Hidden Gems: Paper Tiger

BUYING a greetings card quite often brings with it a nagging sense of deja-vu. No matter which shop you go to, you always feel like you've seen everything before.

However, one shop where that certainly isn't the case is Paper Tiger on Lothian Road and Stafford Street, where the greetings card selection always provides something original, quirky and fun.

With a selection that ranges from the tasteful and artistic to the genuinely funny, you're sure to find something here that the lucky recipient will not have seen before.

The shop also sells a diverse range of stationery, gift wrap, gift ideas and books – ranging from Moleskine notebooks to prints of old Tintin book covers in the original French. And the staff are refreshingly friendly, polite and helpful.

But the best thing about this independent shop is the fact that it never seems to rest on its laurels and always seems to be adding new lines to its selection.

Oh, and those reasonable prices.

No wonder they won Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer.

• Paper Tiger, 6 Stafford Street and 53 Lothian Road, 0131-226 2390 and 0131-228 2790