As its Easter weekend the opening times are changing a little.
Good Friday – 11:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday – 10:00pm – 6:00pm
Easter Sunday – CLOSED
Bank Holiday Monday – 11:00am – 5:00pm
HAPPY EASTER GUYS!!!
Blog
Show your support for Small Business Saturday – 2nd December
This Saturday is Small Business Saturday.
Now in its fifth year in the UK, Small Business Saturday was introduced to encourage spending with small, independent businesses and is seen as the antithesis to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which predominantly benefit larger stores in the run-up to Christmas.
This Saturday, please show your support of independent businesses by making a purchase and making a difference, buy a handmade card rather than a mass produced one, buy a unique piece of jewellery made with love rather than something that has been shipped in, go and buy a pint of milk from the corner shop rather than a big supermarket buy a coffee from that independent shop rather than the chains – by doing so you are supporting independent businesses, by doing so you are truly making a difference!
As a thank you for your support, Afflecks staff will randomly hand out £10 Afflecks gift vouchers to people spotted making a purchase in any of our stall this Saturday. The vouchers can be spent in any of our shops on the day or over the next 12 months.
Manchester Music Tours
The award-winning and internationally renowned Manchester Music Tours – created by Inspiral Carpets’ drummer – Craig Gill relaunch today, a year after he passed away.
Since 2005, music fans from all over the world have made the pilgrimage to visit dozens of locations that illustrate Greater Manchester’s rich musical heritage and significance – from Salford Lads Club to Sifters Records in Burnage.
The tours will commence from a new hub at Afflecks on the corner of Oldham and Church Streets in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Today’s Manchester Music Tour coincides with the release of Morrissey’s new album ‘Low in High School’, and features the iconic double-decker ‘Mozbus’. The Manchester Music Tour office will be open by midday and has Clint Boon on the decks for the opening and tour send off. For fun there is a Morrissey lookalike on the tour and Texan musician Ryan Hamilton.
There are also rumours of an appearance by a member of one of Manchester’s seminal bands.
Halloween at Afflecks
We love Halloween at Afflecks, it’s our favourite time of year! you can be sure that you will find everything that you need within our walls to make any event that you are attending spooktacular, the best fancy dress, make-up and special effect make-up team await you!
On Saturday 28th October some of our stallholders will be in their best fancy dress hoping to impress our visitors and gain votes for our internal fancy dress competition.
We will also be doing a charity tombola with some great prizes and all money raised on the day will go to charity Mustard Tree www.mustardtree.org.uk/about-us combatting poverty and preventing homelessness.
If you are in Manchester be sure to pop in and say hello.
NOW FULLY OPEN EVERY SUNDAY!
Afflecks is now fully open each and every Sunday up until and including Sunday 24th December.
That’s every shop on every floor – so be sure to come and get everything that you need for a great Halloween and a fantastic Christmas and support independent business at its best!
Rainbow Cakes and Unicorn Drinks – Afflecks gets a ‘Happiness Café’
Happiness is promised in buckets at Two for Joy – Afflecks new ‘happiness café’. Located on our 2nd floor, Two for Joy is colourfully decked out in vivid, candy-bright pinks, blues and yellows, with a cute, slightly, erm, pre-pubescent feel.
Fake flowers top the tables, fake grass lines the floor, while carefully placed memos remind you to ‘be happy’
Owner Charlotte Ducie says
“I wanted a café in Afflecks,” Ducie explains. The 22-year-old had the idea for the café after noticing the trend for unicorn and rainbow-themed products on Instagram. “I realised that there weren’t really any cafes catering to the rainbow trend, apart from around Pride weekend.”
Despite dropping out of university, Ducie brought her café vision to life after securing a Virgin start-up loan in June, just a few months after pitching her idea in February. She has since been working with Virgin business mentors to launch the café.
But what makes the happiness café so happy? To spread positive vibes, each order comes with a little envelope, offering a random quote to brighten your day. One wall features a selfie-mirror, reminding customers they “look great”, whilst a chalkboard encourages customers to share what makes them feel happy.
As well as encouraging positivity in its customers, the café is keen to help the community its nestled in. A coffee donation pot sits beside the till, encouraging customers to purchase a £1 coffee for a homeless person, which staff hand out in the evenings alongside leftover cake.
Emmeline Pankhurst joins our mosaic art line up!
