Happy Valley - Essentials

My favorite store for stationery and accessories in western MA is Essentials. They have a tiny store in Amherst which sells some accessories and lots of baby stuff, but the one in Northampton, MA is larger and has much more variety. It's one of those stores that you don't really NEED anything they sell but if you're looking for something unique, and perhaps French or Japanese it's your place. You may not need their stuff but when you go in you will probably want a lot of it.

The people who work there are extremely nice. I think once, years ago, they let a friend and I hang out on the sofa and chat for over an hour and drink our coffee, just because. They also carry furniture by Lee Industries (I don't think you can get away with non-earth friendly furniture in the Happy Valley without a protest).


I stopped in a few weeks ago when I was in the area and was disappointed to see that the Amherst store didn't carry the Barbapapas like I had hoped. They had some great stuff though.


(Barbapapa photo: D-Kav)