Like retail therapy? Well, don’t we all. But what we like in particular are independent shops, and the sorts of boutiques that peddle one-off goods, everything from vintage and second hand shopping to limited-run artworks, contemporary craft, independent markets and interesting interiors. We love print – magazines, posters, screen prints – and we like shopping that shows both a love of place and a love of making. So here’s our edit of the best.
He shook my hand & said I’ve found you! He’d seen my work in America & had been looking for me
From Guy Garvey to buyers in Brooklyn: this is one ceramicist whose fans are spread far and wide. We all know that Manchester Craft & Design Centre is a hub of contemporary craft but even…
We want to champion the North's independent fashion talent to an appreciative audience
A new men’s journal marks its launch with some seriously sharp dressing – and an event at the Deaf Institute. Pick up an average copy of Loaded or FHM and you’d be forgiven for thinking…
Over the decades it has woven itself into the fabric of the city’s music community
As Record Store Day beckons, we wax lyrical about our favourite Manchester record shop. People of a certain kind remember their first record shop. Encountered in the budding tangle of adolescence, to approach its counters,…
Although bread is so simple and often taken for granted, it has profoundly influenced my design
A former bakery worker creates functional, beautiful homewares in a solo exhibition in the city. The Barbakan is one of our favourite places in which to indulge a life-long love of carbs. But the South…
After local bread, meat, cheese - or chocolate? Try this gem of a market.
In the fourth in our series of out-of-town Manchester Markets, we head north, to the chocolate-loving town of Ramsbottom. Now ten years old, this double market combines a farmers’ market and a craft fair and…
As well as sitting pretty on the windowsill, these homewares are a knitted slice of TV history
A former Cosgrove Hall animator turned her back on TV to make her own distinctive crafts. Deep within the historic streets of the Northern Quarter you’ll find a rather grandiose Victorian building that was once…
This is how vintage used to be sold, before it went all Cath Kidston on our retro ass
For a taste of how vintage shopping used to be, head to this dusty gem of a retail emporium. Liverpool is the ever-changing, never-changing city. While Liverpool ONE has seen streets entirely remodelled, and retail…
Jewellery should excite, intrigue and stand alone – but the UK hasn’t picked up on this
Manchester Art Gallery’s latest exhibition is all about wearable artworks. “If I had to describe Karl Fritsch’s work in one word, I would define it as anarchic,” says Jo Bloxham, curator of the contemporary jeweller’s…
In the third in our series of out-of-town Manchester Markets, we get our elbows at the ready for a bona fide flea market. Sick of overpriced “vintage” markets? Try Longsight’s bustling neighbourhood market which, every…
A new Manchester market sets up its stalls outside Media City – and it’s not just for the likes of the BBC. A 20-minute tram ride from the city centre, this is Manchester’s newest food…
Get your vintage shopping kicks this weekend with this monthly second hand Manchester market. The undeniably lovely Victoria Baths in Longsight may host the occasional vintage fair, but the real gem when it comes to…
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us – but don’t panic, the good folks at this pop-up Manchester shop are on hand. We’re hitting all the Valentine’s Day clichés here, right? Long walks, fancy dinners, sexy…
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