouver, Seattle and Portland were all of the amazing stationery stores I got to go to (although it might not have been my friends’ highlight). I am now super excited to share with you some of the places I saw in Vancouver (and Victoria)! Excuse blurry photos, blame it on my excitement.

I didn’t expect Vancouver to have so many plentiful paper places. Half of them I happened upon just walking on Main Street. The first featured here is called Urban Source. This store is candy for those who love to make collages or crafts. There are buckets, trays, boxes and more filled with random little supplies or objects. I liked that you could buy individuals of things that you usually find in packs, like gift bags. You’ll be walking around the store justifying anything, even their collection of slides, for some project you may never get to. It’s exciting!

I had stumbled upon Urban Source when I was on my speedwalkin-way to The Regional Assembly of Text. Approximately eleventy hundred people told me to go to this store, and I wasn’t about to wait much longer! The store is chock-full of cards, stationery packs, stamps, notebooks and more. They have their own zine-reading nook, screenprinting service and letter-writing clubs every month. So, my heaven, basically. My friends waited patiently for me to do at least five rounds of the store while hyperventilating. Everything is colour-coded! There are areas for you to sit down at typewriters to write a letter or make buttons! You can pick designs of theirs to put on t-shirts! Alright, now, see for yourself.

Are you drooling yet?? If I could live in this store, I would. I would make my cozy little home in the lowercase reading room.

Later that day, we found ourselves on Granville Island (here’s a tip: don’t trust Google Maps when it shows a turn, because it’s expecting you to jump off a massive bridge). I knew there was a paper store somewhere, but it took us forever to find it. It’s not in the main food market building, but there’s a merchants building nearby. Once I stepped foot in Paper-Ya, I immediately noticed something: I have never seen so many people in a stationery store before. I was in awe. Then I looked around and noticed, wow, they have everything! But then my next realization: wow, and it’s all marked up much higher here. “It’s a tourist spot,” my friend said, matter-of-factly. Don’t let that sway you, though. I was of course able to find many things I wanted for alright prices (letter-pads, wax, pens, stationery sets, notebooks). It took a while to make my way around the store, they have utilized every inch of space, and I had to wait my turn after so many others! I liked that they cater to different kinds of paper lovers via scrapbook supplies, wedding stationery and kids. They also carry some accessories, such as Toronto vendor Bookhou (you’ll see below, the bags with triangle patterns).

I visited all these stores in one day. It was bliss. And back-achey from carrying all my prizes!

Now my last feature here is a bonus: The Regional Assembly of Text has a second location in Victoria! And it’s not even really a store, but in a grand old lobby in the quaint downtown. Could they get any cuter?

That concludes my virtual paper tour of Vancouver & Victoria, BC. That’s not all I saw though. If you’re ever in Victoria strolling around Mount Pleasant’s Main Street area, you’ll find loads of local artisan shops that carry paper products, Much & Little, for example.

Have you ever been to these stores? What did you get? All of my purchases plus the million books I bought at Powell’s in Portland made my luggage on the way home preeeetttty heavy.