Maido Stationery & Gifts

This is my favorite store ever. Yes items are more expensive, but it’s so convenient and fun to be able to test all of the available pens. This location is great it was easy to find parking on the lot next to it. I called ahead to ask about a specific pen barrel before I made the drive over which was accurate. I found the pen (Pilot Hi-​Tec C Coleto) and the refills I needed. The price was decent and comparable to online retailers like Amazon. I have also bought midori inserts here and cute post its. Join heir rewards program if you haven’t!

Very cool stationary shop. Very hipster-​y vibe. Prices are kind of high but the items are pretty rare. I bought a couple of «knock knock» post it pads and it was $ 10.
They have cool envelopes, letter heads, notebooks, pens, etc.
Would return, I love stationary!

This is the go to place to find a gift for someone or just yourself. Buyer beware some of the prices are sky high but you end up with a quality item. I was looking for a Mother’s Day card for my mom and they had one left of this unique pop up card. The card was $ 9 (ouch!), that’s a lot of money for a card but I know she will just love it.

I simply adore this store. They always have something new and I rarely leave empty-​handed. I normally buy things that catch my attention, since I might not find the items again. It’s the perfect place to find gifts for friends and family. Definitely my go-​to place for wonderful smelling incense and cute knick-​knacks for myself. There’s ample parking and there are lots of great restaurants nearby.

If i were rich i would probably buy everything in this store but until then ill just take pictures of the cute gifts/​store :(

We walked in for the first time and were immediately greeted.
This place is full of unique items, great for gifts and special occasions. There is a varied selection for all ages.
The pricing is a bit high, but worth it for the uniqueness of the selection offered and the attention to detail.
We purchased a metal tank you build for our nephew! He will love it! I was looking for the R2D2 but they were sold out. :(That said the cashier looked everywhere to make sure they didn’t have it.
We will definatly be back to shop some more!

REALLY REALLY nice store. give yourself at least 20 – 30 mins to just walk thru and check out their stuff. I found exactly what I needed. They have everything! Their prices are very fair. I will return for more stuff!

LOTS of greeting cards, most of which made me smile, however, came here for the writing stationary ’cause I am old school sort of and I love to write. Prices were $$$ but it was one of those places that you can escape just browsing. Good customer service.

I am addicted to this place. Love at first sight. Amazing stock of stationeries, notebooks, sketchbooks and all types of pens. Some lines of Pilot pen which were not that easy to find in the states appear in this little shop. A gem in Alhambra. I can’t help myself but this place become my daily chill out spot. Purchased a few calligraphy pens and sketchbooks plus some nice guide books. Defo coming back again and again!

Well, I guess I’m the first male to review this place.
Walking into Maido, I had a deja-​vu feeling. I felt like I’ve been to Maido before, and it wasn’t until I started turning the gears that I figured that there was a branch in San Francisco’s Japantown. (I had confirmed this when I asked the cashier randomly if they have one in SF, and she provided a business card showing all the different locations, which also includes the Kinokinuya bookstore in Little Tokyo.)
I read a few reviews already, and I do have to agree with Cindy L. about giggling about some of the negative things that people said, because it’s kind of off the wall. Yes, the place is overpriced to a certain degree, but does one forget that there’s import taxes, sales taxes and you’re paying for quality? It’s like saying that Daiso’s overpriced because it’s not 99 cents. I do like American stationery products, but similar to skincare (and BB creams), the Asian countries have it down. (But this is Unilocal,to each to their own.)
I did pick up a thank you note card pack because I can’t say no to cherry blossoms and a small pin to send over to a friend. As I was checking out, the cashier informed me about their membership, and I did sign up because I could see myself dropping a bill or two here and there to make my home/​work office look clean.
Side note, the pen I used to signed off my credit card slip, it’s kind of making me rethink whether I should give up my standard 0.5 Pilot G2 black pens.

I’ll keep this simple I love this place. It’s the perfect place to find gifts and different knick naks for your workplace. A lot of cute unique items from a wall of pens to stationary to adorable fish shaped nail clippers. I always find myself browsing here for a good 15mins. The staff is a couple of very sweet and attentive ladies. An awesome addition to Alhambra Place.

