This place is great for buying some fashion jewellery for your party frock or just to wear in…read moregeneral. They have some gorgeous pieces and it is all affordable too which is what we all like to hear dont we? They also do watch repairs which is a God send for me as my watches are always dying on me. I get my watch straps from here and they are around 2 quid and excellent quality. If they do not have what you need then they will get it for you. What better service could you ask for really?

Great little shop despite the unimaginative Johnathan. You will find Jewellery for every occasion…read morehere. Very inexpensive and the Jewellery does not fall apart after a week like many other costume Jewellery pieces do. Staff are great....Johnathen obviously knows his stuff, excluding branding that is!

Offering repairs or complete restorations of any watch no matter the age the WATCH Lab is a…read morewonderfully handy little place for anyone concerned with time- and if you're alive you probably are. Having an in-house team of technicians and repair specialists means they can offer a really high speed high standard service. Nothing if not thorough, they also test for water resistance, clean and service, install new batteries, repair straps, a valet service and tons more.

As the name suggests, its like a salon for watches. It can even be doubled for a watch hospital!…read more This kind of place is an extreme need considering how many times many of us have faced our watch at a standstill! If you think its dead, or its one hand down or its scratched and you want it as good as new, look no further and step right in! They do repairs of any kind of any brand of watches and about 99% times are successful in their skill. Also they can give makeovers to your watches! Does your watch looking like it has lived 70 years and you want its beauty back? They offer that service too! Theyre very professional and speedy in their service and rarely have complaints!

One of things I love about living in Levenshulme is looking round the Antiques Village on a Sunday…read moreafternoon. There are three floors of pre-war furniture, household objects, chandeliers, toys, medals, vintage jewellery and other collectibles. Over the years I've noticed the prices going up a little but it's still great value for money. The last time I went I came away with a beautiful vintage sewing box that I found amongst various ornaments and bric-á-brac. In the basement you'll find a café which does a mean weekend breakfast and serves good food throughout the day. The building itself is also noteworthy. Built in 1898, it was originally the Town Hall. The original mouldings and green tiles are still existence. The Antiques Village is a five minute walk from Levenshulme Station and a ten minute drive from Manchester City Centre.

Hmm this is the third year i am giving the center a visit. For me it gets less and less…read moreinteresting. It is a mostly furniture place. Miss the little nicknacks. The old guy in the courtyard with his treasure cave is unfortunately gone .....

Great spot for shopping. Lots of treasures. We loved all of the different businesses in building…read moreacross 4 floors.

Back in the days of Madchester, Afflecks Palace was the place to go to get cool flares, psychadelic…read moreshirts, sunhats and all the right threads. Rumour has it Urban Splash founder Tom Bloxham even had a stall here selling bootleg Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays tees. These days, Afflecks is a bit of a ghost town. There are still dozens of stalls selling everything from vintage and secondhand clothes to military wear, drugs paraphanelia, henna tattoos, wind-chimes and furniture. Sadly, there aren't as many old goths, rockers, emo teens and ageing punks as there used to be and you can sometimes walk round the whole building without seeing anyone other than the staff!

If memory serves me correctly, the two characters that featured in that famous Swatch watch of my…read morechildhood where Tick & Tock. One thing that definitely hasn't escaped my mind is just how much I wanted one! Judging by the cold metal gleam of today's Swatch stores, things have moved on pretty rapidly. I guess kids are just too savvy to fall for simply naming the big and little hands these days- damn it Playstation, what have you done to our children?! Be that as it may, Swiss watches are still the best in the world, and whilst Swatch isn't exactly giving TAG Heuer and the like sleepless nights it is a brand that makes a quality, stylish product that'll last you a lifetime. The store is uber cool and super modern and the staff are engaging and knowledgeable, making even the process of shopping for your watch much more enjoyable than it has any business being.

Swatch. Really cool watches that are not really expensive. Is that really possible? Well, yes…read more The watches here are gorgeous, and start at £40 or something, so they're affordable. They have all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. Digital watches are evil, these are heavenly. Also, they do loads of great fun kids watches as well so it's a good place to start learning to tell the time. This branch is really nice, as they all are really. Its modern inside with a glowing sign and it makes you really want the watches. The other thing I have to say about this branch is that on two occasions in my 4 years in Manchester, two different men have approached me on Market Street, not very far from this shop, offering to sell me a brand new Swatch watch in its box. Perhaps they should tighten security or something...

In need of some new boots i decided the cheapest way to do it was to…read morehave my old boots re heeled. Inside timpson i was greeted by a elderly man and women who took my boots off me for inspection. they told me to have my steeletoe boots heeled it would cost me £9 i was a bit shocked by the price but decided to have them done as i saved my feet and sanity walking around town . looking for a new pair. I got them back with in a hour but they didnt buff them up so i generally got what i only paid for.

Timpson is a busy little shop on Cross Street that does watch and shoe repairs. You know the one,…read morewith little mechanical shoe maker doll in the window. There we go. Well, I came in here because I'm looking for a hip flask for my girlfriend's brother which I also want to get engraved as a little present from the both of us for his 21st. They have some in the window so I came in to find prices and the like. The guy who I spoke to was kind of distracted fixing a watch at the time, and it took a few goes to actually get his attention and get him to engage in a conversation about the hip flask. But then I found out that a hip flask is £20 or so and it costs about £10 to get the engraving done. Not the cheapest I've found, but certainly not the worst. Timpson is a really useful little place, with knowledgeable staff who are just a little busy, that's all.

Ridelow is the perfect place to get a really good range of kitsch, weird and wonderful bikes that…read morefrankly you won't find anywhere else in Manchester. It's awesome inside, with bikes and all kinds of things hanging off the ceiling, and a sofa to have a sit down on if you want. But it also has a line in doing loads of other stuff. Be that watches, gothic jewellery, skater t-shirts, rucksacks and even a desk offering canvas printing services! The limited clothing stock out on view is apparently for display purposes - they have more sizes and if you ask they'll go find the one you need in the storeroom. The staff in here are dead friendly and willing to give you a hand or even just have a chat. I always like it when a shop has that kind of vibe.

Ridelow, as the name suggests, is for the cool kids. If you know your bikes then you'll know that…read morethis store doesn't just stock any old brand. This store stocks the crème de la crème of lowriders, cruisers, bmx's and choppers. Since this is the store where the likes of Kate Moss and the Beckhams come to get their rides, you can imagine that it isn't all that cheap. In fact, you're looking at around £500 for an Amsterdam or from £200 for a chopper, but you won't find anything else like them on the street. You won't want to leave them unattended on the street either, even if you have 3 locks, and for a city dweller like me that poses a huge problem. I guess the people who can afford these bikes also have a private place to store them?