Pop Up Afflecks at Manchester Christmas Markets

Starting from tomorrow - Friday 25th November - Me&Yu will be available at Pop Up Afflecks. 

Pop Up Afflecks is a NEW EVENT designed to give you a taster of Afflecks right in the heart of Manchester's Christmas Markets. More like a  Pop Up Shop than a traditional Christmas Market, there are a variety of products on offer from Me&Yu, Hannah Makes Things, Clothing With A Conscience, Biggi Bagga, Beanies, Chocolate Ape and Pop Boutique.

Pop Up Afflecks is selling a cross section of products available in the whole of Afflecks - a huge selection of clothing, fashion and accessories as well as sweeties and unique gifts. With sales assistants from all your favourite Afflecks stalls (Angie will be there every day!!) to help you shop for all those awkward people to buy for! 

Why not enjoy the splendour of the Festive Christmas Markets whilst sipping a Glühwein or German Beer, or munching on some scrummy food before coming inside to see us (and get a little warmer too!)

We're situated just inside the Town Hall in the Foyer of the amazing Gothic building - you can't miss the huge clock tower. Look for the inflatable Santa - the entrance is just below his feet!

Opening Times:

Monday to Sunday 11am to 7pm (7 days a week)

Friday 25th November to Sunday 18th December

Super Duper Blackpool!

Yesterday we had our annual chance of trading in our home town. The Super Duper Fair was a lovely event held this year in the rather splendid newly redecorated Grand Vestibule of the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

Here's some pictures:

Covering 2 rooms there was over 50 stalls of handmade products from fashion, vintage and accessories to cards, gifts, artworks and cake!

Our little stall had a selection of our current best-selling handprinted tees, and a rail of our new overdyed slouch tees and dresses with a few cosy sweatshirts too!

 

Just in time for Christmas we've hand-printed some new cards - and this year we've introduced quality sketchbooks with hand-printed covers - a perfect present for anyone that loves a doodle!

Above all it was a lovely social event - Angie's friend Lisa Wigham had a stall next door selling her original prints and etchings - here's a selection of pictures of her stall and some examples of her work:

We were amazed by the quality and variety of products throughout the fair - here's some of our other favourites:

Muffin Ceramics

Lovely hand-made ceramic things from floral rings to porcelain tea-light holders.

Lots of ceramic detail cards, christmas tree decorations and jewellery that stood out as being just a bit different with a nice quality.

Maus Haus

Hand-made handbags and printed fabric badges with lots of detailling - cute retro styling!

Loula Belle at Home made the cutest pinny's, baking and making sets.

I Love Manchester

You may have seen this logo spread around town, seen our "Eye Love Manchester"

t-shirt  and heard us talk of Manchester Day.

So what's it all about???

I Love Manchester Day is this Friday 26th August and exists to show appreciation for the city - your city, and what you love about it. The idea for it came from the stong community spirit that prevailed after the riots, looting and criminal damage that hit the city centre a few weeks ago. The campaign gathered steam and the council and local businesses have joined forces to celebrate the city and what we love about it.

We all know about the riots, "That was ages ago," I hear you say. Well even though we were not directly affected, the lack of confidence in the high street has affected trade for business large and small. This combined with the general downturn means little business like us and our fellow Northern Quarter shops have been struggling a little bit more than usual. Manchester Day is about supporting all the independent businesses throughout the city that make Manchester one of the most exciting and diverse cities in the world. We're also fund raising for Forever Manchester and Reclaim - two great local charities. 

So this FRIDAY 26th AUGUST come to Afflecks and celebrate with us. 

There will be live music and competitions, poetry readings and celebrity appearances      throughout the building. So if you fancy a bit of celeb spotting, want somewhere to hang out with your mates and have fun - come to Afflecks. It's what we're here for!!!!

If you can't get to Manchester - enter our "I Love Manchester" Competition and you could win an amazing prize!!!

Profile on...The Pern

You may remember this image from our latest collection - photographed by Gary Brown. We used it a lot in our We Are Five promotion and around the Northern Quarter for the NQ Street Party.

