Okay, a little backup here, friends who know me well. My name's Emma-Lou H, and I'm a baker. Cakes…read moreand crumbles, pies and quiches, brownies and flapjacks, cookies and shortbreads... if it can be eaten alongside a nice cup of tea or mug of coffee, I can throw it together. But every now and then a recipe will crop up that challenges me somewhat. I can find those ingredients, sure, but where's my springform tin? My electric hand whisker? My multi-tiered cupcake stand? Here! From knives Patrick Bateman would be proud of to decorative doilies for show-standard prettiness, everything for the amateur baker or serious chef is right where you'd need it. It's a tiny little spot in the Arndale Market crammed with delights from some hugely recognisable brands, and it represents a genuine treasure trove of cooking brilliance. Look out for little gadgets and measurers that make your job far easier and storage solutions for your kitchen. A classic example of how some great local shopping can be done in the eclectic Arndale Market - make sure you stop here before whipping up some Christmas yummies!

This is a great cookshop! I don't know if you'll find better in the city centre. He even has the…read moremore obscure items! For general cooking, catering, and especially baking, this guy has a great selection. If you're looking for something but can't find it, ask him and he probably will locate it within the shop. If not, he can probably order it in for you. The owner of this stall is very friendly and helpful, and has been able to get things for me I doubt I could get anywhere except the internet.

Homesense at the Trafford Centre is fairly tucked away within Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton…read moreSquare), it is a large store and it is over two floors. The store looks fairly nice from the outside and is reasonably spacious and presentable for a Homesense store, which can be a little like a non-clothing, home goods version of TKMaxx, their parent company. They had a small selection of furniture and some interesting items, some prices better than others. I like how this store is open late into the evening, which for night-owls like myself is ideal, they're open until 10 pm during the week, closing a little earlier on weekends. I did find the store to be both understaffed and untidy, the shelves were full of rubbish left by customers, including half-eaten food and empty cups, I understand this isn't the store's fault but it was just rather unpleasant, and with no staff members on the shop floor, it wasn't getting tied up to look more presentable. Again, a lack of staff on the shop floor meant I struggled to find what I was looking for. 4* - I like this HomeSense store better than their Manchester Arndale location, it is larger and has a nice range of stock, yet they could for sure improve the staffing levels and cleanliness around the store.

Home Sense is one of the greatest discoveries of the Western world. Where else can you create a…read moredesigner home for half the price? It looks very TK Maxx with endless aisles of furniture and ornaments in no particular order or organisation, but you do not have to look for as long in Home Sense to unveil a bargain. I love the grandeur and scale of some of the items; there are enormous Baroque mirrors which lounge beside huge terracotta pots- its like being in the Land of The Giants. Union Jack painted cabinets stand patriotically next to mirrored Art Deco inspired dressing tables and there are pictures galore promoting everything from Pop Art to Hollywood legends. Home Sense's garden range is definitely worth taking note of, there are table and chairs in ice cream colours and last year I saw a stone table and bench which was absolutely divine and I still kick myself for not buying it. So I have versed you well Yelpers on the stock, now for the prices! This is one of the cheapest priced shops I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Cabinets costing £600 elsewhere are £250 here, crockery is a steal and glasses are great quality and £13 for a box of 6 champagne flutes. I am serious, you blink twice with astonishment when you go to the till. What is appealing about this quirky treasure trove is its ever changing stock.There is no point admiring a Home Sense bargain found by someone else and hoping you can get it for yourself. The majority of the stock are one-offs and will not be featured again so this is a buy-it-when-you-see-it type of place. Yay! I'm a fan!

