Gill Wing Gift Shop

Cool shop with great and eclectic items for gifts, but priced very high.

A strange place this is. It seems that there is nothing in the store that I ultimately want but can think of lots of people I could buy things for. Actually that’s a great thing. Keeps costs down during birthday present hunts.

This place has some great gift ideas and is useful for getting the imagination flowing, at which point I exit the shop, head home and search on the internet for the same thing cheaper. Only afterwards might I head back there and purchase the item once I have determined that it is indeed being sold at a fair price.
Yep, it’s pricey but if you’re desperate for something and you don’t mind paying for the convenience, then you’ll find something in here for everyone.

Gill Wing is the perfect «Oh s**t» gift shop. Let me explain:
–You’ve forgotten a birthday. Oh s**t! No problem, you’ll find something in Gill Wing.
–You receive a last-​minute invitation to a bridal/​baby/​housing-​warming shower. Oh s**t! No problemo, you can pick something up in a hurry from Gill Wing.
–You are a super-​procrastinator and only find time to buy gifts because your plane flight was cancelled. Again. Oh s**t! Not to worry, you’ll have plenty of extra time to find the perfect gift and more at Gill Wing.
This is your everyday and anything but everyday gift shop where no matter for whom you’re searching, you find something. Anything. Chocolate, tea pots, children’s toys, fuzzy hot water bottles… next time you’re having an oh s**t moment, head here immediately.
In fact I think they should make that their slogan:
«Gill Wing. Perfect for those everyday ‘oh s**t’ moments!» Yeah?

A bit of an Upper Street staple this, and part of Gill Wing’s ever expanding Islington empire, I never think of this shop as useful and rarely come here except as a last resort, at which point I usually find what I’ve been looking for all along. It can be a total nightmare at busy present-​buying times of year as it’s crammed with stuff and very narrow walkways. Still it’s worth a visit, on a weekday if possible. Try not to buy stuff here for people who live in Islington though, as they’ll know exactly where it was from and how much it cost.

Maybe it’s unfair of me to review this shop considering that I’ve only visited it once and that was on the last Saturday before Christmas. However, taking this in to account I would still say that their floor plan is a nightmare. Trying to get from one side of the shop to the other involved taking a series of routes, turning back on oneself a few times and eventually just giving up. Much like the other Gill Wing shops along Upper Street there is just far too much stuff in here to make it easy to navigate.
Nonetheless, the stock in this shop is quite nice and especially good if you are buying a present for a friend that likes to garden. There were two whole sections devoted to designer trowels and the like. There is also quite a nice selection of kids toys in here if you can fight your way to the back of the shop. Although this shop is a bit pricey I would still recommend it to someone that was struggling to find a gift or a couple of stocking fillers. Just make sure you choose a good time to visit– when it gets busy in here you’ll know about it!