The secret to going viral is a bit of good fortune. At least, that’s what many believe.
But when you look at Shrine, a company that continues to return to the trending section again and again, you start to think there might be a knack to going viral after all.
This Manchester cosmetic business blew up right at the beginning for launching the now-famous glitter boob and bum trend; went viral again when they shared their success story; and even managed to make headlines when the world went into lockdown for at-home hair dying products.
“We’ve always tried to be trendsetters,” Shrine’s Niamh Gillan tells The Manc.
“For us, it’s about being disruptive. We try to be original – and we communicate that across social media.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s what makes us different.”
Shrine is like the anti-corporation. Almost everything they do goes against the traditional business bible; and it’s worked a dream.
ADVERTISEMENT
Set up just a few miles outside of Manchester city centre near the Etihad, the Shrine team is 11-strong – all female, and all below the age of 28.
Each member of staff essentially runs their own little department, with key messages and updates communicated not via letters or emails – but through Instagram Live and TikTok.
Today, more than half a million loyal followers are sharing Shrine style ideas, ordering products and signing up for masterclasses.
ADVERTISEMENT
Even in this complicated climate, the company is generating millions.
“Everyone really gets along, it’s like a family here,” Niamh beams.
“We love working here, we love the products and the people we work with.
“We want people to know that.”
Back in 2016, MMU student Jenna Meek decided to invest her life savings on a business idea – setting up what was then known as ‘The Gypsy Shrine’ from her bedroom.
ADVERTISEMENT
She chose glitter and stick-on jewels as fashion statements, and these images struck a chord with students before being picked up by The Daily Mail and The Sun.
That summer, you couldn’t go to any live music event without seeing someone sporting the glitter boob trend. It was suddenly a fixture of festival fashion; like sunglasses, hats or hair dye.
Pre-festival popup stores in the likes of London and Los Angeles attracted enormous crowds – and within a matter of months the brand was collaborating with film studios and music giants.
World-renowned studio Warner Brothers selected The Gypsy Shrine to host a stand in support of their Wonderwoman film; recognising the brand’s focus on female empowerment.
Another collaboration for a Halloween and social collection followed, before the brand teamed up with festival Coachella to throw a Palm Springs party in 2018.
ADVERTISEMENT
Within two years of setting up, The Gyspy Shrine was synonymous with festival dress.
But the brand had ideas that went beyond fashion for wild weekends.
Dropping a couple of words from their moniker, Shrine began to broaden its offering to focus on more areas of lifestyle – moving into creative cosmetics and hair care.
It was good timing. The festival scene has temporarily collapsed due to COVID-19, but even when quarantine began, Shrine was as in-demand as ever.
“Over the past few months, there’s been lots of people ordering our at-home hair dye,” Niamh explains.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We launched it in February and it took off as we went into lockdown.
“From there, demand went up as people couldn’t go to hairdressers.
“We’re getting lots of inquiries about our hair dye dropping – it’s where you can drop the pigment into conditioner and use that to cover your hair.
“It’s semi-permanent and you can create your own shape.”
Founder Jenna still features heavily on Shrine’s social channels – hosting Q&As about particular products and even taking part in Instagram Live sessions with hair salons.
ADVERTISEMENT
The brand audience is bigger than ever before. And there’s plans in the pipeline to reach this ever-growing base of fans.
Shrine has dipped its toe in international waters before, but now it’s preparing to take the plunge and dive head first into the American market.
“We’re looking to launch in the US – that’s all in the works right now,” Niamh explains.
“We’re hoping to grow into being a key brand over there. That’s the plan for the next year – but the big aim is worldwide.
“Hopefully, we can keep this going and start to trade with retailers all over the globe.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Thousands of brands out there are still attempting to go viral. For many, it’ll be a case of good fortune.
But with Shrine, it just feels like a matter of time before that name starts trending again.
“We know our audience and they know us,” Niamh says.
Building this kind of special relationship is a rare thing. But Shrine has done it. And it sounds like there’s much more to come.
See what Shrine is offering right now by visiting the official website.
Andy Burnham invites opposition party leaders to help tackle ‘broken’ social care system
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has announced that he is making the choice to fix the ‘broken’ social care system by finding ‘common ground’ across party lines.