The wall in question is just one of the amazing artworks commissioned for Common Bar. If you've not been to Common - its well worth a visit. Nestled in Edge Street just around the corner from our shop it is a cosy and comfy bar that does great food (yum houmous and olive toastie) and drink (mmmm Sailor Jerrys & coke) all housed in a vibrant artistic space. The artworks change seasonally and are created by

artists from all over the world.

Well the background to our lovely clothes is just a section of a fab piece of work (see complete above) called "Over Them Hills" by Manchester artist The Pern. 'The Pern' has been creative for the whole of her mini existence and is a full time designer, illustrator and thingy-ma-bob maker! She loves getting her hands dirty in printing, sewing, painting canvases and live in front of an audience, designing anything and everything that needs designing. Fuelled by coffee and green tea with a strong belief in 'Workaholicism' - she believes it is the way to get the job done.

Now if you love The Pern but don't have a wall you'll like to commision her to paint - why not invest in a bit of art for your walls - my favourite in the online shop is Giant Floating Fouf - £250 - not bad for an original canvas from a talented up and coming artist!

If your budget doesn't stretch that far - then check out the Hairy Beasts at £6 - cute as!

Check In at LoveMe&Yu and get a FREE KEYRING!!

We're running a promotion to try and get more people signed up and liking our facebook fanpage.

If you have a smart phone with a facebook app please Check In to lovemeandyu and you can get a free keyring. You can only do this in store but if you're around and about in Manchester pop in, check in and get this amazing FREE KEYRING featuring our thunderheart logo. They usually retail at £2.50!!

We're Sending Love to Japan

If you like us, you have been traumatised by the dramatic events in Japan then spare some pennies and donate your loose change (or more) next time you're in Afflecks.

Carly at Carousel (previously Sausage Dog in Japan) has taken it upon herself to be the main collection point in Afflecks for this worthy cause. All monies donated will be passed on to the North West Japanese Society who have created a Disaster Relief Fund.

The first shop Carly opened in Afflecks was called I Love Kokeshi and although she's moved around the building a few times and had a few different names, Japanese Kokeshi Dolls are still one of the main products she sells at her now expanded and renovated shop on the second floor (Oldham Street side).

These beautiful hand-crafted dolls are a tradition stretching back many centuries. Made from Japanese Maple, the wood is matured for up to 5 years before it is carved and painted by hand. Whether creative (like the doll on the left) or traditional (like the dolls on the right) they are a truly beautiful product which is representative of Japan's rich artistic and cultural heritage.

If you want to know more about these dolls or have some pennies to spare for a worthy cause  - come and see Carly - she's a mind of information about all things Japanese - Carousel, Second Floor Afflecks.

Manchester Shopping Guide - Woodchip Boutique

This is the first of a new series of posts about great Manchester independent stores, bars, coffee shops and restaurants. We love our own little shop in Afflecks but there's lots of great places around The Northern Quarter that makes Manchester such a great place to be in - so we're spreading a little love by telling you about them....

The first shop we're profiling is Woodchip Boutique. A new addition to Third Floor Afflecks. We've known owners Donna and Kim for a few years now as they used to be our neighbors on Manchester Fashion Market (Tib Street, Saturdays) and I have a few beautiful Woodchip clothes in my wardrobe.

The shop sells a range of re-worked vintage dresses, vintage scarves, handbags, jewellery and accessories. With their sewing machine at the ready, they can make on-site alterations so if you fall in love with one of their dresses you can have it adjusted to the perfect fit or length while you wait - you don't get that at Topshop!!!

Using pretty painted wardrobes and vintage tea cups as displays with beautiful bird wallpaper it really is as pretty as a picture. It's definitely a shop for the girly girls and a great place to but really special presents.

But even better than the vintage treasures is the exclusive range of handmade leather bags, purses and accessories. Each item is a one-off and is made by hand in the shop from the softest leather in a range of designs, colours and sizes. It's great watching the girls while they work - if you've ever wanted to "know how" to make a bag, then 5 minutes of watching the experts will set you in the right direction.

So what would I buy?

The perfect summer dress - only £28 available online at Frooly.

And this cute handmade fabric Owl Bag, a perfect present for my friends birthday!!!