Cranberry Hill Mercantile

Ok, so I’m being really generous with a 5 star review, but I love everything in this awesome craft store but they are 1) expensive and 2) never have sales other then the yearly rubber stamp sale, etc. I would love to shop here more because they have a really nice paper collection and other little unique items. also don’t like to be reminded throughout the store that I’m being watched on camera, especially when customers are warned by signs to leave their bags in their cars. Anyway, it’s a really fun store with just ok service.

This is a great store for card making supplies. I drive almost 40 minutes to come here because all of my local shops have gone out of business. If they don’t have an item that I want, they will order it for me and contact me when it comes in. And, then will hold the item until I am able to come pick it up. Everyone in the store have been very friendly. I’ve taken several classes from them over the years and have never been disappointed. Their stamp stock sometimes dwindles, but I think they explained that they try to move out as much as possible before the next big shipment arrives. Worth the drive.

I was actually using Unilocal to find an address to a pottery painting place in Mountain View and noticed this store came up as well. Since it’s closer to home and I’m all about supporting local businesses, I thought I’d give their business a try. I did call ahead to make sure I didn’t need a reservation, and they said they are usually open for painting unless there’s a class scheduled. (Note to others: Be sure to call ahead!) There’s a sitting fee of $ 4.50 per person per pottery item, which includes use of paint and paintbrushes. They have many brushes but definitely not as extensive a selection as another pottery painting place that I visited in Mountain View. Each piece of pottery has a different cost that’s marked on the bottom. Some pottery were marked as «Made in China», but the store clerk said that some were also made by the store owner. A mug we picked out was $ 12 while a dinner plate was $ 14. You’ll need to pick out your pottery and pay up front before you are set up to paint.
We had the painting area to ourselves on a Sunday afternoon, which was a plus.
One thing to note is that they don’t fire a kiln until they have enough pottery. This means that it might take a while to get your finished goods. Soooo… in order not to be disappointed in timeliness, be sure to ask up front before you make your purchase if it’s feasible to get your finished goods by a certain date. Definitely not the best place to go if you are in a hurry to get something within a week or two, but ok if you plan more than 2 weeks in advance. I’d prefer to give 3.5 stars if I could (based on the long wait to get my goods), but feeling generous so rounding up.

This place is so cute!
It reminds me of the Christmas craft firs in middle school, but on a much larger scale.
Aprons, stamps, cards, cookie cutters, fabric, ribbons, etc.
The people who work here are really nice. Prices were ok, depending on the vendor.
They even have a little pottery painting studio in the back!
Wound up picking up a little piece of chocolate walnut fudge to snack on. It was sooooo delicious. Really fresh.
Would love to come back here to see what they have going on for Halloween. They had some lovely Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day themed items

I love to come in and browse. I always find something special for gifts and just for me!

I’ve been coming here for a few years now and I love this store. They have just about everything for crafting. And the owner puts together the best card making marathons. Not only do you get to play with all the latest toys and walk way with many gorgeous cards, but she also provides an amazing lunch. Its a total local treasure!

I went here once (hopefully going back soon!), and I honestly got lost in the treasure trove of awesome paper crafting goodies. I can’t tell you how much time I spent in there. You know when you’re standing in front of a rack of clothes and you just kinda fall into it and hug it? That’s what I wanted to do. Cranberry Hill has the most extensive, diversive collection of supplies.
As for the cost… Some prices were reasonable and some prices were kinda high. I always try to shop frugally, but I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth here all said and done. Cranberry Hill has top name brands and sell most of it MSRP.
Yes, they did ask me to give them my reusable bag while I shop. I’ve worked in security most of my adult life and I completely understand needing/​wanting to reduce shrinkage. All of us, owning an establishment or not, take preventative measures for protecting our property. Think of it as personal shrinkage, if you must. I do not look at it as they’re assuming everyone is going to shoplift. It’s pretty much like locking your car, your house, and protecting personal information. I respect everyone’s opinion and review, and I had to add my two cents to offer my point of view. Thanks :-)

I went here on two different occasions. The first time was to see if I could potentially sell some of my photography. Wasn’t a fit. The lady at the counter was rude and didn’t seem to have the time to answer a couple simple questions that I had. (Despite the fact that there weren’t any other customers.)
The second occasion was the one that REALLY rubbed me the wrong way. I went in looking for acid free gold and silver pens to sign my framed photographs. I knew from my first visit that they have a whole scrapbooking section. I walked around and found pens I thought might work, but wasn’t sure. I went to the front to see if they lady working the counter (not the same lady as first visit) would help me. She was on the phone having a casual non business related conversation. She did not acknowledge me despite the fact that I was standing directly in front of her. Another lady walked up to the counter after me promoting the employee to end her phone call. She immediately addressed the lady even though I was there first. Finally she looks at me and said «Did you have a question?» Even though I was already irritated by how rude she was, I told her what I was looking for. She blatantly told me they «don’t really do scrapbooking» there and that I might want to look elsewhere. I’m thinking… Oh you don’t do scrapbooking? Is that why an entire corner of your store is dedicated to scrap book supplies and there are even work stations for people to come in and work on their scrapbooks?
She didn’t even offer to help me look for what I already knew they carried! She was completely dismissive regardless of how polite I was being. I was so appalled at the terrible service that I just left. I have no desire to ever give them my business. This experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I was prompted to write my first Unilocal review.
At my job, I provide every single customer with outstanding service with a smile. No one deserves to be treated the way I was treated on two separate occasions by two different people at this store. I don’t know how they are still in business, but for the public’s sake, I hope it’s not for long. Don’t shop here!

