Photo: Richard Birch

Donna Hay General Store

SYDNEY
The decor of this shop is in keeping with the Australian Martha Stewart’s famously uncluttered style. Crockery in soft colours, glass juicers, wooden cutting boards and jars of chutney and chili jam line the panelled walls. And visitors with a sweet tooth can also pick up freshly baked molten chocolate chunk brownies.
40 Holdsworth St., Woollahra, 61-2-9328-6555

Fait ici

MONTRÉAL
In this boutique in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood, spices from the boreal forest and local organic ketchup are found alongside Quebec-made soaps and toy trucks made from milk cartons. The shop’s old-school general-store concept creates a warm vibe, making it the perfect spot to savour a charcuterie plate (think dried sausage from Baie-Saint-Paul) and the famous macaroni – minus the gossip.
2519, rue Notre-Dame O., 514-439-3888

Labour and Wait

LONDON 
Located in the city’s east-end market district, this stylish and quirky hardware store mixes practicality with fun, offering an array of timeless articles for the home and garden. Pie funnels, gardening forks and wood and horsehair brushes of all sorts go hand in hand with luxurious plaid blankets and imported Portuguese toothpaste.
85 Redchurch St., 44-20-7729-6253  

Mr. Lee’s General Store & Haberdashery

VANCOUVER
This men’s store doesn’t have an inch to spare. The antique cabinets are crammed with carefully curated merchandise: Filson bags, even the Stumptown coffee served at Ace Hotels. And if you can’t stop by the Belmont Barbershop next door (which also belongs to one of the owners), you can pick up its Baxter of California shaving products to go.
109 East Broadway, 604-568-7103


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