Lola of North Beach

Lovely card shop! I’m always on the hunt for a new stationary shop in the city. This one manages to have yet another variety of cards from the ones I get at my other shops. They also have a nice assortment of small gift items, baby/​kids gifts, and some San Francisco themed items perfect for last minute gifts.

Precious, stylish, & hip.
The best shop for a woman expecting a baby.
The best shop for a baby.
The best shop if you’re an Audrey Hepburn fan.
Candles, cards, & lotions… it’s all here.
When a friend of mine recently found out she & her husband were expecting, I thought of Lola. Adorable onesies, booties, baby blankets, etc. There’s also all sorts of games for the little ones, & gifts ranging from stationery to coffee tumblers for the big kids in your life.
Everything is über cute, or stylish, or posh.
The coffee tumblers are by Kate Spade, for example. Very nice! Saves you a trip to Neiman’s.
The official Breakfast At Tiffany’s 50^th anniversary companion book is here, too. Along w «What Would Audrey Hepburn Do?»
A must stop for any lady in your life.
5 stars.

I’m a sucker for cute stationary but this place really takes the cake, even if it’s on a super touristy stretch of the city. Great for finding party decorations and small gifts with a nice design sensibility.

Love this place! So cute and perfect spot to find San Francisco stationary and gifts!

friendly staff and with such a small store, they have a great selection!
if you love letterpress or kate spade stationary, this is the place for you!
they also have a bunch of unique little gifts, check it out if you’re roaming around the north beach area

What a cute store! This is my first time shopping here, and I’m in love with the card collection they have. The gifts are a little more common and can be seen at stores like Papyrus and Hallmark.
The only downside is the cards here are very pricey. It’s definitely worth it if you’re aiming for something unique for that special someone or a close friend though.

This is an amazing card store! They have lots of really great cards (for all occasions) and some other great gifts.
I went in just to browse and left with 5 cards and a Valentine’s Day present for my mom.
I’ll definitely be back.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these stores! They have the perfect card for everything & everyone as well as cute gifts. I always spend a small fortune in these stores :)

I’ve been coming in here for years and each visit, I always feel like I don’t have enough time to look at all of the wonderful things they sell! Their cards are great, their other merchandise is unique — you can’t leave the store without smiling or buying at least one thing. The people who work there are always nice and helpful, but Amy the owner is terrific — warm, friendly, and the heart of the store. Plus, her merchandising skills bring the perfect blend of cleverness and kitsch. Lola is one of the best stores you’ll find in the City!

They have the cutest and most eclectic cards here. We stopped in after a trip up Coit Tower and I’ve bookmarked this place in case I ever need a super clever/​cheeky/​funny card.
I can’t remember all the company names, but there are some wonderful letterpressed cards located along the bottom of the wall on your right as you walk in. One of the companies is Urbanic Paper Boutique (
) — gorgeous cards from a local (for me) couple in Venice, CA.

This is everything a fun little shop should be! I spent so much time here because there was so much to look at! Fun books, soaps, lotions, potions, toys and just fun stuff — such a collection of oddities and great gifts. I found some perfect souvenir items for friends that were not the generic magnet or mug crap as well. I also found a few fun things for myself! This is now going to be a regular must stop at when I am in San Francisco.

This is a cute store and great for sweet baby gifts, heart warming cards, San Francisco souvenirs and other fun gifts. The store is attractive and everything is well displayed. The staff is friendly too.
Although they sell lots of stuff for little ones this store is not very kid friendly as its a little tight to maneuver and tons of stuff for little hands to get into.

Great shop with unique gifts and adorable stuffed animal seals. I love the novelties and cards as well as the handbooks. The staff are also very friendly and helpful. Great place to get gifts for friends!

This is a cute little souvenir store and the gentleman who works there is friendly and willing to give you some info on the products there.
There’s your typical SF magnets, some cute baking recipe books, greeting cards, jumping bean sets, and many more! This souvenir store is a little bit on the higher end in terms of some of their merchandise. However your basic souvenir must-​haves such as magnets and what not are comparable to other places.

I can spend a good amount of time here thumbing through their book selections. Titles like «Unlikely Friendships,» «I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats» and the quintessential children’s dinosaur book «All my Friends are Dead,» are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of fun and interesting things to thumb through while here.
Their selection of cards and baby gifts is what drew me in here during a walk through North Beach last Friday, as I had a friend’s baby shower coming up. For $ 24, I walked out with an adorable stuffed musical owl and a unique card. If you’re so inclined, there is also a great selection of off the beaten path San Francisco souvenirs for kids and adults alike.
I’ve been to the Lola’s in Ghiradelli Square but this location in North Beach is far superior in terms of their customer service and friendly staff. The selections are similar but I overall enjoy Lola’s here in North Beach much more.
Cozy, unique and fun-​that about sums it all up.

