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Arts & Letters
Category: Event Planning & Services Cards & Stationery Shopping Arts & Crafts Cards & Stationery Shopping Flowers & Gifts Cards & Stationery Cards & Stationery [Edit]
2665 Main StSte C
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
(310) 392-9076
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 10 am - 6 pm
Sun 10:30 am - 5 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
$109 for $229 Certificate
Sarah B. said: "Dan really is the best! He is a genuinely nice person who is passionate about his work. He truly was a pleasure to work with and made this part of…" read more »
28 reviews for Arts & Letters
28 reviews in English
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Review from Annie W.
Santa Monica, CA
9/27/2011
Arts & Letters is a Godsend.....Customer service is high on the list.....Linda and her husband have a super homey, loaded with goods and goodies store that caters to not only cards and paper goods, but an array of frames, gift items large and small, leather goods and curios. My son orders his Christmas cards early there every year, and their selection is vast and varied. Treat yourself to a fast growing Santa Monica staple....there's even a Starbucks 3 doors away!
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Review from Hugo C.
12/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was looking for a way to thank some folks that donated to my Movember efforts and thought that a whimsical thank you card was the perfect choice. I would have loved any sort of card that contained a mustache, but would have been just as happy with a thank you card that was visually as silly as the thought of growing a mustache and hitting people up for cash.
The shop keeper was admirably kind and sheepishly offered a "I'm just holding down the fort until my wife comes back -- I'm sure she would be able to help you if you waited a bit for her to return," but I was a man on a whimsy-filled-card mission and had no time to spare. I ultimately found a few cards that were the tiniest bit fanciful, but nothing that really fit the bill. -
Review from Jen R.
10/24/2011
Honestly, I had no business even walking into this shop yesterday. I didn't have stationery on my radar. However, Hubs said, "Let's try 'em." Ladies, how do you not like it when your man wants to go shopping? I would be a stone-cold fool to stop that action.
This place is helping me convert back from an e-mail sender to a letter-writer and lover of smashtastic paper goods. Also, three of the four stars are set solely for the genuine, friendly girl behind the counter who not only welcomed us but was able to help Husband with the thing he sought. (They didn't stock it. She was kind about it, though. Didn't just blow him off as so many other places have done.)
As others have said, you'll find high-quality products here. Why didn't I know about this place before? -
Review from Jennifer F.
Los Angeles, CA
Arts & Letters is exactly what this store is about! Great store to find creative gifts.
A nice selection of cards: birthday, greeting, get well cards etc. They also have stationary, pens, boxes, gifts, and wrapping paper. My favorite thing in the whole store were the leather bound journals. This would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys traveling. -
Review from Colleen L.
West Los Angeles, CA
8/20/2011
As my friend & I strolled along on Main St. this afternoon, I told her I needed to buy some stamps. She suggested we stop in here.
Wonders of wonders, they had 44 cent stamps! They are the patriotic flag type, nothing fancy, though in a pinch they worked. I appreciated this store's thoughtfulness. Saved me a trip to the post office, which was closed anyway. I agree with Bernadette, the customer service here is outstanding. Also with Joan, who said they're pleasant & professional.
On special occasions, this store has come through for me with an assortment of birthday cards, baby shower cards and today, there was no special occasion though they provided a much needed service. Now I can send off a thank you note to my dear aunt that bought me that round trip ticket to Hawaii. -
Review from bernadette e.
Santa Monica, CA
12/27/2010
Fabulous shop that reminds me the shops in London. Crowded and piled high with cards, fine paper, unique greeting cards, quality Christmas cards by Crane & Co., pens, paperweights, and stylish self-inking address stamps and embossers (by special order). These aren't cheap address rubber stamps, they have lots of designs to choose from and are around $40 plus S&H...very nice.
The customer service is outstanding, without someone hovering over you as you shop, adding pressure. Whenever I go in there, I feel comfortable browsing through everything at my leisure until I find "just" what I'm looking for. I purchased my Christmas cards here and they were exactly what I wanted: a religious card with lots of color and beauty, on QUALITY paper. I didn't want a Santa card (although they had those too), and I didn't want a dull Wal-mart Christmas card with a brown nativity scene, that screams "Throw me away" or "I cared enough to send you a 10 cent card-- made in china." -
Review from JENNIFER N.
