Smudge Gallery

Smudge gallery, Commercial Street, London E1 6BG Nearest Tube - Liverpool Street, Aldgate East or Whitechapel Map
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The Smudge Gallery is at one corner of Spittalfields market, and is the place to go to buy good quality prints of graffiti and street art - your genuine Banksys, basically. Lots of sizes available, and a pretty quick turnover of new designs

Duke of Uke

22 Hanbury Street, London, E1 6QR
Nearest Tube - Liverpool Street, Aldgate East, or Whitechapel
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The Duke of Uke is a music shop that only sells Ukeleles and Banjos. Sitting a couple of streets away from Spittalfields market it is a very strange place to browse, and perfect for that very unusual present for a musical friend. The shop also has a recording studio (see website for details) and sometimes has musical events in the shop. It's also notable for featuring in a Jimmy Carr stand up routine: "Near where I live there's a shop that sells only ukeleles. I can never resist ringing my girlfriend to say 'I'm just passing the ukelele shop - do you want anything?'"

Art Vinyl

13 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH
Nearest Tube - None, but near to London Fields
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Art Vinyl is a gallery and a shop, focussing on the nearly-lost area of album art design. they have designed a unique frame that lets you display your album sleeves as pictures on the wall, easily openable so that you can change your art depending on mood. The shop also includes a whole gallery of classic sleeves, and others that you can buy. The perfect housewarming present for the music lover!

Ian Logan Design Shop

Ian Logan Design Company
42 Charterhouse Square
London EC1 M6EA
Nearest tube - Barbican
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This is probably my favourite shop in London. It's very small, but contains more original gifts and ideas than large department stores. Most of my friends and family have had presents from here at some point - but I still keep finding new things every time I go back.

Update - as of early 2008 Ian Logan closed its doors, but the website is still live.

There are a couple of alternatives I'd recommend for that special present - Pedlars in Notting Hill and Magma in the West End - the 'product shop at No. 16 Earlham Street, not the bookshop at No. 8