I ordered a pen here online for my birthday (my sister paid for it) a few days ago. It came in the mail today, and it was such a surprise.
Just as a little joke, I wrote «Hi, happy birthday self» in the «notes section» of the package. I had no idea that they would notice it!
My pen was wrapped with ribbon and wrapping tissue, and even the envelope said Happy Birthday on it.
I would just like to say thank you so much for making my day, and when I can come to San Francisco, I’ll be sure to visit your store!

My review is solely for my Moleskine notepad experience — very disappointed after reading all the fantastic Unilocal reviews about Lola. We strolled in one day after work because I was in dire need of a notepad for my volunteer orientation the next day — I had done an hour or so research at work on Moleskine notebooks because they were a little on the expensive side (16+ dollars for a notepad?) Well, I am not super loaded so I wanted to make sure I was getting my money’s worth when I buy it.
I found Lola on Unilocal and it seemed like a sweet little shop tucked away on a small street (Grant). We found parking and first wandered in the store next door and saw that they also sell Moleskine (black, medium size) for 16.99 and I was SO close to buying it but then decided to give my original store — Lola a try since I was there to support them!
So I headed into Lola with the bf — the cashier/​salesperson (she was an Asian lady) was not the nicest but at first she tried to help me out with finding the notepads which were in the back. Yay, they have all the colors and that made me happy — ranging from purple to orange to red to black to green — whatever you wanted, they have it… so then I looked the ISBN on amazon to make sure that it was still a decent deal… So it was 18.99 — 2 dollars MORE than the store next door (for the black) and it was 19.99 for the other colors ones… I was like okay. it’s 15 dollars on amazon — what should I do?
We left the store and I decided I wanted to get it there and then. I guilt tripped my bf into supporting local business and then we walked in and he bought the purple one. So as we were chatting with the cashier about how we wanted to support local business/​thank her for her help, she was just super RUDE about it and dismissive… I was so disappointed and upset that even though we made the effort to go back in and give her our business — she just simply didn’t care… well if you don’t care, we’d just return the notepad (which is exactly what we did). No more Lola of North Beach for us, you were too stuck up and hence this Unilocal review.

Looking for a gift? Lola of North Beach can be that spot to find the right gift. On a recent visit, I found some really cute new baby gifts. Darling shop, friendly service and they wrap your purchase up like it’s a gift with little ribbons and tissue.
I’ll stop in again when I need that unique and fun gift. Nice location amongst other little independent shops on Grant in the City.

Reasonable to moderately priced stationery and gifts.
They had the BOO book and stuffed dog! XD
Prices = reasonable to moderate.
Service = super friendly. Informative too.
Overall, I’d stop in here again for a gift. This time, it was just window shopping.

Stay classy: emails are good for business correspondence, but special occasions call for special cards — Lola’s got you!
CARDS
Some say, «nothing says I love you like a handwritten card.» Ugh, debatable, but a card can definitely carry heavy meaning. An old fashion card is inconvenient at times: kinda hard to find, find the words to print, and print legibly (for some) given our technology. However, the perfect card for your loved one with a few hand written words can be priceless. Especially if you’re broke in this economy, you may want to consider a heart felt card — beyond your standard Hallmark. If you got dough, grab one and load it with some cash or a gift card!
THE OCCASION
I came here because my niece is turning two this year, and I want her to remember how much Auntie Ray loved her before she became a rotten child (totally kidding — she’s already rotten and I even love her for that). Whether it’s an old card for V-​day, a B-​day, graduation, cards mark a point in time that E-​cards just don’t quite flag.
I walked into this store and found a beautiful assortment of cards — took the time I didn’t have because she’s worth it. Sure, she can’t read now but she’s likely to out-​live me, and I know my sister, like me, has a shoe box to toss this in. When baby girl moves out, she’ll get that box and take a look — we always stumble upon old cards in times of transition. Sometimes those cards reaffirm our decision to keep it moving or reconsider our direction, ya know…
NO OCCASION?
I recommend grabbing some stationary anyway. My grandma was a pretty classy lady and taught us that it’s rude not to send thank you’s. In her day, she collected stationary and sent thank you’s regularly — I so don’t do this but I’ve found it helpful to have stationary laying around: thank a boss for a bonus, drop an invite to your girl who just split with her man, write a rain-​check for your boy, forgotten b-​day, or just a simple thank you for being you.
CARDS ARE UNDERRATED
Well I dare you to send one to someone after they do something nice for you. Just writing this I can recall five cards that changed my own life — and if you knew me you’d know I’m not all that sentimental or gooshy. (1) my first real love valentine (2) my first birthday card from a acquaintance that ended up being one of my best friends (3) a college graduation card from pops (4) 18^th birthday card from mom (5) good luck card from my firm after moving on to law school.
BOTTOM LINE
I think this store has something for everyone. Check it out and support a local business, even if it’s in a yuppie neighborhood. If you’re not shopping for yourself, consider the stationary as a gift. Lil classy old school is cool.
NERD ALERT
At the counter, they have astronaut ice cream! I’m giving away my age here, but seriously — did you eat this as a kid??? Sweet memories