Redondo Beach, CA
3/10/2010
Cute little stationary shop with lots of unique and "different" cards. Lots of high end stationary and accessories.
Being competitive in this field is not easy. But they are friendly and helpful. They can help you with your wedding/ party invitations. One of my favorite is that stamp they have that can design your own monogram and styles. -
Review from Kris P.
Los Angeles, CA
7/15/2006
Basically, one of the best places for cards/stationery on Main St. in Santa Monica. They carry a wide selection of cards ranging from lower priced cards to more expensive cards by artists from around the country. Great selection of wrapping paper, journals, invites and other gifty items.
Remember, they do custom work too! -
Review from Lori K.
4/15/2008
Arts & Letters is a small stationary and greeting card shop on Main. It is the perfect example and epitome of why I love patronizing little stores on Main. Why buy an impersonal mass produced card at Hallmark or CVS when you could find an environmentally friendly, original, handmade one made by a local? Now I don' t know for a fact that the cards here are made of recycled products, are "green" or made by local artists for that matter, but that's the impression I got.
I've been working on planning an event and I needed to print up invitations (I'm sick of e-vite!) Upon conducting a handy dandy yelp search I discovered reviews by Joan S, Jemima W, and Christie X. and Kris P. They all seemed to have had positive experiences with this store and it just so happened that it was right down the street from where I work SCORE!
I went in and browsed around for almost half an hour weighing all my different options. The girl working was helpful in answering my questions and explaining to me what would and wouldn't work for my printing needs. I found a plethora of items that I liked. Some of the designs I liked were out of my budget and others were almost sold out thus not leaving enough to fulfill the quantity I needed. This all helped narrow down my choices which believe it or not is a good thing because I have trouble making decisions. I was finally able to find something that I liked that also fit my budget.
I was surprised how smoothly the printing process went. I was e-mailed a proof and when I picked them up the invites looked great! What a no-nonsense, no hassle process! The set up and printing fees were totally affordable. I will definitely use Arts & Letter's again. I enjoyed doing business with Linda and I've already referred a friend to her. -
Review from Brittany G.
Los Angeles, CA
8/10/2010
My fiance and I walked in here after having purchased Christmas cards and we wanted to use someone local (help the local businesses) to help us with our invitations. We were greeted by a nice lady, Linda, whom we later discovered is the Manager and Owner of the store. She had everything ready, the pricing and the lay out and we got them ordered fast, she got them mailed back to us a day earlier and she did all the pre-design and stuff. It was so pro and all of our friends and family loved the invitations and thought they were really nice. I really like the store and find that Linda will go out of her way to help you out. Go here if you need some great service and good products and fast results.
Above that, she's got really cute gifts and cards and all sorts of fun stuff for all occasions. Thanks Linda for the best treatment. -
Review from Christie X.
San Francisco, CA
12/17/2007
Now this is what I call customer service. Last week after my boss finally decided on the holiday gifts, it was my job to go out and get "nice wine bags." Nothing tacky or distasteful, please. Where would I go to find these oh-so-luxurious bags? Main St. - Arts & Letters, specifically.
Unfortunately, with only 10 shopping days left, there were only a few measly choices to choose from. What was I to do? Ready to give up & face the hurdle of driving around Santa Monica looking for "quality" gift bags, Linda (the kind, thoughtful, considerate, oh-so-helpful store owner), suggested that she place a call to her distributors. I politely declined b/c I didn't think it would come on time. But she corrected me, assured me that the bags would be in by Monday. To my surprise, they were actually in on Saturday afternoon.
I'm not use to this sort of customer service, but I for one, certainly appreciate it. Great selection of unique cards, journals and stationary. I will definitely be back! -
Review from Daddy O.
Long Beach, CA
12/28/2008
I'm astounded by the sheer volume of things required for a big wedding. Forget the vivacious venues, crazy cakes, intricate invitations, fabulous food, etc... for our new year's eve wedding, 3 days from now, we realized we had omitted something almost as important! (cue dramatic music)
The Guest Book!
Not being regular residents of the Palisades, we snooped Yelp for the best place to get a non generic book and sure enough A&L popped up. We hopped in the car, found a nearby spot on Main St. thanks to some great parking karma, and wandered inside.
