Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books

We wandered in here while staying at Langley (birthday surprise from my lovely bf!) and found some cute prints that turned out to be old cruise ship menus. :-) One of the menus was from a cruise to Hawaii (my hometown). There were a few more matching menus (Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji) all in the sale bin, so we decided to take them home with us. My boyfriend wandered around and found a map of his hometown (ancient map of Persia) and wanted to purchase that after the shopkeeper convinced him that it was a good buy. We also had them frame and mount the map which as anyone who’s in the know a good quality framing job can get quite expensive. We decided to come back to pick it up in a few weeks and left to finish our trip.
We received a phone call that our map was framed and ready to be picked up a few weeks later. We made some plans with a few friends to visit the island and pick up the map while exploring the island with them. When I called to inquire about their closing time the owner was a bit abrupt with me. Apparently there was a fair going on that weekend and she was set on closing her doors promptly at 5pm. When she recognized I was a customer her tone softened a bit, but it left me feeling a bit unsettled. When we arrived we picked up the map from a young man (possible her son?) and he did not bother to open it for us. I had to go to another section of the store to open it up and check it out to make sure it was in good shape, framed right, and generally that it was in a condition that we would be happy with it. When you’re dropping cash on an item like this, you would hope that would be the least service you get. Anyhow my boyfriend took the map back to the car (we had to park far out because of the ongoing fair) and when he returned he had a chance to talk to the owner. While casually chatting he asked if she enjoyed having the fair in town as it probably generated a fair amount of foot traffic into her store. Bluntly put she noted that the type of people at the fair wasn’t her usual clientele. He politely nodded and quickly left after that. We’re happy with our purchases (though we still haven’t found a place for the map yet) but the attitude left us with a slightly sour taste that we’re not sure we’re a fan of. We wanted to by another map (since my bf is a bit obsessed with them) but decided that we might want to look elsewhere first.

We wandered in here one fine day this spring and were instantly captivated by the wonderful selection of books and the welcoming, knowledgeable owner, Priscilla. This is a fantastic bookshop, made for lengthy browsing and discovery of hidden gems together with good conversation between bibliophiles.

This is a Whidbey Island gem. I was initially intimidated by the incredible collection of prints (and the very knowledgeable shopkeeper) but after spending some time looking around and sharing my specific request to find a lower priced gift, she kindly helped me sort through several options. I found a gorgeous fish print that is such a nice memory of the store and the trip.

Nice assorted of products. Knowledgeable staff. BUT, watch out for the hard-​hit sales technique that sneaks up on you. I don’t need to know about your personal finances, that certainly doesn’t make me want to buy anything from you. We walked in being clear we were pre-​shopping… manipulation of customers is not becoming.

As a recent college grad, I can’t afford most of what’s in the shop but the bargain bin offered some excellent finds for under $ 30. The shop’s owner was very helpful and, when she noticed I was admiring a painting far far above my budget, she offered to box me up a custom assortment of cards including a reproduction of the painting I was drooling over.

What a horribly rude and unfriendly shopkeeper. I am a collector of art prints and books, but I wouldn’t drop a penny here after the way that woman spoke to my husband and I when we entered her shop. This occurred a few months ago while we were on vacation and it still burns me up!