Utility at 86 Bold Street is an independent design gift boutique founded in 1999 by Dick Mawdsley, Richard Skelton and Kate Cowie. Known across Merseyside for its witty greetings cards, clever lifestyle gifts and contemporary homeware, the boutique serves as an antidote to formulaic high-street gift shops.
What Utility does
The shop acts as a curated design store where modern functionality meets lighthearted British humour. Shelves and display tables are arranged with playful giftware, design-led gadgets, creative books, stationery, local city art and tactile home accessories. Customers frequently visit to pick up birthday presents, housewarming gifts, or cards that offer sharper, more personal writing than mainstream commercial card chains.
Greetings cards and stationery
The shop's card section along the rear wall is one of the most comprehensive independent selections in Liverpool. Rather than relying on mass-market card publishers, Utility partners with small printmakers and independent illustrators from across the UK.
The selection covers birthday cards, congratulations, new home announcements and seasonal holiday cards, ranging from dry, deadpan humour to minimalist graphic illustrations. Beside the cards sits a bespoke stationery collection featuring fountain pen-friendly notebooks, hardbound daily planners, novelty pens, washi tapes, and premium wrapping papers.
Homeware, gadgets and Liverpool art
The front half of the boutique focuses on contemporary design objects and home accessories:
- Home and Lighting: Minimalist wall clocks, architectural vases, ceramic planters, designer glassware and clean-burning soy scented candles.
- Novelty Gadgets: Desktop games, pocket tools, USB-powered desk items, novelty kitchen accessories and travel tech.
- Liverpool Illustrations: Architectural screenprints of the Three Graces, the Anglican and Metropolitan Cathedrals, illustrated Liverpool landmarks, and locally published city guides.
- Personal Accessories: Patterned socks, Rains water-resistant bags, enamel pins, woven keyrings and minimalist fashion jewellery.
The story behind 86 Bold Street
In the late 1990s, founders Dick Mawdsley and Richard Skelton ran an independent café called Coffee Union across the road at 89 Bold Street. When their landlord offered them the lease of an empty retail unit at number 86, the pair decided to create a design-forward gift shop, joining forces with Kate Cowie. Maxing out their personal credit cards to secure initial stock, the trio built the shop counters and display units by hand, opening Utility in November 1999.
The shop quickly built a loyal local following among Liverpool’s creative community and university students. The company has since grown to operate a larger flagship on Paradise Street in Liverpool ONE and an international e-commerce site, but the original 86 Bold Street shop remains the creative heart of the business.
Prices and services
Pricing spans affordable impulse purchases through to premium design pieces (checked September 2026):
- Independent artist greetings cards: £2.80 to £4.50
- Stationery, planners and journals: £8.00 to £22.00
- Design mugs and glassware: £10.00 to £18.00
- Framed and rolled Liverpool art prints: £15.00 to £45.00
- Scented soy candles and home fragrance: £12.00 to £28.00
- Designer wall clocks and home accessories: £25.00 to £75.00
Staff provide careful protective wrapping for fragile ceramic and glassware purchases at the checkout. Customers can also order items through Utility's website and select free click-and-collect to pick their parcel up directly at the Bold Street counter.
Around upper Bold Street
Utility sits on the lively upper pedestrian section of Bold Street. Neighbouring independent shops include Bold Street Coffee, radical bookshop News From Nowhere, and grocer Matta's.
For more neighbourhood retail and dining recommendations, read our Ropewalks area guide and our guide to where to eat in Liverpool by area.
