Mongrel

One of my favorite stores in Carytown. If I’m looking for a quick gift I always head here. The staff is super friendly and the card selection ranges from simple blank to serious to hilarious. I love the unique gifts available and I can easily find something perfectly matched for the occasion. Bonus is they also sell wrapping paper!

Perfect cards for all occasions! I love to bring out of town guests to Mongrel to see the diverse shopping selections. Designer candles are priced well.

This is my go to shop for all birthday & Christmas gifts. They have something for everyone & not to mention cards for everyone and their mother. Every time I’ve given a loved one a gift, they’ve asked where it’s from.
They sell beautiful prints as «wrapping paper» (which I think are all to pretty to use for their purpose, so I have about 8 different prints framed around my house) for $ 3.75 a pop, you can’t beat that!
They also have free gift wrapping, and they do a damn good job.

Found a toothbrush holder in the shape of a bear that has a suction cup attached to it. Cutest thing ever! Fits my adult tooth brush, heh. Also bought some bacon candy as a gift. The aisles are a little bit cramp but the products are pretty cool.

Like a «PaperSkyScraper» maybe better! In a way! Gift Shop even a gift for me or those others who think they have EVERYTHING they want and need!
FUN ! It is a Lookalota for sure with some pretty Cool Merch and you are very likely to get noticed up if you are Male! Though if you are FRED you have never been Heard of!
Always looking for Greeting Cards, we found some Cool Unique ones to send!
My Favorite was the «BluePrints» for Drinking Vessels printed on a Napkin!

This is my go-​to quirky gift shop! I can find something for everyone on my list every time I pop in while I am strolling through Carytown. I was there this past Saturday, with hundreds of the other shoppers looking for last minute Christmas gifts. Mongrel has an amazing variety of gifts for family members, significant others and even coworkers.
I especially love their assortment of funny cards, paper products, and candles, which always make the best gifts for my beloved gal pals. Also, it is a great place to stock up on hostess gifts and party favors that are sure to entertain and make you the coolest addition to any party!

All the other 5 star posts have said it already — this is a great place to find unique, funny gifts for anyone in your life. It’s impossible to resist buying something in there! I got an amazing Thymes gingerbread candle that’s perfect for the holidays, and a chocolate flavored tea. Some of the stuff in there is pretty pricey. for example I think the candle I bought was around $ 40. But there is definitely a range of stuff there. Also whats great is that in the back corner there is a whole area of gift bags, gift wrap, etc so that if you are buying a last minute gift you are all set! I can’t wait to have visitors in Richmond so that I can show them this store. Also the service here is great. The shopkeepers are helpful without being pushy and they will take the time to show you around.

Mongrel is one of my favorite places to shop for unique gifts and cards. It’s a lot like an independent version of Paper Source.
They have tons of stationary, cards, wrapping supplies, ornaments, wine supplies and other cool knick knacks. They also have Richmond related merch. I know people around here love to show some RVA pride. There are items for every budget, too.
My sugar daddy… oh…erm.I mean boyfriend… lives in California so I’m always on the lookout for cards to send. Mongrel is my first stop (and normally the last, too!) when looking for cards. Step aside, Hallmark. I actually scored an awesome Morrissey card there during my last visit!
The employees are generally friendly and unobtrusive but can sometimes be a little cold. Space is kinda small so I would avoid going in on a weekend or other busy times. There’s a (free) parking deck behind the Byrd, park in there instead of dealing with scary parallel street parking.
This would be a perfect place to stop in during this time of the year. You’re guaranteed to find something original and impressive.

The best. I’ve spent many a happy hour poking around in here, and my mom always wants to come by when she’s in town. You WILL find the perfect card/​gift somewhere in Mongrel’s well-​curated collection, no matter who the recipient.
Their selection of naughty cards is unparalleled and will result in many borderline-​embarrassing-​for-​a-​public-​space snorts and sniggers if your sense of humor is as inappropriate as mine.

This is my favorite store in my whole life, ever. And I know this because I’m incapable of writing a real review.
Funnies.
Dish towels.
Food stuffs.
Pretty stuffs.
Stationaries.
Ironies.
That’s all I got.

I thought I had been to a gift store in the past. That is, until I came to Mongrel. Simply put, Mongrel is one of the greatest gift and card shops I have ever been to in my life. Some gift stores have themes and some feature very specific types of gifts, but rarely do you find a gift store that has a little of everything. And then some.
We stumbled upon the store while meandering around Carytown this past weekend. I had seen some reviews prior so I had an inkling of an idea of what I would be walking into, but no amount of reading reviews can prepare you for what you’re about to experience.
Given that, there’s really no way to describe what kinds of things are here. There are your common gift type items like greeting cards, handbags, and books, but there are also some very specific things like inflatable unicorn horns for cats (really!), Shakespeare insult bandaids, meat tenderizers in the shape of brass knuckles, obscenely named hand sanitizers, mugs that show a Triceratops Meat Chart, and much much more. There are things for every age and type of person. I think we were probably walking around this store for no less than 30 minutes.
Besides humorous gifts, there are also some really nice things like chopstick sets, kitchen items, and notebooks.
I’m not sure if it is intended or not, and may be because of the name, but there are a lot of products featuring animals one way or another, and I love that.
I normally try to comment on the price of items at places I review, but the nature of the vast selection of gifts makes it difficult. There were some cheaper items and more expensive items. Like any gift store.
We ended up buying a pencil bag with incredibly random Japanese character art of a hamster and carrots, and also a set of dog pins. That said, there was so much more I would have bought, but it’s one of those stores you go when in gifting mode, and we were in wandering-​around-​Carytown mode.
So, next time a major gift shopping event comes up, be it Christmas or a birthday, Mongrel is right at the top of my list. Heck, I think if you wanted to find some great Halloween, Thanksgiving, [insert holiday here] gifts, Mongrel would be just the breed of gift store worth checking out. Unequivocally 5 stars in my opinion.