Wall to wall decking of cards, notebooks, etc. if only we'd found this place sooner. A lady steered us to the wall of guest books. We found several, which were kind of humdrum, but one really jumped out at us. Handmade, perfect colors/theme. No price. Of course. We asked how much. She had to look it up. $75...ouch! But! She pointed out that there was some shmutz (that's yiddish for dirt...gotta love the jews) on the back of it, and gave it to us for half off! Nice! Factoring that the humdrum ones cost almost $30, I think we did quite well. We also nabbed a matching pen and stand for half off on the way out the door and are quite happy.
We'd definitely shop here again, although hopefully neither of us will be getting married again in this lifetime. Just be mindful that it can be a bit pricey! You definitely get what you pay for, though! -
Review from Erin C.
Santa Monica, CA
12/24/2008
During the holiday season, I find myself wanting to buy their boxes for no other reason than the fact that they're so pretty. A lot of stores will let you have their rinkydink company box free of charge, but the boxes in this store make me WANT to spend money on them. It's what's on the outside that counts.
If anyone out there is unsure of whether or not I'll like the gift you've selected me, put it in a box from Arts & Letters, and I can't imagine being disappointed because "at least I'll have the box!" -
Review from Darin G.
Venice, CA
11/30/2008
We have been struggling with wedding invitations for a couple of months online now and finally decided to look locally to Arts and Letters. Boy, did we waste a ton of time earlier. Not only was everyone at the store, not just Linda, really accommodating and wonderful but they also helped us narrow in on what we believe will be the perfect invitations for our wedding. Add to that that they gave us a 10% discount (actually its for anyone right now) and that seals the fifth star for me.
Oh yeah, and we found some really fantastic holiday cards at the same time. Next time I'm not bothering with online, I'm just going to Arts and Letters! -
Review from brittany p.
Los Angeles, CA
12/5/2009
I am a soon-to-be bride who found Arts & Letters through Yelp after searching high and low. My fiance and I had decided to move our wedding up to the holidays so our family could all be there and were in a panic to get invites out immediately. I cannot begin to tell you how helpful and professional Arts & Letters were.
Linda, the owner, scheduled an appointment with me first thing in the morning, came up with the most elegant invitations and helped me with the wording. They were all printed the same day so I could pick them up that very evening. On top of that, Linda even gave us a 10% discount for our special order even after all the hassle! That kind of service is unheard of! I couldn't be happier and I have gotten numerous compliments on the beauty of our invitations.
I recommend Arts & Letters hand down!! Anyone looking to send invitations or to get custom stationary, etc., this is the place to go if you want quality, amazing and friendly service, professionalism, great pricing. I already have ordered more invitations and will be doing our thank you's and future reception invites through Arts & Letters too.
You will be so impressed and leave knowing you got a quality product. I was not asked to do the review, it is not a paid advertisement, I just want everyone to know about Arts & Letters!! -
Review from Jessica C.
Santa Monica, CA
4/26/2010
From the moment I called Arts and Letters they were wonderful! I am getting married this July in Vegas and have been searching the web for unique Vegas invitations. Everything I found was either cheesy, trashy or WAY too $$$. I spoke with Linda (the owner) when I called and she said she take time during the day to look through books - immediately I was impressed that she offered to take the time to help me. I made an appointment and she had bookmarked several invitations that I may be interested in. I worked with Kelly and we found the perfect Vegas invite! Cute, fun and still classy...exactly what I was looking for!
Not only did I find the perfect invitations, Linda emailed me a proof in less than a week, they arrived ahead of schedule AND the price was about half as much as I thought I would have to spend. We did not have to sacrifice service or quality to stay within budget.
I could not be happier with the service and products available at Arts & Letters. Linda, her husband and the Kelly's were all a delight to work with. Since ordering my invitations, I go to Arts & Letters for all bday, anniversary, mother's day, etc cards. They have a large selection and good prices. -
Review from Lori A.
