Jameson Carter: The Manc streetwear brand that kept its cool in a pandemic
Not even a pandemic could slow down Jameson Carter. This Manc streetwear brand has flourished more than any other local clothing line in recent history.
The founders of Jameson Carter know how fast things can change.
In February, the three childhood friends were all over Manchester news trying to make sense of their rapid rise through the fashion world.
Local media had picked up on their incredible three-year story – which had seen their streetwear move from pokey bedroom surroundings into holiday homes on peak-time reality TV shows and adverts starring Premier League footballers.
At the turn of 2020, the name Jameson Carter was everywhere. The brand had gone from obscure to in-vogue in the blink of an eye.
But then came March. And with it, more sudden change.
News had surfaced that the virus moving into Britain was actually a pretty big deal, and within days the entire country took cover indoors.
Shops shuttered-up. Staff scooped up their belongings and hastily set up makeshift work stations at home. Business owners scrambled to readjust their service offerings and create new revenue streams to keep their heads above water.
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It was a commotion the likes of which we’d never seen before. But through it all, Jameson Carter took inspiration from its own streetwear: It kept its cool.
As it turned out, this proved to be the best possible move.
The fashion brand, still fresh in everyone’s minds from all that promotion in February, began to enjoy an uptick in traffic as people stuck at home found more time to shop.
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All of a sudden, Jameson Carter was enjoying more interest than ever before.
“Lockdown has gave us 100 percent growth online as people had more money to shop,” explains co-founder Craig.
“They couldn’t go out and spend it on a night out or in restaurants. They froze their mortgages and bills but many were still getting paid – so they had spare cash they didn’t have before.
“Lockdown played out to be a positive thing for us in the end.”
Sales boomed to the point where the brand was tipped to turn over millions by 2021.
Not many businesses enjoy that kind of success in a recession, but this lockdown prosperity is a demonstration of Jameson Carter’s habit of repeatedly defying expectations.
The odds were stacked against the brand right from the beginning – but they’ve continued to beat them ever since.
When Jameson Carter launched in 2017, for example, all the business had was £3,000 and a handful of caps in stock.
But opportunity knocked when co-founder Mike revealed his brother had been booked into ITV’s Love Island programme.
They convinced him to take a cap into the villa and wear it by the pool.
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It was a stroke of genius.
The Jameson Carter name was subsequently seen by millions – and demand poured in.
It should have been a one-off, crazy flash-in-the-pan slice of good fortune. But somehow, Jameson Carter continued to find new ways to get their products out there.
Their clothing started appearing on other reality TV shows like The Only Way Is Essex, before deals were struck with Foot Asylum and JD Sports – which culminated in Wilfried Zaha donning the Jameson Carter threads for a Christmas advert.
A snowball effect ensued, and according to co-owner Craig there’s more exciting discussions taking place with other huge brands behind the scenes as we speak.
“We also are about to sign a deal for this month with a new potential big name,” he confirms.
“All will be revealed soon.”
The guys at Jameson Carter certainly know how to tap into popular culture and engage with the top brands.
But customers also keep coming back because these products ooze quality – whilst being sold with reasonable price tags attached.
Craig says the brand is committed to offering ‘affordable luxury’ – giving people the chance to get their hands on great-looking garments without buyer’s remorse or an empty bank account.
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But out of all the words you could use to characterise Jameson Carter, Craig has cited ‘longevity’ as perhaps the most important.
Not only does ‘longevity’ describe the products; it’s a word that ties into the wider brand philosophy at Jameson Carter.
They’ve got ambitious plans to be a long-term player in the fashion world.
“We knew the long-term game was to make the brand cleaner and have a premium look using quality fabrics – but offering it to people for an affordable price,” says Craig.
“For the future, we plan on taking the brand to America and breaking into international countries.
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“[We also want to] grow the women’s collection and break into footwear.”
Not even a pandemic could slow down Jameson Carter.
Just think what they might be able to achieve when the world opens back up again.
Learn more about Jameson Carter via their website.
You can get 20% off everything by entering the code JCMANC at the checkout.
Manchester has been ranked one of the ‘most influential cities’ in Europe
Danny Jones
As per a development that we’d consider so obvious it’s barely worth writing about (even though we are), Manchester has been ranked one of the most influential cities in Europe.
In other news, water is still very much wet.
While there’s plenty of it here in Greater Manchester, given our standard rainy forecasts, when it comes to anything besides the weather, we deliver in spades.
Let’s be honest: we know it, you do too, and apparently so do plenty of other folks – and there’s some concrete statistics to back it up.
Case in point – First Chanel, now Vogue… (Credit: The Manc Group)
You’ll find all manner of surveys, polls and studies diving into how Manchester ranks across various categories, but knowing we boast nods such as ‘the original industrial city’, the place that helped split the atom and the place that the first modern computer was born, we know all about our global impact.
With that in mind, when we saw that Sixt had recently named us as one of the most influential cities in all of Europe, we couldn’t ignore the well-deserved pat on the back.
That’s right, although you might not associate the car rental company with this sort of stuff, as part of their new exclusive ‘Sixt Ride’ offering (think a posh taxi service), they looked into which cities have the most luxuries, tourist attractions and other cultural bonuses to their name.
Per their recent research, Manchester city centre didn’t just break into the top 100 but found itself among the 30 most influential cities in Europe.
You can see the full rankings table down below.
