In Japan cute is a religion, a pursuit, a cult of happy little creatures adorning the crap out of notebooks, purses, toys, change purses, and whatever else you can stick a couple«characters» and a bit of mangled English on. Occupied has a bit of that cute thing going on, but it’s pretty toned down… so much that it took me a couple turns around the store thinking to myself«What is this place? Somebody’s craft sale?» before I finally clued in to the subspecies of hipster cute that Occupied specializes in. They’ve got cute stuffed things, cute purses and mini-zippered cases, iPod covers, and funny little toys. None of it is all that functional, but that’s not the point. It’s supposed to show, I don’t know, that you’re hip and in on the joke. I also really liked the stuffed Christmas ornaments, such as little Christmas trees with just a hint of sparkle and the slightly bizarre Santa figurines. What I liked best was visiting with the store kitty, an big adorable tiger-striped tabby who enjoyed a scratchies between the shoulder blades. He just sort of ambled out to see who was there, and I like to think he was rewarded handsomely for his trouble.
Nadine N.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Let’s say that you want to buy a stuffed, felt covered tv dinner toy set. Where would you go for such an item? Occupied, of course! And when you get there you can choose between the chicken drumstick or the salmon dinner. You probably don’t know what the heck I am talking about. It’s one of those things that you just have to see for yourself. Occupied carries all sorts of adorable stuffed things. My favourite is the stuffed happy cloud. If you are looking for a cutesy, kitschy gift to bring a smile to someone’s face, Occupied is the place to go.
A C.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
This place calls itself«the perfect little gift shoppe», and it is awfully adorable. Not at all cluttered, Occupied features a very sweet selection of little gifts with a kind of small nature theme. For example, you might find little magnets in the shape of mushrooms, handmade stuffed toys such as owls and elephants, card holders and change purses made out of fabric covered with bunnies… and all of this without being cloying. Much of what is here is handmade with love and some of what they carry is adorableness from the land that(re)-invented cute: Japan. Even if you don’t take anything home with you, this store is worth stopping into to browse at the novel items here.