Mongrel is a cute, but large, store that offers items such as gifts, stationery, and home décor items. I loved their greeting card selections, which is a mix of familiar brand lines and local card makers alike. Prices are comparable to any independently-​owned store. I was a little disappointed as the staff didn’t seem to be available to offer any assistance, and after making some multiple rounds around the store, I soaked everything in and was done. I am a huge greeting cards collector, so I just wished I was able to experience my visit a little bit better! The store itself is located in a hip area, next to the theater.
+a nice selection of greeting cards
+MIA staff T_​_​_​T

Walked in thinking this was going to be a pet store… it wasn’t. BUT, I was still pleasantly surprised. Mongrel is actually a stationary & gifts store and as it was getting closer to Mother’s Day, it turned out I was in need of a bunch of cards. I suppose it was fate.
Mongrel has an awesome selection of cards and carries the big Papyrus brand as well as several recycled and unique cards. I needed birthday cards and graduation cards as well and picked up all of them at Mongrel. There were a bunch that were so unique and I was happy I ended up at Mongrel to buy them. There were also several unique gifts available and I’m sure you could find something for just about anyone if you were running last minute and didn’t have time to shop around.

This is my go-​to gift shop. I find something for anyone here. And sometimes I buy a second for myself :)

This place is a little expensive — but so is Carytown. It’s a wonderful little shop, full of the spirit that is Cary Street!

Love this place! Always good for the quirky, funny friend or family member on your list. I go here for funny magnets, weird trinkets (that sometimes involve a nun, a pig, or a flamingo,) picture frames (I wish I could randomly find the great pics of celebrities they find! I think it’s a pretty cool look!) cards + stationary, and the occasional irreverent item needed to fully communicate how dear someone is to me.
Ranges from the cheap to the pricey. Depends on your budget! Fun for shopping and browsing!

This is the best place to find a great, original gift for just about anyone on your list. They have an eclectic and well-​edited selection, and they have quite a few Richmond-​specific offerings too. This is always my go-​to spot for finding a gift, especially if last-​minute because I can almost always find something. They have cards, gifts, and even the gift wrap and packaging so you can leave here with an item that’s completely ready to be gifted.
Some things are a little on the pricy side, but their sales are great. The staff is always super helpful, and they go above and beyond just checking you out at the register.

In a nutshell: Mongrel is your perfect one-​stop gift shop! You’re guaranteed to spend more time than anticipated browsing through this store even though you meant to just pick up an awesome card for that special occasion. They have everything from fancy wrapping paper, a variety of cookbooks, items for your pet, gag gifts, hilariously unique cards for every occasion, doormats, candles, and the list goes on and on.
Con: prices are not always listed on the items. I spent a little more than necessary on some purchases so just be aware.
The Mongrel staff members are super friendly and knowledgeable of the store (impressive because there are hundreds of items) and are happy to make suggestions. Please be sure to visit Mongrel the next time in Carytown — you’re guaranteed to be entertained and walk out with a fun purchase.

I can only agree with those who’ve found Mongrel overwhelming– many adjectives describe the place, but that may well be foremost among them. It is not that the place is poorly organized or lacks focus, but there is simply So Much Stuff packed into the store [which is not tiny, but reasonably-​sized for Carytown] that I have found it flatly impossible to actually browse through everything. If –nothing– else, the cards alone will get me to a saturation point and I just have to stop, even skipping the ones for events I have no need of or in styles I don’t like.
Besides cards of every sort imaginable, the place is a good source of completely random gifts– fancy matchbooks, cute real books [They had the Pat the Zombie book, bless them], candles, knick-​knacks… everything. The only particularly jarring note for me is the inclusion of magnets and buttons with heavily political statements, which generally make me shake my head whichever side they’re bashing, and the marijuana stuff which will also not appeal to everyone who browses through. The same can probably be said for the naughty card section, though, or the sassy magnets about drinking, so… Not a bad place, but keep an eye on which spots grandma peruses. Or not, if she’s as cool as mine, of course.

This store has it all
I haven’t seen a better collection of interesting gifts nor as many types of moleskin notebooks as I have here. In particular, I like the knock knock notepads. Go ahead, steal my idea.