The Tin Box

The Tin Box is my go-​to gift store. The entire store is full of cute, clever gadgets and gizmos, kitchen supplies, cards, jewelry, etc. I can spend hours browsing and trying to decide what to buy.
I heard they are closing up shop soon. I’ll have to get creative for Christmas 2014 :(

This is my number one stop for unique gifts. They can cost a little more, as does everything on Whyte, but its totally worth it when someone opens their gift and is like «» Wow where did you get that «? The gifts range from just born to the elder, they really have alot. its also a great store to just browse around and look at all the unique things. There is such a large inventory here you are sure to find what you are looking for. Every time I go for a walk on Whyte Im sure to stop in the Tin Box and will in the future.

I was hoping to find a Hugs n Kisses card in this Tin Box but left empty handed and disappointed they didn’t carry their cards like the other location does. But it was fun browsing and checking the other cards, jewelry, and home gadgets and items. It was a weekday around lunch time but there were a number of people in the store as well. For an unique gift, this would probably be the place I would go to and find something cool!

Great assortment of those hard to find kitchen items. Lots of great giftware and greeting cards too.

I love this little place! It has some really fun funky gifts, accessories, cards, home décor, purses, toys etc. It has a bit of everything so it is really fun to explore. I advise going on a week day over a weekend as it tends to get crowed on the weekends, if you like a busy store then by all means hit it up on the weekend.

Places like this are what make Whyte Ave what it is. I can’t help but stop in just to take a look around. The prices are higher so it is difficult to justify spending most times, but this is the place where you find the stuff you can’t find anywhere else. A wonderful place to find some nifty gift ideas (housewarming, wedding shower, secret Santa — those times when you don’t want to show up at some event and have the same gift as everyone else there). You can always find some really unique household items and decorations — which is really just a teaser most times since I am typically too cheap to purchase anything. Regardless, it’s nice to just look around — in case you find that one item that you have never seen before and you just cannot live without!

As has already been stated, it’s nice to look around in The Tin Box because they have a wide variety of stuff. But I think the prices get to me more than most people. I’ve bought a couple things from here… a clock for my boyfriend and some winter accessories. I just can’t justify spending money on most of the stuff in here, though! Most of the stuff in the store can be found elsewhere for cheaper or you can find a pretty good dupe of the item somewhere else for cheaper.
So my verdict is: If you want to find someone a gift and have NO idea what to get, The Tin Box, with it’s eccentric gathering of tchotchkes, is a good place to start. If you’re shopping for yourself and you know what you’re looking for, this place is NOT where I’d recommend going.

One of my favourite little shops on Whyte! Sometimes I try to avoid this place because I feel that everytime I visit, I fall into the «drugstore trap.» (That’s a good thing.) You know, like you go to the drugstore to pick up toothpaste, and you leave with toothpaste, nail polish remover, a mirror, a birthday card, and a magazine? The Tin Box is like that, but more expensive! I really love the items in here, and sometimes I just can’t help myself from spending more than I plan to :)
Unique marinades and sauces, kitchen tools, home decorating, jewerly, and kitchy kind of stuff, and I tend to like all of it! It’s an exciting moment for me at the till, but a sadder one for my wallet.
Keep doing what you’re doing, Tin Box. I’m a fan!

In my opinion, the Tin Box is the best browsing store on Whyte Ave. Let me explain.
This store is a great store to buy gifts from. They’ve got a unique variety of things, from weird looking wine cellars, to those humungous vases for keeping the now-​modern-​look of huge bamboo shoots in the living room. The kitchen section, just a small area, has some cute, curious items that I certainly don’t own and am enthused to see. Silicone cupcake moulds that are shaped in the form of weird looking robots. Colorful place mats, peelers, juicers, saucepans etc.
Then there’s the living room stuff. There are a lot of cute looking bookshelf ends, mystic stuff to hang, for the hippier household, interesting photo frames and what not. Of course, they do have a basic collection of fancy foods like jams, oils etc. The theme of this store is a lot less hippy and quite diverged from the Ten Thousand Villages kind of stuff. I would say the theme is more mainstream, yet modern, giving importance to the arty component of basic day-​to-​day items. Like for instance, cup measures with an orange handle!
I like the lamps and home décor items that they carry. It opens up a variety of options in decorating ones place. There are a lot of other things available at this store and this review certainly doesn’t do justice to the variety. Come here on your own and find what’s your favorite item! A tad on the expensive side, but you’re really paying for the look of things.

I am absolutely in love with this place. You can find anything here!
This place is filled with beautiful cards, beautiful house wares, candles, candle holders, magnets, etc.
This store does not take itself seriously at all. There is a rack of «fun» items. It holds things like a «woman remote,» a charging pod that looks like grass and funny buttons.
I love the picture frames here! They have a huge selection of all different styles.
My boyfriend picked out a business card holder that was really nice and it was only $ 10.
You can get things here for cheap, or you can go all out and get something expensive. A great place to window shop — inside.

I really liked The Tin Box, but why does everything have to be so expensive? I left this store totally depressed! I mostly ignored the home décor and kitchen items and went straight for the fashion accessories.
I found this amazing scarf with really cool green leaves on it, but it was $ 60, and that was the sale price! I also fell in love with their wallets. There was a whole bunch of different designs, but I really liked the one with pears on it. It was also a bit pricey, but I might just go back to get it. The assortment of hats were quite stylish and not a bad price. The shoulders bags were also funky with unique designs and pictures on them, but yet again, too expensive for me. I think I’ll have to take some happy pills on my next trip here.
There are quite a few clearance items, especially in jewelery, but the selection is usually disappointing. Still, this store is pretty cool, and it’s an awesome place to find a gift (even for yourself).

If you’re looking for a unique gift or home decorating ideas, this shop is fun to browse and the prices are reasonable. There are lots of Zen-​inspired items — Buddha heads, smooth stones, bamboo place mats, wooden vases, rock gardens and inspirational word plaques. A kitchenware section has beautiful ceramics, food prep gadgets, décor and prepackaged dips, oils, crackers, herb and spice packs. There are several racks of greeting cards, a whole area with candles and aromatherapy-​type products, and a section with purses, scarves, jewelry, hair ornaments and more. Stuff here is more expensive than a store than Ikea or Winners but less than Pier One.

The Tin Box is a bright and fun household and gift store. It is full of trinkets and items for the home, often with a unique slant. One of the things that led me to the store was the huge selection of Sigg aluminum water bottles and accessories. Another was the Lunastix juggling sticks — very hard to find on the shelves anywhere. I usually have to special order my juggling sticks, but here they were.
The Tin Box also has some handcrafted jewellery, home accents (lamps, mirrors, blinds), and other high-​end toys. It’s a great place to head if you have to buy a gift for the proverbial «person who has everything.» It’s also a great place to pick up something unique for yourself or your home.