One of Scotland’s best-loved eyewear brands is expanding, and has picked Manchester as the location for its first-ever English store.
IOLLA may originally be known to Mancunians for designing Tommy Shelby’s specs in the hit BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders, but now, following success in its native country, the innovative glasses brand is bringing a fresh take on eyewear retail to the shopping and fashion scene in our city centre, and will be opening its doors in St Ann’s Square.
The independent brand has introduced a new way to buy eyewear by offering affordable, quality glasses and sunglasses for a single price point.
What makes IOLLA different to many other high street glasses labels is that the brand prides itself on keeping its pricing “simple and honest” by refusing to include any hidden costs or added extras – which means that prescription lenses and coatings are all included within the standard £85.
On top of that, IOLLA showrooms are known for allowing customers to browse, try-on the collection, and place their orders in a fun and relaxed environment.
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When the new IOLLA Manchester store opens in early August, customers will get the chance to experience an in-store ‘styling session’ with an IOLLA eyewear expert – who will use their expertise to help people find the perfect pair.
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As IOLLA doesn’t offer eye tests, customers planning on visiting the showroom are encouraged to have their prescriptions to hand before placing their order through the digitally-enabled platform, either in person or online.
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All of the brand’s glasses and sunglasses are handmade, uniquely-designed, and built to last by using the best-quality components and materials available.
IOLLA guarantees there are several styles of its glasses to suit everyone, meaning that customers can develop their very-own ‘eyewear wardrobe’ full of multiple pairs of eyewear that is unique to their own personal style and taste.
Innovative glasses brand IOLLA is bringing a fresh take on eyewear retail to Manchester / Credit: IOLLA
“We are incredibly excited to be launching our first store outside of Scotland, and where better than Manchester?,” said Stefan Hunter – CEO at IOLLA.
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“One of the fashion capitals of the UK – and the perfect launch location for IOLLA south of the border.
“We can’t wait to bring our range of high quality, affordable glasses to the city, including our MacDonald frames, inspired by Tommy Shelby’s glasses worn in series five of Peaky Blinders. We know Manchester has a link to the show already, so feel confident that they’ll be a popular choice with locals.
“With an enormous range of frames and colours, we guarantee that there are several options for everyone.
“This will enable you to find plenty of styles handpicked for your own personal look.”
The Scottish brand will be opening its first showroom in England in St Ann’s Square next month / Credit: IOLLA
IOLLA Manchester is opening on St Ann’s Square in the heart of the city centre in early August, with exact dates to be confirmed, so keep your eyes peeled.
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You can find out more and shop the brand before it opens here.
Featured Image – IOLLA
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A huge festival dedicated to tequila and mezcal is coming to Manchester this month
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s first-ever Mezcal and Tequila Festival is taking place this month, filling Manchester Cathedral with tastings, masterclasses, cocktails and street food.
The massive event will see the Grade I-listed building transformed into an agave spirits tasting floor, featuring more than 100 varieties of premium tequilas and mezcals from some of Mexico’s best producers including El Jimador, Ojo de Tigre, El Sueno, Los Arcos, Del Maguey, Cazcabel, Komos, Nixta, Tapatio, El Tequileno, Tiempo and many more.
Festival-goers will be able to gain exclusive insights into the craftsmanship behind these spirits, sampling (responsibly, of course) from dozens of stands.
All samples, plus a limited-edition clay tasting copita, will be included in the ticket price – there’s no token system here and no extra charges for samples.
The new Mexican-inspired drinks festival only debuted in Glasgow back in Spring 2023 but it unsurprisingly went down an absolute storm – after all, what’s not to like a big festival full of booze?
Bartenders will stir up cocktails at the bespoke cocktail bar while the crowds are kept fed by delicious street food, including Mexican-inspired Taco Or Don’t, previously featured at the British Streetfood Awards.
And it’d be remiss of you to leave the festival empty-handed when you can take a taste of Mexico home from the exclusive bottle shop provided by Drinkmonger on site (with discount tokens included in the ticket price).
A tequila and mezcal festival is heading on Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Colin Campbell, one of Copita’s co-founders said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Copita to Manchester. It’s gone down brilliantly in Glasgow the last two years so we felt now was the right time to take it on the road and we couldn’t think of a better place than Manchester to head to next!
“It’s a really easy-going event with a great atmosphere, lots of local street food, shopping and music, so whether you’re an aficionado or a casual sipper we’re confident you’ll have a great time.”
The Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival will be at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 14 September.
Spinningfields to celebrate launch of new app with competition to win hundreds of FREE prizes
Emily Sergeant
You can be in with a chance of winning one of hundreds of free prizes just by heading down to Spinningfields next week.
In case you hadn’t heard, Spinningfields has just launched a brand-new app that’s now available to download, and in a bid to mark the occasion and properly celebrate this exciting launch, the city centre leisure and business district will be hosting an epic ‘Spin to Win’ event where there are hundreds of prizes to be won.
The new Spinningfields app is your ultimate guide to everything happening in the area, and it gives you access to special offers, fun monthly competitions, invitations to exciting events, community news, volunteering opportunities, and so much more.
Oh, and the best part about it? It’s free to download and sign up.
To celebrate the launch of our Spinningfields app, join us at Spinningfields Square between 8am and 5.30am on Tuesday 10 September. Download our FREE app, grab a FREE coffee from 92 Degrees (just for showing up), and spin to win some amazing prizes!
To start making the most of all of these exciting perks, you just need to download the Spinningfields app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone and verify your account, and then once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to head on down to Spinningfields Square next Tuesday (10 September) to spin the wheel for your chance to win some amazing prizes.
Some of the prizes on the jam-packed lineup include tickets to Chaos Karts and The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience, £100 vouchers for Australasia, £50 vouchers for Fazenda and The Ivy Spinningfields, plus free coffees, waffles, and doughnuts from Black Sheep Coffee.
You could also win yourself some complimentary cosmetic treatments at The Medika Clinic, as well as loads more, all by just spinning the wheel.
Spinningfields is celebrating the launch of its new app with a competition to win hundreds of free prizes / Credit: Supplied
And if the prizes somehow weren’t good enough to tempt you down to Spinningfields on their own, then luckily, there’ll also be a free freshly-brewed filter coffee for everyone who downloads the app and shows up on the day, while stocks last.
Basically, you’re guaranteed to walk away a winner no matter what.
The Spinningfields ‘Spin to Win’ official app launch is happening at Spinningfields Square on Tuesday 10 September from 8am to 5:30pm, and as organisers are anticipating the event will be busy one, it’s recommended that you download the app and verify your account before attending to ensure a smooth experience.