New in Town

Find out what’s new in town with our latest guide to summer shopping, dining, and drinking.

Nespresso | Trafford Centre

Nespresso has opened a Nespresso boutique in the Trafford Centre with free tastings, an Art of Coffee masterclass area, and personalisation area for engraved mugs with a name or personal message. If you’re feeling like you want a new coffee to perk up your morning routine, this is the place to go to explore in style. Traffordcentre.co.uk

River Island | Trafford Centre

This is no ordinary River Island store; this new super-sized River Island has high tech dressing rooms which can detect what clothing items you have brought into the dressing room! If a size doesn’t fit, you can request a new size to be brought to you without leaving your changing room. Fit with a coffee bar to satisfy any less enthusiastic shoppers, River Island has thought of everything for this new shop. Traffordcentre.co.uk

HIP | Northern Quarter

Recently opened in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter is Leeds-founded clothing and lifestyle brand, HIP. From trainers to outdoor wear and glassware to grooming, this unisex shop is on top of the trends with excellent unique products. Thehipstore.co.uk

Crunch | Manchester City Centre

Red Light | Manchester City Centre

Northern Social | Whitefield

New to Bury New Road, Northern Social will be a place to buy New York-style pizza slices while you play ping pong, shuffleboard, and array of fun games. Capture your evening with a photo booth for all your friends to pile in. Northern Social is sure to be the new hangout spot of Whitefield.

On Instagram @northern_ social_

Red light is a new LGBTQ+ bar which recently opened in Kampus’s residential and commercial development.The community boasts some of Manchester’s best independent bars, restaurants and coffee shops with this cocktail bar opening just in time for summer.

Kampus-mcr.co.uk

Great news for fans of Manchester Christmas Market, beloved Korean Hot Dog stall, Crunch Korean Gansig, has recently opened permanently in Piccadilly Gardens. Its famous hot dog is deep fried in waffle batter until crispy and then lightly coated in sugar and drizzled in ketchup and mustard in an exciting blend of savoury and sweet.

On Instagram @crunch_korean_gansig

Desert Island Dumplings | Manchester City Centre

Recently launched in Affleck’s Palace, Desert Island Dumplings now have a permanent spot for its vegan fusion dumplings. With décor influenced by The Simpsons, diners can enjoy some dumplings while playing a game or two of The Simpsons Hit and Run. Afflecks.com

Beyond their legendary status in popular culture, what makes the story of Barbie dolls particularly fascinating is their visionary creator, Ruth Handler, who was born to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents.

Ruth was a woman of extraordinary vision and innovation. Born on 4th November 1916 in Denver, Colorado, Ruth Marianna Mosko grew up during the Great Depression, displaying an early entrepreneurial spirit by running a homemade cookie business with her sister, Florence.

In 1945, Ruth and her husband Elliot Handler co-founded Mattel Creations, a small toy company initially focused on producing picture frames. It was only when Ruth saw her daughter Barbara's imaginative play with paper dolls, that she came up with the idea of creating an action figure which would allow young girls to project their dreams, aspirations, and fashion fantasies onto a blank canvas.

Ruth introduced the world to Barbie at the New York Toy Fair of 1959, and she quickly captured the hearts and imaginations of young girls. However, Barbie's unprecedented success did not come without controversy. Critics argued that the doll promoted unrealistic beauty standards and limited gender roles. Ruth defended her creation, emphasising that Barbie was not intended to represent a single ideal, but rather to inspire girls to imagine themselves in diverse roles and careers.

Over the years, the Barbie brand has evolved to embrace diversity, introducing dolls of different ethnicities, body types