Manhattan, NY
12/6/2010
If you want a $.99 Hallmark or other budget card (and sometimes that's exactly what you want), go to the drugstore. But when you want a high quality card and are willing to shell out for it, Arts & Letters is ideal. Whenever I'm on Main Street I pop in even if I don't have a particular occasion in mind, as they always seem to have new cards to browse. They do sell some rather outrageously priced ones ( $16) but they also have plenty of $5 and under ones that fit any number of occasions -- just the other day I found one specifically for cancer patients.
If you're a KCRW member don't forget to show them your card for a 10% discount. -
Review from Jemima W.
Santa Monica, CA
6/15/2007
This place is a nice alternative for stationery and cards when you've grown tired of the offerings at your local drug store, Hallmark or Papyrus. They also carry a great selection of things like journals, writing instruments and other gifts and accessories. For me, one of the best things is the gift wrap service that they offer. If you leave the wrapping responsibility to me, it looks like the box was wrapped by a five year old child with craft scissors. So when I need more than a bag and some tissue, the wrapping gets left to the professionals.
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Review from Joan S.
11/10/2004 6 photos
I bought all my cards here when I lived in this area. They have a wonderful selection of cards for all occasions, including many unique handmade cards/artist cards. Also boxed Holiday cards, handmade paper, gift wrap, stationery, invitations, quality pens, organizers, albums, guest books. A very nice shop! The people who work here could not be more pleasant and professional.
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Review from sara w.
San Francisco, CA
7/11/2009
This well-stocked store has a plethora of great cards, stationary items, pens, sealers and wax, etc. plus the staff is really friendly and helpful. Great place to find unique greeting cards.
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Review from Flora H.
Los Angeles, CA
2/6/2010
Good place to go to get a card, or some stationary, or a photo album. Conveniently located on Main St. in Santa Monica. Nothing too special about it, to be honest, but it met my needs for card shopping.
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Review from cheryl g.
Santa Monica, CA
8/5/2008
This place is wonderful for any paper or card needs. I've found some great deals on stationary, as well as great cards. Linda is so wonderful, she even kept the store open a few minutes after close one evening so I can make it in and get what I needed!
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Review from Sharon H.
Los Angeles, CA
9/2/2010
After eating a delicious meal at Amelia's Cafe down the street, a friend and I took a stroll down Main st. walking in and out of stores and saw this floor to ceiling window paned card shop- intriguing. Besides the stores inviting appearance, its colorful array of items beaconed us in. We found adorable and affordable knick-knacks and cards that were perfect for any occasion. The store carried great gift items such as decorated gift boxes, engraved bookmarks, and pre-decorated photoalbums. Would definitely come by again and probably spend a good hour scavenging!
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Review from Nicole D.
Santa Monica, CA
11/4/2010
Very cute store with wonderful invitations! I bought my wedding invitiations here and Linda, the owner, was great to work with. She knows her stuff and was very attentive and helpful. I would definitely recommend stopping in this store to check out the invitations!
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Review from Joanne L.
San Diego, CA
8/11/2010
I came here to get some last minute invitations made. Great, fast and helpful service! Linda was awesome! She went out of her way to help me out and the product was amazing. Definitely give this place a try!
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Review from sistah c.
Santa Monica, CA
5/21/2010
So glad this store still exists! I came here 6 years ago for my daughter's Coming of Age needs for the ceremony and I'm back for my son's needs. A great specialty store that really has wonderful stuff for special occasions.
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Review from Ethan H.
Boston, MA
12/21/2009
This place is a gem. It is packed with very high quality items. The owners are helpful and a pleasure to deal with. Skip the chain stores and head here!
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Review from m c.
Venice, CA
3/18/2010
I wish I could give Linda O and her staff more than 5 stars. The customer service is not only gracious and thorough but you get the feeling they genuinely enjoy helping you figure 'it' out. Being extremely picky and obsessed with meaningful details, I was making myself crazy with the details of planning our wedding. And the invitations being so important, I found the task of creating our invitations daunting to say the least. Linda was my dream come true, second to meeting my fiance. :) She very kindly spent hours guiding us with her expertise and taste to create our dream invitations; we have received so many compliments about how beautiful, elegant and romantic they are! Linda also knows which conventions to hold to and which ones to toss out like yesterday's news, which was a surprising source of relief. AND we came in UNDER budget! Thank you, Linda and Art & Letters for your amazing assistance. You are a rare gem in a world of cardboard cut-out businesses.