A fantastic addition to Alhambra! I just happened to walk by while on my way to Blaze for their $ 3.14 deal (which yielded to nothing because the line was ri-​donk), and little did I know that my eyes were in for a different type of feast!
I’m a lover of all things cute, niche and quality, and Maido’s inventory is all I ever wanted. It’s the Little Tokyo bookstore without the books and animé (which I don’t care for much), which makes sense because they’re under the same company. Here, there are an assortment of high-​quality pens, high-​quality pencils, notebooks (ALL THE NOTEBOOKS), baggu bags (!), Japanese pom pom makers, insanely cute cards, Pusheen plushies, Tom Dixon stationary, Lamy pens, knick knacks and doo dads. Everything is organized by category: you got your llama-​themed products here, your cat-​themed products there, your mini gardening products over yonder, etc…
I actually surveyed the store for a good half an hour before I left for Sprouts. Only to come back to Maido with a head of celery and some Greek Yogurt Ranch dip because I needed a reusable grocery bag. Does anyone else feel self-​conscious when walking out of an organic grocery stores with plastic bags in hand or is it just me? Anyways, the lady at Maido asked if I wanted to use the Baggu now, and I firmly shook my head yes. Transaction over, I happily walk back to my car with something cute and sustainable to «tote» my groceries in (they’re guaranteed to last a year, carry 2 or 3 grocery bags worth, and are made ethically in China)!
All in all, Maido is the perfect place to buy yourself a gift. Oh, and gifts for other people too. :) Or the perfect place to bring your friends if they like cute goods.

Adorable. Everything seems to be directly imported from Japan which explains the prices. I bought two sets of fountain pen refills and the cashiers help me when I ask. Excellent range of art supplies for a stationery store. Good/​fair prices for a box of palomino blackwings which is how I judge any stationery store. If you are wondering why the store/​set up feels familiar Maido also seems to supply kinokuniya with stationery as I noticed on the back of their business card.
Good place to visit for gifts or a treat yo self kind of day.

The buyers for this store have fantastic taste! I was expecting it to be exclusively a stationery store but probably about half is non-​stationery gifts. Lots of great ideas for any occasion/​recipient! Beautiful selection of cards as well. It’s on the expensive side, but pretty much all stores like this are.
Minus one star for a terrible return policy (no returns, only exchanges — and you can’t get a gift card, you have to do an actual exchange at the time you bring back the product) and for bad customer service.

Love their huge selection of notebooks and sketch books. Store is neatly organized and full of cute novelties. Workers are very helpful and attentive. Will definitely be coming back for holiday gifts!

I am LAUGHING at all of the negative comments about this stationary shop — Maido is so incredibly cute! It’s a stationary shop with pens, notebooks, adult coloring books, and Japanese crafts — what more do you need someone to explain and why would you need someone to hold your hand while browsing here?
Anyways — thought this place had a wide range of items (both big and small) and a magnitude of colored pens. An ENTIRE WALL of pens — this is my high school heart’s dream!!! And adult coloring/​drawing books … you have to admit that’s pretty cool.
Alhambra has done a lot to try to revamp it’s downtown and with little shops like this I hope that it succeeds! I really loved the store and it’s located close to the theater and one of my favorite ramen places (Foo Foo Tei).

Super cute store! Lots of cards, notebooks/​notepads, grown up coloring books, etc. Not a whole lot of actual letter writing stationery. Walked into the store with the cashier behind the counter deep into whatever was on her phone, and another employee flipping through a book. Nobody even bothered to lift their heads when we walked through the door, let alone greet us. Nobody asked how we were doing, or if we needed any help. I came in ready to spend some $$, but I won’t be giving any business to this establishment.
Sorry not sorry!

This is such a cute little store! Has all different kind of stationary items, pens, planners, calendars, paper and cute other things from Japan. But the prices are little on the expensive side. They got hello kitty, Sanrio character planners, really cute diary books, gel pens, stamps, pusheen character stuff animal and lots of other things! This store is a good place to come check out if you want to buy a little gift for someone.

A great collection of stationary: journals, notebooks, greeting cards, mechanical pencils, pens, stamps, erasers, folders, and a lot more! They also sell bar soap, plush, wallets and other items that would make good gifts.
I’m surprised they sell rifle paper co! They also sell totoro and puhseen. Their greeting card selection is good, however, not many birthday cards. Most are thank you cards.
The prices are decent. They offer the same price as other places.
I want all the journals here! If you don’t have any ideas for gifts, I think stationary would be a great idea.

I’m a sucker for stationary… especially if they’re cute. That is what Maido is. Extremely cute! They sell all kinds of stationary and cute little gifts here, even some lotion! If you’re looking for cute unique cards, cute (and even plain) notebooks, planners, paper, pens, pencils, stickers, and any other kind of stationary items you can think of, this is the place to go! They’ve even got things like stickers, calendars, wallets, toys, and so much more! If you get any kind of stationary gift, or even a card from me in the near future… chances are I got it here.
Of course, you have to be willing to spend a little more than average stationary prices because although it’s not bank breaking, it’s not as cheap as the standard items you’d find in Target, Office Depot, or Staples. For me, it’s worth it because you’ll never find these kind of items in any regular stationary store either! Apparently there is also a Maido in Torrance… which is why I’ve never heard of it until now.
I’m so happy that they opened in Alhambra! It’s located in the new Alhambra Plaza on Garfield and Main (where the old Mervyns and Cha4Tea used to be right next to Burlington. The parking is super simple and free in Alhambra these days and they’re also supposedly opening up another parking lot nearby.
Can’t wait to make my next visit soon!!!