A new vintage and pre-loved clothing store has opened in Manchester city centre, selling some seriously big labels for £20 or less.
Catch My Thrift isn’t all about the designer goods either, with plenty of high-street names like ASOS and Levi’s being sold alongside Burberry, Nike and Armani.
But if the item falls under the ‘fast fashion’ umbrella, founder Scott Joseph will donate the money from the sale to the Forever Manchester charity.
The shop has opened at Great Northern Warehouse on Deansgate (down towards Beetham Tower), with rails upon rails of flannel shirts, band tees, denim, sportswear and sweatshirts.
Catch My Thrift is promising to take the ‘musty’ out of vintage clothes, with gender-neutral items sold washed, ironed, and ready to wear.
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For less than £20, you could be shopping for a classic Burberry shirt, a Kenzo sweatshirt, or a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans.
Scott, whose background is in luxury, high-end fashion, including Armani and Harvey Nichols, started buying vintage clothes for himself, selling on anything that wasn’t the right fit.
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A Patagonia flannel shirt for only £16 at Catch My Thrift vintage shop in Manchester. Credit; The Manc GroupA wall of brightly-coloured vintage shirts at Catch My Thrift, Manchester. Credit; The Manc GroupA beer shirt at Catch My Thrift. Credit: The Manc Group
It didn’t take long for him to realise there was huge demand for ‘quality thrift’ – and the business has flourished.
With Catch My Thrift, he’s hoping to make this sustainable alternative to fast fashion more accessible to a wider audience.
The stock is replenished weekly with new garments on display at every visit.
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You’ll find a wall of band t-shirts, featuring the likes of Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Def Leopard (as well as Doja Cat and Ariana Grande), in addition to cotton, denim and flannel shirts, jeans, corduroys, casual bottoms and sweatshirts.
Catch My Thrift vintage store in Manchester.Catch My Thrift vintage store in Manchester. Credit; The Manc Group
Scott’s chosen to price everything by category, rather than label, so designer brands rub shoulders with high street labels in the same price brackets.
Scott says: “Vintage and pre-loved clothing has a story to tell, and it’s a shame that they often end up in landfill. I wanted to create a platform that makes vintage wear more accessible to people, gives them the opportunity to express their own unique style without fear of imitation and at the same time, help the environment by reducing waste.”
He plans to host classes on up-cycling and capsule wardrobe planning in the space, plus a series of talks and roundtables.
Mark Schofield, centre director of Great Northern Warehouse, said: “Catch My Thrift is a great addition to our thriving community of independent businesses at Great Northern Warehouse.
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“The pop-up store highlights the step-change in consumer purchasing behaviours, with Deansgate Terrace, now increasingly recognised as a hub for independent businesses offering a range of services including vintage clothing, coffees to go, and even tattoos, in addition to great restaurants and estate agents.
“We’re committed to supporting local businesses in the early stages and look forward to seeing Catch My Thrift grow and thrive on Deansgate.”
To celebrate its new home on Deansgate, Catch My Thrift will be hosting a weekend of partying across Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September from 1pm each day, with complimentary refreshments.
The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess to host ‘Merch Market’ in aid of bands
Thomas Melia
Tim Burgess, frontman of legendary band The Charlatans, is set to launch a one-off ‘Merch Market’ event, and its core purpose is to support bands.
He might have a ‘Jesus Hairdo’ but he’s currently serving as a good Samaritan as The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess is putting on an event solely focusing on funding bands via gig merch and other apparel.
Running across a variety of live music locations within Manchester city centre, the day-long event is called ‘Merch Market’, and it’s encouraging music lovers and bands alike to tag along.
Although ticket sales, album sales and streams are critical in funding the careers of all the artists we know and love, one key drive in securing actual revenue in the music industry is merchandise.
Expect to pick up some rare finds and own some limited edition collections.Band merch will be front and centre at this event which is hosted by The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess.Credit: The Hoot/Audio North
‘Merch Market’ is taking place at O2 Ritz as well as adjacent venues Gorilla and Dog Bowl across the road with a special appearance from ‘Tim Peak’s Diner’, the caffeinated brainchild of Tim Burgess.
The whole point of this event is to make sure that bands can receive the full 100% of merch sales without any cuts from any third party.
Fronted by The Charlatans lead singer Tim Burgess, ‘Merch Market’ is building off his 2021 gathering, which had a similar initiative with ‘Vinyl Adventure’ encouraging the sale of physical music and media.
Alongside stocking up your wardrobe with all the latest band t-shirts, hoodies and everything in between, there will be an array of interesting performances and talks happening throughout the day.
Entry to this incredible celebration of bands is completely free of charge and, better still, there are chances to win some seriously cool prizes – including some tasty festival tickets.
Gorilla is one of the live music venues that ‘Merch Market’ is taking place at.The Manc and Antony Szmierek outside O2 RItz, another venue which will be taking part in ‘Merch Market’.Credit: The Manc Group
Expect stalls, live DJ sets, interviews, panels and even a chance to bag yourself VIP tickets for UK festival, Kendal Calling, which Burgess will be returning for 2025.
Burgess is a man of many talents as he will not only be hosting this fantastic initiative, but he will also be hosting a stall of his own and singing a couple of his biggest hits.
Bands don’t have to worry about forking out a fortune for renting a stall either as tables at ‘Merch Market’ are free, the only thing musicians have to bring is their merch and charming personalities.
So whether you’re an artist with leftover stock from your last tour or a music lover who just missed out on snagging a snap back, head down to these three venues on 25 May.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as naughty
Danny Jones
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked that finally landed in Manchester this month – or, more accurately, the massive lines that followed.
Well, what if we told you were about to do the same all over again very soon?
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Credit: Get Baked (via Instagram)
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES! Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar’, people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Our friends over at The Hoot weren’t lying when they said this place was going to make a big splash when it landed in 0161 – and no, we won’t be telling you how much we’ve spent there already.
As for the Pistachio Bertha, Get Baked has confirmed that although there will only be a limited amount of portions up for grabs, it will be available both in person and to order online.
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
We’re also glad to hear she is on the mend following a recent health scare; we hope she eats as many slices of Pistachio Bertha as possible to celebrate. Big love and stay healthy – The Manc x
Daisy Jackson -
1st September 2023 
