Do you love Japanese paper products? What about when almost everything is at a price point of $3? I thought so. You are going to want to get yourself to an Oomomo store.
Japanese department store
With 10 stores across Canada this Vancouver based brand opened a Calgary location in December of 2019. Described as a Japanese variety store, I went to visit for the first time this week.
Dollar store meets IKEA
I had about 50 minutes to tour this large store. I blew past the cosmetics, kitchen and travel sections until I reached the section I really came for – the stationery aisle(s).
The 50 minutes flew by. So many great paper finds. Then it got even better once I figured out everything was $3 unless other wise marked. Think dollar-store concept but then think IKEA as this store has a bit of everything – no furniture though.
Stationery sets for $3
I stocked up on stationery sets for my Letter Writing Socials, I especially loved the set in above picture with ombre shades of pink which I picked up for Valentine’s Day.
Much of the packaging was in Japanese so it was sometimes tricky to know exactly what was in the packages.
Needs more washi tape
Paper clips like you’ve never seen. I mean an avocado toast paper clip! I was a bit disappointed that selection of washi tape wasn’t what I was hoping. There was some but not worthy of a ‘wow’ moment.
“Big peach”
The name ‘Oomomo’ is pronounced ‘oh-mo-mo’ not ‘eww-mo-mo’ as I learned on my visit. It means ‘big peach’ in Japanese and I was told this is based on a Japanese children’s book.
Cafe coming soon
If you are in Richmond, British Columbia get ready for an addition of a cafe and a space for workshops.
Will I go back to Oomomo? Absolutely.