Black Friday will be a little different this year. We can forget overnight queuing or frantic scrabbles for unmissable deals at your favourite high street store, and instead settle into online shopping sprees from home, nestled in the warmth of your sofa. While retailers struggle to combat the difficulties 2020 has brought, we’ve decided to shift the focus onto local independent makers and traders, highlighting the best alternative Black Friday deals to enjoy on Friday 27 November – and in some cases – beyond.
A regular and much-loved member of Manchester’s illustration scene, Stanley Chow has transformed a range of well known faces – from Dolly Parton, President-elect Joe Biden and Manchester’s-own Andy Burnham, to Larry David, Chadwick Boseman and Greta Thunberg – into colourful print posters which can be purchased from just £12. No matter which icon you decide to spend your hard earned pennies on, they’re guaranteed to look great adorning your wall.
Having designed our very own Manchester Wire tote bag (bag yours here), local illustrator Caroline Dowsett has gone on to work with a range of well-known clients and have her work featured as part of the 50 Windows of Creativity art trail. By visiting her website, you’ll be able to buy your own vibrant and abstract print or painting from as little as £35.
Illustrator and author Oliver East has transformed a variety of well-known Manchester spots into elegently designed art prints that would look perfect in any home or flat. From Manchester Oxford Road Train Station, to Stretford’s Longford Essoldo Cinema, East’s online store features a range of prints available from £24, alongside books like Take Me Back To Manchester (£5), chronicling an elephant’s long walk from Edinburgh to Manchester. Intrigued? Us too!
Afflecks Palace gift vouchers can be used at any of the many independent traders housed in this iconic and long-standing Northern Quarter sellers’ emporium. From weird and wonderful jewellery from Sour Cherry, to fine art and illustration work from The Northern Quarter Gallery, an Afflecks’ gift voucher is the perfect pressie for the curious friend or family member in your life. You never know what they’ll find!
Located at Oxford Road’s shipping container hot-spot Hatch, Sneaker Pharm specialise in refurbishing your old, worn out trainers and transforming them into a pair of snazzy new sneaks. What’s more, they’re offering a range of ‘Restored Like New’ vouchers that’ll let you give the gift of a shoe-based facelift to a friend or family member this Christmas. £10, £20, £50 and £100 vouchers are available to buy via the Sneaker Pharm website. Just follow the link below.
Open and available to browse until the New Year arrives, The Great Northern Contemporary Fair brings together a range of traders housed at the Great Northern Warehouse and lets you buy their products online. Ceramics, glass, homeware and wooden furniture can all be found on the fair’s website, alongside clothing, print and paper illustration and artworks, and boutique jewellery. Start exploring by following the link below.
Manchester-based speciality coffee roasters Blossom Coffee are taking a slightly different approach to Black Friday this year. Instead of slashing prices or offering a thrifty last-minute savings, they’re giving shoppers the chance to gift an item to a person of their choice whenever they make a purchase of their own on Friday 27 November 2020. Buying Blossom’s own espresso beans (from £8)? Gift the same to a friend or family member while you’re at it!
Most indoor activities have sadly been cancelled or postponed this year – but socially distanced walking tours can still very much go ahead. Skyliner offers tours that shed a new light on Manchester’s industrial and cultural heritage and is currently offering customers the chance to save 20% on bookings for upcoming jaunts. Get a street-art-filled lesson on the modern history of the Northern Quarter or learn about Manchester’s women in the arts. Each voucher is valid for two people and there’s no expiry date, which means they can be redeemed at a time that suits you.
Band on the Wall have given Black Friday a New Order facelift, rebranding it as Blue Monday and coinciding it nicely with their annual Christmas sale. By bagging yourself a new tee (£14), mug (£6) or metal water bottle (£4) you’ll not only be able to showcase your love for one of the Northern Quarter’s most iconic venues, you’ll also be supporting its future following an incredibly difficult year. Basically, it’s a win-win!
Old Bank NOMA residents Easy Peel Studio are helping kids and big-kids alike get crafty and creative this festive season by slashing the price of their DIY wooden boat kits from £15 to £10. This nice little savings – which comes into effect only on Friday 27 November 2020 – allows customers to save a fiver on a boat kit containing enough hulls, masts, cabins, rope and sails to craft two boats. Looking for a family-friendly Boxing Day activity? Look no further.
Chorlton’s neighbourhood restaurant The Creameries is giving customers the the chance to gift friends and family a meal, supper or wine cask membership via their array of gift voucher options. Valid for twelve months and deliverable in either PDF form or a physical voucher that can be included within a Christmas card, the restaurant’s vouchers start at £25 for monetary meal savings and go all the way up to £250 wine cask memberships that feature six carefully curated bottles delivered to the recipient each month.
- Words:
- Simon Bland
- Published on:
- Mon 23 Nov 2020
Based in independent makers hub Islington Mill, Aliyah Hussain creates eye-catching jewellery that takes its inspiration from abstract forms. Creating simple, playful and colourfully quirky sculptural work for the body, her range of necklaces and earrings have been stocked in the likes of Manchester Museum and New York’s Tictail store. Hussain also produces wall sculptures (from £20) and illustration work (from £20) – all of which can be found on her site.