Attempting to draw a line under what the Government has described as ‘decades of decline’ and a refusal to tackle these problems head on, Andy Burnham has now called on all political parties to focus on solving problems and finding solutions together, rather than pointing fingers at the opposition and getting nowhere.
The Prime Minister has reiterated the need for ‘a new kind of politics’ that puts differences aside in order to come together and face up to the challenges that he says Westminster has left unaddressed for ‘too long’.
Burnham invited the leaders of the two main opposition parties, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, to meet with him today (29 July) to ‘kickstart’ this work and discuss an urgent reform on social care.
The three leaders were jointed by Health Secretary Yvette Cooper and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care which will draw up recommendations to deliver a National Care Service.
Baroness Casey has also launched the new Big Conversation on Care today.
The Big Conversation on Care is giving the public a chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England so that it is designed for the people it is there to serve.
The consultation will be open to everyone through a new online platform, and will start off the conversation by asking people about what the ‘values and principles’ we should all expect from a care system are.
“Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics [and] nowhere is that more urgent than social care,” Andy Burnham said in his speech.
“For decades, Governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated. Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue, and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.
“That’s why I’m making this choice and I’m prepared to put everything I’ve got behind it.”
The Prime Minister says it’s time to ‘draw a line under people playing politics’ when the human cost of that means carers are struggling, families are paying the price, and the NHS is ‘buckling’ under the strain.
“This comes down to a choice,” his statement continued.
“We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve.”
Featured Image – Age Cymru
News
Brits start petition to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closure amid budget cuts
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester, the North West and Brits at large are urging people across the country to pen a petition to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing down for good.
In fact, this is just one petition among numerous protests over its impending closure.
For anyone who somehow hadn’t come across the sad news, the national institution that is Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) in Cheshire, which includes the award-winning and world-famous James Lovell Telescope, is scheduled to shut down permanently by March 2028.
Despite having served a crucial part in alleviating Cold War tensions back in the 1960s, operating as an important scientific hub under the University of Manchester umbrella, and remaining a major tourist pull for the region, it’s unfortunately lost its funding and is on course to be decommissioned.
While the massive Northern landmark near Macclesfield is home not only to the largest telescope in the UK, important physics research and even an annual music, arts and science festival in the form of Bluedot, its cultural significance doesn’t appear enough to keep it solvent.
Described as a “huge blow to astronomy” not just here in Britain but for the global industry as a whole, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) have even described it as a form of “scientific vandalism.”
Having been open since around the end of WWII, before going on to possess the largest steerable radio telescope of its kind in the entire world by 1957, it’s been used to identify distant planets, stars, galaxies and more up in the far reaches of space.
Dr Megan Argo, reader in astrophysics at the University of Lancashire – which also shares a fruitful partnership with the centre alongside UoM, Cambridge, York and many more – said in a statement: “Jodrell Bank is still a very active facility and remains at the forefront of research.
“Recent upgrades have facilitated new discoveries about planet, star and galaxy formation which tell us about our own history, helping to answer one of humanity’s biggest questions: are we alone in the universe?” Put simply, the steps currently being taken have been called “short-sighted” to say the least.
With that in mind, people across the sector and online are now rallying behind the initiative to try and rescue the important and historic UNESCO site before it’s too late.
Cheshire and Warrington mayoral candidate Ben Fletcher is one of several notable names that have publicly backed the push to save the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre as a whole, along with its highly valuable facilities.
Meanwhile, one user on X added: “I’ve got an opinion on the Jodrell Bank stupidity – and I’m sorry, but that’s a polite understatement. But it is frankly unrepeatable in impolite company, let alone polite.
“I hope the nitwits who have made the decision feel proud about themselves though. Because pride comes before the fall.”
You can see the numerous posts from supporter voices on the Change.org page, including everyone from impassioned scientists and researchers who first discovered their love for these subjects by visiting the attraction, as well as Northerners who simply enjoyed some of their most precious memories there.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) needs to cut an estimated £700 million by 2029/30, and JBO needs to find enough funds to cover its £2.8m budget to avoid closing in the next couple of years. So, if you’ve been stirred by the passionate appeals, you can sign the petition HERE.
Much wider than greater Manchester. Remember going as a child from Merseyside, and have taken my children, too.
The Manc -
13th August 2020 