Mosaic Artist Mark Kennedy has created a new Emmeline Pankhurst piece that has joined his gallery of Manchester related images along the Tib Street elevation of the building.
The image was created by street artist Mancsy who has been developing Manchester themed screen prints since January 2012 and is renowned for leaving ‘Free Bees’ in finders keepers games around the city.
Following on from the week that the suffragette banner returned to Manchester and ahead of next year which will be the centenary of the Women’s right to vote, we felt it was the right time to unveil our tribute to Emmeline Pankhurst.
To celebrate the installation and the forthcoming 100th anniversary, Afflecks will be running a twitter competition whereby we are asking women to stand beneath the mosaic and take a selfie and then tweet it to @afflecksfox and @pankhurstcentre with hash tag ‘I would rather be a rebel than a slave’
Once that we have reached 100 women we will select one woman’s picture and award £100 in Afflecks Gift Vouchers along with a framed Mancsy print of Emmeline Pankhurst. There will also be 4 runner up prizes of a print.
Personalised handmade cards whilst you wait
If you are looking for a unique hand made personalised card, then look no further!
Sunflowers in the Sea on the 2nd floor can create any message that you want on to a card whilst you wait.
As well as a vast array of quirky greeting cards you will find some unique art for the home as well as some beautiful gifts.
Show your Manc and Proud
Manc and Proud is a great addition to Afflecks with their shop situated in Extreme Largeness on the ground floor.
From Manchester branded baby grows & kids T-shirts to adult T-shirts there is something for the whole family.
There are some great unique Mancunian souvenirs that are proving very popular with our visitors.
Be sure to check out Manc and Proud next time that you visit.
Everything that you need for Manchester Pride
At Afflecks you will find items to help you stand out loud and proud amongst the crowd at this years Manchester Pride festival.
Flags, fancy dress, make-up, wigs, T-shirts, footwear the best in vintage, alternative and up to date fashion and accessories, you can be sure to find something different that you wont see on the high street, Afflecks is proud to be different.
Housing the best in independent retail with stalls spanning a rabbit warren across 4 floors there is something eye catching around every corner.
If Pride is bringing you to Manchester for the first time then please come and see us and be sure to grab a photo opportunity on our rainbow coloured staircase!
MEET THE STALL HOLDER – ELIZABETH FROM THE FOX FAIRY
We recently spoke with Elizabeth who has a lovely little art shop on the 3rd floor. Elisabeth is originally from Picardie which is in the North of France, she followed her heart, that led her to Manchester.
Elisabeth, tell us about The Fox Fairy: The Fox Fairy is a shop which sells items created by over 2o various artists. All of the items are hand made, produced locally, eco friendly and made with love. The Fox Fairy likes to offer items that will make people smile. Items range from artwork, art prints, jewellery, accessories, cards, clothes, homewares, art materials, stationary and soon we are to introduce a comic book corner.
Why did you choose Afflecks as home to your business? Afflecks is a place that is very different to the High Street and attracts visitors from all over the world. Shoppers come to Afflecks to find something unique that they will not see mass produced. The retailers within Afflecks like to support one another and there is a real sense of community. I love to wander around Afflecks and see all the exciting and unique products that the other businesses are selling.
Who inspires you? Alan Lee is the person that inspires me the most, Alan was one of the main illustrators for The Lord of The Rings movies and also illustrated on a number of other exciting films and has been successful in getting a lot of his work published. I am also very much influenced and inspired by the artist Wraptious due to his business ethic and hard work. Art work by Wraptious can be found in The Fox Fairy and is popular with shoppers.
When you are not working hard in The Fox Fairy what do you like to do in your spare time? I love to bake, my favorite dishes are a white chocolate melt made with green tea! and a peach pie. I also do a lot of reading, I enjoy murder mystery, fantasy and comics. I like to go hiking and foraging and my dream would be to go hiking the mountains of Japan.
What would do if you won the lotto? I would definitely expand The Fox Fairy and then treat myself to a fabulous Tree House where I would live!
Be sure to visit The Fox Fairy on the 3rd Floor in Afflecks where Elizabeth will greet you with a lovely smile and will be more than happy to tell you about all the beautiful creations available within her shop.
Foodie’s Paradise
Whether thy quest is for sweet or savoury you will satisfy your deepest indulgence with an array of delights available at Afflecks.