#
City
Country
*Fortune 500 Companies
Fashion weeks
Film Festivals
International Airports
5-Star Hotels
High End/Luxury Shopping areas
Michelin Restaurants
1
Paris
France
10
6
77
2
122
11
134
2
London
United Kingdom
12
3
241
3
182
5
81
3
Milan
Italy
1
4
52
3
29
5
22
4
Rome
Italy
2
0
97
2
65
4
21
5
Stockholm
Sweden
0
3
14
2
12
2
13
6
Madrid
Spain
5
0
38
1
42
2
29
7
Zurich
Switzerland
6
0
10
1
12
4
18
8
Munich
Germany
5
0
10
1
16
4
17
9
Berlin
Germany
1
1
76
1
40
2
21
10
Hamburg
Germany
1
0
16
2
17
3
16
11
Amsterdam
Netherlands
4
0
24
1
29
1
30
12
Copenhagen
Denmark
1
2
12
1
12
2
20
13
Barcelona
Spain
0
0
45
1
47
1
31
14
Lisbon
Portugal
1
0
38
1
49
1
20
15
Athens
Greece
0
0
41
1
52
2
12
16
Vienna
Austria
1
0
24
1
24
3
14
17
Bucharest
Romania
0
0
22
2
12
2
0
18
Warsaw
Poland
0
0
22
2
17
1
3
19
Glasgow
United Kingdom
0
0
17
2
4
2
2
20
Lyon
France
0
0
9
2
7
0
16
21
Prague
Czechia
0
0
16
1
60
1
2
22
Brussels
Belgium
0
0
18
1
14
1
29
23
Oslo
Norway
0
1
8
1
6
1
11
24
Manchester
United Kingdom
0
0
20
1
7
3
2
25
Budapest
Hungary
0
0
16
1
24
1
7
26
Dublin
Ireland
2
0
16
1
11
0
6
27
Naples
Italy
0
0
34
1
5
0
22
28
Porto
Portugal
0
0
8
1
28
0
10
29
Turin
Italy
1
0
21
1
4
0
10
30
Sofia
Bulgaria
0
0
22
1
14
1
0
31
Helsinki
Finland
0
0
5
1
10
1
5
32
Belgrade
Serbia
0
0
32
1
9
0
1
33
Marseille
France
0
0
5
1
4
0
12
34
Birmingham
United Kingdom
0
0
12
1
4
0
6
35
Minsk
Belarus
0
0
11
1
0
0
0
Read it and weep; we Mancs landed 24th on the leaderboard, just behind Norway’s capital, Oslo, and ever so slightly ahead of Budapest in Hungary.
As you can see, to identify the ‘most influential European cities’, they broke down how the 35 most populous cities on the continent and here UK (barring Russia and Ukraine) and what noteworthy cultural touchstones they possess.
For instance, did you hear that our very own Warehouse Project recently found itself breaking into the top half of the best nightclubs on the entire planet?
Going on to analyse everything from the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, their connections to film, fashion, fine-dining and more, they found that Paris, London and Milan were the most influential (no surprises there), but we’re glad to be keeping such good company.
After all, in the last couple of years alone, Manchester city centre has welcomed the Metiers D’art fashion show, opened one of the biggest indoor entertainment venues in all of Europe, and still takes eternal credit for giving the world Oasis and, therefore, the Live ’25 reunion. Again, you’re welcome.
What do you make of Sixt’s study, and do you agree with their findings on the whole?
It goes without saying that we’d probably put ourselves higher on the list if anything, but then again, maybe we’re getting too used to being told how brilliant it is to live in this region.
Featured Images — Anthony Parkes (via Geograph)/The Manc Group
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There’s a studio in Manchester with welded jewellery and a build-your-own-necklace charm bar
Daisy Jackson
An independent jewellery studio in Manchester is tapping into the welded jewellery craze, offering customisable permanent bracelets, necklaces and loads more.
Aureli is the brainchild of Georgina Dunn, and as well as these increasingly popular welded pieces, is offering a charm bar where Mancs can build their own charm jewellery.
The studio is tucked away on Chapel Street, a stone’s throw from Manchester city centre.
Inside the space, you’ll find shelves full of different chains, from dainty links to chunkier rope styles, all available in gold, silver, rose gold or even mixed metal – you choose your poison.
These can then be cut to measure and welded to your person, either as a bracelet, an anklet, a ring or a hand chain.
You can add in tiny charms, like letters, birth stones, and symbols, for a piece of jewellery that’s truly unique to you and that will stay with you.
Terrified of commitment and getting a piece of jewellery literally welded to your body? No stress – Georgina can also add on tiny clasps so that you can take your treasure off whenever you like.
And for fans of chunkier, more statement pieces, you can also book a workshop in the Aureli charm bar.
Georgina fitting a welded braceletGeorgina Dunn, owner of AureliYou can have welded anklets tooAureli offers welded jewellery in ManchesterYou can customise your welded jewellery at the studio in ManchesterSome of the chains on offer at AureliThe charm bar at AureliThe beautiful Aureli studio in Manchester
Here, there are hundreds of playful charms to pick from, like enamel-coated colourful fruit, metal cowboy boots, cherubs, hearts, pearls, and LOADS more.
Georgina can then talk you through the process of hand-fixing each charm to your chosen piece of jewellery, whether you’ve gone for a chunky necklace, a bracelet, or a phone charm.
Georgina has a fashion background and says: “I always knew I wanted my own brand, I just didn’t feel like clothing was the right choice.
“I’d always made my own jewellery as a hobby and had a friend who’d seen permanent jewellery in Australia – so decided to bring that concept to Manchester.”
Two years ago, she started trading at The Makers Market around Greater Manchester, while still working full-time as a teacher.
Aureli absolutely took off, and she’s now appeared in Vogue magazine as well as at events for brands like Sephora and BPerfect.
Aureli is located on Chapel Street in Salford and you can find out more HERE.
The Manc -
30th October 2020 