This is the cutest lil store ever… Think colorful paper, 1000’s of stamps, ribbons, knick knacks, décor stuff, trinkets, crafts… absolutely anything cute and you’ll find it here, all under one roof.
While you’re pulling the main door, you’re hit by a bold message that suggests no shopping bags to be taken in. You can submit it at the cash counter. Also, your handbags should be zipped up. There are at least 9 CTV monitors at the cash counter. The place is heavily monitored to protect against shoplifters. They are very skeptical of all their customers. At first even I was a little offended by that message but I’ll give it to them. it’s damn easy to shoplift here. so many tiny things. The ladies working there become responsible for everything they lose, and that can be quite hard. No more hard feelings!
Anyways, they have many unique craftsy stuff. great for creative folks. Also, have a ceramic painting studio. I guess you need to register for classes to use it? Even seasonal home décor. pretty Shamrock hangings and Easter bunnies/​chicks/​eggs at the moment. I bought a pair of cute ceramic cupcake stands, which I was unable to find anywhere else, except online. The kind lady at the cash counter helped me with them and was very pleasant to interact with.
You can find very creative ideas for planning a wedding, baby shower or different parties. Will definitely come back to explore the stamps and ribbon sections! Love it here!
Tips: Guess what. you can actually throw away the receipt. No returns or exchanges.

Great shop. great classes and a wonderful collection of craft supplies and gift items. Just be careful to check over your bill before you leave the store. When you take a class you get a discount on supplies. The last time I was there the «discount» was added to my bill instead of being deducted and I did not catch it until I was home. So it was a pricey experience. Mistakes do happen but my email inquiry was ignored, so I do not rank them well on customer service.

This is my absolute favorite go to store for stamping and paper supplies in the bay area. Prices are competitive, stock is excellent, employees are friendly or neutral.
Their annual used stamp sale is amazing!
The crafts and antiques for sale are cute and sometimes a good deal, if you can’t DIY.
Great place to go for craft ideas as well.

A great place to buy Christmas gifts. There are lots of interesting handmade things at very reasonable prices. Not everything is good, but definitely enough good stuff to warrant a visit.

Full disclosure: I am not a scrapbooker.
I got a wedding album and naively thought I could dip my toe in the scrapbooking water and come out without a massive capital investment.
Stamping, in particular, seems like a really bad hobby for a commitaphobe like me. Each stamp is like $ 8 – 13 bucks, so you’d better really like that stamp! Not to mention all the glues, markers, inks, glitter, paper, and powders.
To give you an idea of how much money people spend in here, you get $ 5 off for every $ 100 bucks you spend. 5%! That’s less than sales tax!
To be fair, the staff did seem pretty helpful in showing what all the little gizmos and shiny things were for. If you ask. I was pretty overwhelmed going in there, both by the selection and the sticker shock.

FIVE stars for stamp selection!!! BEST selection in all the bay area. Shelf after shelf of beautiful, cute, unique stamps. They also had a great selection of the acrylic stamps, too! AND their prices seemed reasonable. Can’t wait to return for more.
Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone, but the Copic markers are a fantastic price compared to scrapbooking and craft stores.
If you like hand crafted gifts this seemed like a nice place as well.
YAY for Cranberry Hill!

Growing up, Cranberry Hill Mercantile was one of those stores that you knew old white grandmas liked to shop at but never gave much thought to otherwise. I imagined there would be lots of cats and it would smell like old people.
Today I went and I was pleasantly surprised! Yes, the customer service is a little shoddy if you aren’t one of the regulars/​over the age of 50/​a mom. But the store is full of tons of treasures! There is no clear logic to the merchandise except for the scrapbook paper, rubber stamps, and ceramic section.
Everything else is sort of a hodge podge of antiques, cute stuff, stuff your grandmother would really enjoy, random stuff, and small delightful treasures.
My friend got a vintage tea cup set (8 cups, 10 saucers, 5 dessert plates) for $ 18!!! What a steal! I found a really cute vintage black clutch for $ 10, a rhinestone hair comb for $ 3, and a sweeeeet mirror jewelry box for $ 16! It’s lined with blue velvet! I’m not sure if this was just a fluke but I was able to find tons of awesome deals that more than compensated for the awkward sales lady.
I also got a really cute set of Japanese doll stamps for $ 13. They have this frequent buyer program for all you die hard rubber stampers. Spend $ 100 and get $ 5 off. I guess every bit counts?
Locally made jam for $ 4 a jar! The strawberry champagne sounded delicious.
I chuckled at the old man sitting outside in his car reading the paper. Poor fellow. I imagine this place is a black hole for the elderly female South Bay population.

