Two Mancunian siblings have been creating unique floral arrangements from their Chadderton studio that have brightened up social media during the pandemic.
Brother and sister Ben and Millie Turner launched Amelia Rose Floral Couture in 2018 and have amassed over 20,000 loyal followers across their online platforms ever since – assembling elegant, beautiful bouquets.
Suitable for weddings, celebrations, events, or just to show someone you’re thinking of them, these floral arrangements have proven a smash hit with people right across the UK.
“We believe we target a new audience with floristry”, says Ben.
“We put a spin on our work that separates us from the average high street florists.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Proving particularly popular is their Every Girl’s Dream range; a luxurious arrangement that has become their most sought-after product.
“Every time we post one on our page, we get so many men messaging us saying they need to order one, simply to shut their other half up!” Ben says.
ADVERTISEMENT
Millie’s love of floristry began at age 15 when she started a part-time job in a local flower shop. After finishing school and sixth form, she decided to pursue this passion full-time.
Two years ago, Millie decided to use her experience creating floral art to launch her own Instagram-based business, Amelia Rose Floral Couture.
The brand started gaining some traction during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Millie’s brother to step in and assist with the influx of social media messages.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ben, who had recently started his first accountancy job after finishing university, offered to help Millie with the day-to-day running of the business in March of this year, just as the first lockdown was announced.
“There has always been the skill from Millie when she started on her own in 2018, she just didn’t have the business acumen to take it to that next level”, says Ben, who believes that their combined skills have led to the brand’s success.
Amelia Rose Floral Couture has gone from strength to strength since, now employing an additional four members to meet the demand for floral creations and even being featured on a billboard on Oldham Road.
The duo also moved from their garden workshop into a new, purpose-built studio home on Broadway Business Park in Chadderton.
“We’re in a fortunate position as we’ve actually come out of the two lockdowns probably better off”, says Ben, who recognises the demand for ‘miss you’ tokens and unique gifts as shopping centres have faced closures.
Amelia Rose Floral Couture has also started broadening its horizons which the launch of the artificial range for nationwide shipping, bringing Greater Manchester’s favourite, stylish flowers across the country.
Drama Call opening first-ever flagship shop in Manchester
Danny Jones
Streetwear superstars Drama Call are opening their new flagship store and first-ever permanent site in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Expect massive queues and lots turning up wearing the increasingly recognisable starry logo.
Already a much-loved brand not just here in 0161 but across the nation at large, the native independent business turned street-style favourites and UK fashion phenomenon are no strangers to HUGE pop-ups in their hometown.
However, they’ve never had a mainstay location anywhere in the country, let alone Greater Manchester – well, until now, that is…
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Debuting in the Northern Quarter this Sunday, the venue located on Tib Street will effectively serve as Drama Call‘s new HQ.
The local label has done everything from popping up vans with Manc rapper Aitch to collaborating with Man United for multiple limited edition collections, so it only felt like a matter of time before they’d make a big brick-and-mortar splash in our fair city.
Most notably, they’re also taking over the same unit as the Sheep Shop, a former skate shop and legendary urban clothing tastemaker of the 90s; they were one of the first places in Britain to stock famous names like Stüssy, Supreme, Carhartt, The North Face and many more.
With that in mind, it feels only fitting that they carry on the trendsetting tradition from the same premises, and just spitting distance from the likes of Note, as well.
And that’s not all, either: before the full launch, they’ll also be holding an exclusive cash-only shirt swap event, where a limited number of certain collector’s items will be sold for as little as £10.
Other things to note are the additions of signed vinyls by homegrown artists such as the aforementioned Aitch and even The Smiths.
In fact, the store will also feature strictly Mancunian exclusives, too.
Everything from polo shirts and tees to branded mugs, matchboxes and other accessories will be available in-store only.
NQ is bound to be buzzing across launch weekend, with doors officially opening to the public on Sunday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see people camping outside the front well ahead of time.
What a moment the Manc shopping scene is having right now.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Pear)
Style
Keo play Projekts: garage and grunge revivalists crush Manchester skatepark for new music video
Danny Jones
This past Thursday evening, fast-rising rock band Keo took over Projekts MCR skatepark for a special pop-up gig and to film a brand-new music video for their latest single, ‘Pistol’, starring some of their biggest fans here in Manchester.
In fact, it didn’t take long for us to suss out that plenty of them had flocked from far and wide to be there, and let’s say we’re sure they’ll say it was worth the journey.
We caught Keo’s well-attended festival set inside the Woodlands at Kendal Calling 2025, not to mention their completely sold-out show at the O2 Ritz back in March – their biggest headline date up to that point – and we’re more certain than ever that they’re going to be absolutely massive.
And if they keep up doing more memorable stuff like this, it’s just a matter of how soon…
Packing out Projekts to the point that people were literally hanging off fences and standing on electrical boxes at the side of the street to try and get a peek at the post-punk, grunge and garage rockers, some of their most enthusiastic young fans had been waiting outside the location as early as noon.
For context, doors opened six hours later, and the boys didn’t come on until 7:30pm.
Those who signed up to Keo‘s mailing list were sent information regarding securing a spot at the one-off performance earlier this month.
While you would have seen the place fill up even if they were just standard concert tickets, the fact that the band were taping the whole thing to use as the visuals for their newest single, as mentioned, meant that Keo’s avid followers were literally clamouring AND clambering to get the best view position possible.
Turning the popular skaters’ hub’s central bowl into a makeshift stage, with lights, camera, booms and various crew surrounding the entire venue, it was a surreal experience to say the least.
And, of course, they were absolutely brilliant – just as they were at the Ritz at the start of the year and Kendal before that, playing a short but sweet set that left everyone wanting more and choruses of punters chanting Keo long after the final song.
We can’t wait to see how the video itself turns out, especially seeing how much the people who wrapped around them and the skatepark were lost in the moment, and we’re also looking forward to them headlining Neighbourhood Fest in Manchester city centre this October.
You can grab a ticket to see them and the rest of the NBHD lineup right HERE, but until then, give the full studio version of ‘Pistol’ a play and get ready for their debut album.
Daisy Bradbury -
4th December 2020 