Our newest addition The Barker Baker serves up beautiful baked breads and cakes as well as snacks and beverages to go. The ever popular Black Milk Cereal Dive has recently expanded to meet demand and there will be a table waiting for you to try some fantastic milkshakes and cereal delights. The Barker Baker and Black Milk can be found on the 2nd floor.
Gingers Comfort Emporium on the 1st floor is a must for those with a sweet tooth, delicous home-made ice creams in flavours that you will have only ever dreamt of! desserts and beverages are also on offer in this cosy corner.
Sweet specialists Chocolate Ape have now introduced their newest concept Fudge Ape – more fudge than you will find anywhere else in Manchester with some great flavours such as Vimto, be sure to visit them on the 2nd floor.
Afflecks Creative Space
Did you know that at Afflecks we have a creative space that is ‘not a shop’?
Afflecks creatives is a lovely space on the 3rd floor that is overseen by our creative in residence Joy France, it is a space whereby anyone can feel free to create and leave their mark within our walls. Paint, draw, write, leave a message telling us what you will do one day or simply just have a look at what others have done. The space is evolving everyday and everything created within the space will be kept and displayed at the end of the year.
Artists leave their mark on our walls
We have collaborated with a number of very talented artists that have been invited to draw and paint on our walls. Shoppers will find art in every twist and turn as they work their way across 4 floors of vibrancy. There are a number of shops within Afflecks selling artwork by local talent – be sure to visit The Fox Fairy, SWALK Creative, Stag & Raven and Not on Your Skin Glass Engraved Art all situated on the 3rd floor. You will also find Afflecks Creatives on the 3rd floor, a space where visitors can unleash their inner creative!
WE ARE OPEN BOXING DAY!
For the first time in Afflecks history we will be throwing open our doors on Boxing Day! Afflecks will be open 11am – 5pm for you to escape the sales and the bustle of the high street.
Shop Small on Saturday 5th December
Saturday 5th December is Small Business Saturday, so more than ever please support your local and small independent businesses on this day. There are endless reasons as to why you should support independents, small businesses keep our communities unique, small businesses put your taxes to good use requiring comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.
Buy something that has been created with love and not mass produced.
When purchasing from stores such as Primark, take a minute and think where your money is going.
Shoppers seen making a purchase in Afflecks on Small Business Saturday will be randomly selected and rewarded with a thank you of support and a £10 Afflecks Gift Voucher to spend or give as a gift to a loved one.
CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS
THURSDAY 24TH DECEMBER 10AM – 5PM
CHRISTMAS DAY CLOSED
BOXING DAY 11AM – 5PM
SUNDAY 27TH DECEMBER 11AM – 5PM
BH MONDAY 28TH DECEMBER 11AM – 5PM
TUESDAY 29TH DECEMBER NORMAL TRADING
WEDNESDAY 30TH DECEMBER NORMAL TRADING
NEW YEARS EVE 10AM – 5PM
NEW YEARS DAY CLOSED
SATURDAY 2ND JANUARY 10AM – 6PM
AFFLECKS FULLY OPEN SUNDAYS
Afflecks is now fully open on Sundays up to and including Sunday 27th December. We are also pleased to announce that for the first time ever we will be opening our doors on Boxing Day.
Afflecks introduces Creative Space for all
Afflecks now has a space where shoppers can show off their creative side, anybody can use the space to paint, write, perform and recite poetry.
The space on the 3rd floor is looked after by our creative in residence, poet and writer Joy France. Joy is often on hand to help bring out the creative side in you!
When visiting Afflecks, be sure to visit the Creative space on the 3rd floor and feel free to leave your mark!
QUEEN FLAKES – ONLY AVAILABLE FROM BLACK MILK CEREAL DIVE AT AFFLECKS
Kellogg’s has created a culinary masterpiece to celebrate the Queen becoming Britain’s longest-serving monarch – cornflakes fit for royalty.
Fans of Her Majesty can feast upon gold-leaf Special K flakes and edible diamonds and pearls to celebrate her special day.
Kellogg’s created the cornflakes because Brian Houey, author of ‘At Home with the Queen’ recently told PEOPLE magazine that an average day for the monarch includes eating a bowl of cornflakes.
The commemorative cornflakes are mixed with macadamia nuts (a favourite of the Queen’s) along with the edible jewels.
you can only get the breakfast food at Black Milk Cereal Dive, Afflecks.