The Cranberry Hill Mercantile is packed out with all kinds of crafts from aprons to zen books. Most item are specially hand crafted by people who then have their items sold here, I guess sort of on consignment.
At this time of the year you’ll find plenty of seasonal Christmas holiday crafts and all the trimmings.
I like this store but it is so crammed with stuff that it is a little overwhelming for me as I tend to like to go systematically down spacious aisle.
I was looking for a traditional handmade apron and I knew I could find one amongst many in here.
My advice is if you are going to browse this store plan to spend about an hour to two hours in order to get a good look at all the wonderfully, beautifully crafted goods this store has to offer.
–1 star cuz the place is packed. How do you find anything with out looking at everything?
–1 star cuz the funky sleepy store name: Cranberry Hill Mercantile. Sounds like something outta Little House on the Praire or the Walton.
Goodnight mama, goodnight John Boy.

This store is packed full of all kinds of crafts, gifty type items, as well as tons of scrapbook supplies (designer paper, stickers, special scissors, paper punches, etc) and tons of rubber stamps & ink pads in every color imaginable! I was really impressed with their collection of scrap booking supplies and it’s nice to know they’re available so close to home!
They also carry seasonal decorations for holidays, including dishes, handmade wreaths, wooden crafts to hang and anything else you may need to make your home festive. I love that they have large & mini garden flags for different holidays and times of the year which can be hard to find.
The baby section with handmade blankets, bibs and toys was also great so you can give unique shower gifts that aren’t run of the mill nor can be found everyday.
Other things included tea cups/​pots, fun shaped ice cream & popcorn serving dishes, candles, ornaments, figurines of all types, handmade jewelry and clothing and more!
There are also classes offered in the back for painting pottery, scrap booking and maybe others, I didn’t check.
Also in the back were many discounted (most used, but not all) items such as rubber stamps, stickers, scrap booking idea books, stickers, few Creative Memory photo albums and other items that were a great deal! Rubber stamps can be expensive new, but the used ones I saw were discounted greatly, quite clean and if you found some you liked, it would be great to save money, especially if you are just getting into the hobby. However, it was a bit messy and hard to maneuver through the stuff and could pose a risk for someone to trip & fall.
My reason for taking off a star though is in general the place is packed and hard to maneuver and pretty messy in places, especially around the register area and discount area. This could be unsafe so I hope they clean it up and remove some of the clutter! There was no one who greeted me or asked if I needed any help as well. I was just browsing, but I think greeting customers/​asking if they’re looking for something is good service/​makes people feel welcome and should be practiced in businesses. Otherwise, I would return for a gift, garden flags and scrap booking supplies.

This place is a HIDDEN GEM in Silicon Valley and on the busy main thoroughfare of ECR! It looks a bit rough and worn down on the outside but once you step into the store, you’ll find a lot of stamps, teacups for tea parties, decoration candles, papers, figurines, ornaments, stickers, bags, earrings, bracelets, decoration cups, paint, willow tree figurines, and much much more!
If you are a crafty person, this shop is a must go for you! There’s no clear cut uniformity once stepping into this place. The layout is quite unique as it attempts to cater to «certain themes» for the holidays.
There is a section in the back where you can paint your own ceramic pot!
This place is like the fancy «Papyrus» or «Paper Source».
I am not sure about the ‘price’ or ‘service’ whether it is competitive with other stores.
There is also another craft store in Sunnyvale called Crafit but I believe it is now closed.

This store had a large selection of goods by A-​Muse, Hero Arts, and other quality stamp brands (+1 star). Artists can also sell their handmade cards here (+1 star). And they have Copic markers! The best markers ever. (+1 star). There’s a space in the back where classes are hosted too (+1 star). Based on selection, Cranberry Hill Mercantile is of the better stamp/​paper craft stores in the bay area.
Now, for the negatives:
Customer service (or lack thereof). Employees did not make any contact with me when I came in to shop, nor did they during the 30 minute duration of my stay. (–1star) Also, it several of them were following me around the store as I shopped, as if to catch me shoplifting. While I was perusing the stamp aisles, one of the ladies shadowed me from aisle to aisle. (–1 star) Granted, I hadn’t done laundry so I was wearing my grungy high school clothes and probably looked like a suspicious little kid.
Bought $ 100 worth of stamps from this store, but probably won’t be back.

I am always on the hunt for arts and craft shops to feed my cardmaking addiction. I had heard about Cranberry Hill a few months back, decided to read the reviews on Unilocal and saw a lot of mixed reviews. But I went, I saw, and was beside myself!
The main purpose for my visit was to check out the rubber stamp area and I was blown away by the selection! I love that there are sample/​idea cards everywhere for inspiration. I am also a big fan of Marvy punches, and Cranberry does not disappoint. I picked up a few Cuttlebug embossing folders, Copic pens, and adorable Valentine’s Day kitchen towels made with a knitted buttoned top. Since my first visit three weeks ago, I have already gone back four times. My wallet is not happy, but I am. :)
As for customer service, contrary to what some of the other reviewers have pointed out, I have received friendly and helpful service on each and every visit.
Cranberry Hill has definitely made a fan out of me and it will definitely continue to be one of my go-​to arts and craft shops.