A large Currys store, in the far right corner of Cheetham Hill Retail Park, is a useful location…read moreand is located opposite Manchester Fort. I much prefer this location to the Currys in Manchester Arndale nearby, as not only is it larger, showcasing a larger selection of products from TVs to coffee machines, from printers to laptops, from smartwatches to Amazon Echo and other home devices, it serves a one-shop tech shop. The store had a good number of staff working, who seemed to let customers browse, friendly but not intrusive... an approach I like, but is sadly not always common with Currys, in some stores the staff are worse than car salesmen, but they've got it right here. I do find the prices in certain areas to be a tad more expensive than the competition, but you can often get some pretty good deals here on most items. The store interior may feel like any Currys, not the most beautiful store in the world or the most modern, but it's easy to follow with a good selection of tech. 4*

Looking for a new TV. Staff are very knowledgeable about the products they are selling. Plenty of…read morefree parking. And they sell white goods from the kitchen lots of PCs are MacBooks.

What a fabulous store! Selling household goods like you've never seen before. The store has a very…read moreAmerican feel to it. It sells some great bits and bobs for your kitchen especially. If you like something a little different, this is the place to go! It also sells bedding and lovely towels and on the different occasions of the year ie Christmas, valetines day the have lovely displays and special stock in. Its brilliant even if you don't intend to buy, just have a look at all the cool stuff!

great store, its a shame it closed before i could actually buy anything from there. prices cheep…read moreand the stuff were unique and nice. brings butlers BACK!

We had a new kitchen from Mayfair Kitchens approximately 8 or 9 years ago.We have lights under the…read morecabinets & 2 have gone off.We went back to Mayfair Kitchens and were very pleased with the service and aquired us 2 new lights & a driver unit within 3 days.We are very pleased with the efficient service from all the staff Thanks very much R & J Bridson

This store is mahoosive! If you're using your sat nav to get to this far flung retail park on the…read moreedge of the city then keep it with you when you enter the store! Anyone with an over active imagination will now be terribly disappointed with that opening statement when they arrive but it is pretty damn big. With a timber yard and a big range of goods it will satisfy both amateurs and proffessionals alike - unless you're a hard put upon spouse in which it will be hard to get out of any DIY tasks with opening hours between 8.00 and 20.00

This B&Q is situated in Mersey Retail Park, which is between Garston and Speke. It is extremely…read morebusy and there are often queues to get in and out. The store itself has just been reorganised. It is massive. As far as DIY is concerned, you really do not need to go elsewhere. There is plenty of parking. There are experts in most departments, so if you need advice, they are there to help. They also offer a no quibble money back service, if you buy something you later realise you no longer need.

A fairly small Currys location (compared to their other branches) located in St Helens at Ravenhead…read moreRetail Park. I came here hoping to return my faulty printer, I was shocked to see a large number of staff on the shop floor who just seemed to be doing nothing, they seemed to be in a couple of groups just talking to each other, this was made all the more frustrating as the returns desk was understaffed and they just seemed to stare at me waiting to be served. The salespeople on the shop floor seemed really pushy to try and get me to spend more than double the value of my previous printer, despite telling them more than once that I would not be interested in spending £200 for a printer. They would constantly go on about how it is cheaper to run... even though I don't print much as it is and explained I wouldn't get the value out of it. The same people on the shop floor trying to hound me to buy a more expensive printer were the same people who ignored me waiting in a growing queue - I found this a little insulting. They seemed more interested in my money than my time and providing good service. The staff member at the returns desk, on the other hand, seemed polite enough though. Plenty of car parking outside the branch due to it being a retail park location. There was a good stock of items which were out on show, but the selection of products to purchase was a lot worse, there were probably half a dozen printers alone that were on show, which were not stocked in store. Available to order online but not physically buy on the same day in-store. The store is fine. I do think the staff standing around doing nothing, ignoring a queue of people is a huge issue, as well as the fact this turned out to be a wasted journey as I ended up having to go to a different store. A useful location in St Helens, but Liverpool Aintree and Warrington are much better and larger stores. 3*

Castlefield market has found a new home in Ancoats under the fancy glass roof of Royal Mills…read morecourtyard. Market day is the first Saturday of the month. There is an ever changing selection of traders selling art, furniture, jewellery, and food among other things. Once you've worked up an appetite from all that market browsing, you can fill up at the likes of Meateor, or The Pizza Maker. A recent addition is Sugarcake whose lotus biscuit brownie is a gooey revelation!