Stationery Treasure Trove: Wood Would in Mandarin Gallery

There are certain stores that when you step into them, your heart beats a little faster; your eyes boggle trying to take in the amazing quantities of covetable things, and you have to tell yourself to, “calm down” rather sternly to be able to process what you are seeing and sort the must-haves from the simply desired items. For me, being a bit of a design geek, stationery stores are my heaven (for other more fashionable types, I hear shoe shops have the same effect) but Wood Would set me into a never-bef0re-experienced state of stationery nirvana. It’s rather a cut above Typo which recently I found quite exciting, let’s just say that!

It was actually a twist of fate that led me to discover Wood Would — I asked a helpful girl in Jones the Grocer if there was anywhere that sold greetings cards nearby, and she directed me downstairs to the third floor telling me there was a stationery store there which had “quite a funny entrance“. In fact, from the outside you might think Wood Would is a toy shop or a party shop, and yes, it is those things too! The dark interior is decorated with confetti system garlands, birdcages and twinkling lights, which put you in quite a festive shopping mood.

With a Japanese vibe (a lot of their goodies are imported from Japan), Wood Would is certainly eclectic. As well as greetings cards, notebooks, washi tape, coloured string and invitations, you’ll find vintage toys, jewellery, handbags, china coffee cups and a whole host of other exciting surprises. They give you a little basket to fill and while the prices are not cheap, it’s very hard to stop yourself from shopping! I picked up some little wooden animal stamps for my daughter, a fun notebook for me, some cards and a couple of other little gifts.

When I talked to the cashier, she told me that until recently they had another branch of Wood Would but it had to close, so I’m very keen to support the Mandarin Gallery shop as it’s a true Singapore indie business (and so much love and care has gone into the choice of stock and the style of the shop). Next time you’re looking to pick up a special little gift for a friend, or just want a super-cool greetings card, make sure to head to Wood Would!

Wood Would, Level 3, The Mandarin Gallery, Orchard Road, Singapore 238897
Tel: (+65) 6735 6136