Jenny_Hudson's Qype profile

Lee Page Hanson is a ceramic artist. His work includes mainly decorative pieces for the home. He has a huge range of wall tiles, of which I have two. They’re the kind you hang rather than paste into place and grout.

Birds feature widely in his work, along with other animals, butterflies and flowers. The patterns and impressions made in the clay add texture and many of the pieces are painted. I noticed recently a few tiles with a shiny copper effect which is used sparingly to add detail here and there.

The tiles range in size and price but you can pick up a small tile for about £14. Very reasonable considering the time it must take to create, fire and glaze the pieces.

Jessica Livsey is the textile designer behind Fibre Design. Based upstairs in the Craft and Design Centre she creates greeting cards and artwork. I have bought a number of her pieces over the years, both for myself and as gifts.

Fabric, paper, text and dried flowers are collaged onto her work to create unique pieces. Domestic scenes such as kitchens and homes are popular, along with seasonal work for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas etc.

Framed pictures make popular gifts for weddings and housewarmings and I have my own ‘Home Sweet Home’ collage hanging in the hallway at home.

Kathryn Edwards is based upstairs in the Craft and Design Centre. I love her work. She creates quirky canvases and shopping bags with humorous quotations. My favourite is picture of a woman surrounded by suitcases. The quote is 'Packing would be so much easier if I had my Mary Poppins bag'. A picture of toothpaste and toothbrushes is accompanied with 'I try to remember to put the lid down on the toothpaste for you'.

Kathryn's work is a mixture of stitch and illustration and is embellished with fabric. Even the quotes are stitched. She has a knack of picking up on touching everyday experiences that are common to everyone.

I've bought a few gifts from here and each time I go in I spend a good five minutes looking through her wall of canvases. Prices are reasonable, given the amount of work that clearly goes into each item.

You think 'vintage shop' and a certain type of store springs to mind. Clothes and accessories all bundled together, shelves stacked with odds and ends that you have to rummage through in the hope of finding that hidden gem. Not Retro Rehab.

Rails are neatly sorted by garment. Everything is pristine and well pressed. Jewellery is labelled and displayed to advantage in glass cabinets. You also get the feeling of space, which is often lacking in vintage shops.

The clothes are either vintage or revamped vintage. i.e. vintage items that have been updated in some way for the contemporary customer. Jewellery is a mixture of vintage, modern pieces with vintage components and a few that are labelled 'vintage style'.

It's hard to go in there without buying something.

I went to NoHo for the first time last week. Up until then I hadn't heard of it. The venue is a grade II listed building with huge floor to ceiling windows and parquet flooring. The walls have been painted with action movie style scenes; men climbing out of helicopters, guns and fire etc. Over the door is a skeleton riding a bicycle. No really. Strangely it doesn't look out of place.

Normally I'm not a big fan of these city bars but this place is actually quite comfortable with lots of old leather chairs and sofas. It opens at 5 o'clock each weekday except Monday, which is ideal for after work drinks. It's stays open until 2.00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

Drinks-wise they serve your usual lagers, beers, wine etc. and also cocktails. It's friendly place and very laid back. I'll definitely be going again.

If you work out of town one of the most useful shops to have close by is a card shop. No matter how organised you are there are always days when you look at your diary and realise that it’s someone’s birthday tomorrow. This is followed by a mild panic and a Google search to find the nearest card shop.

Hallmark in Didsbury has saved my skin a number of times. It stocks a good range of greetings cards and wrapping paper for all manner of occasions. In addition you can find novelty gifts; soft toys, pens and mugs etc. The usual card shop staples.

What sets this shop apart is its Thontons concession, providing more last minute gift options and a place to buy treats. And that’s always good.

There’s something about hardware stores. I’ll never have any use for the majority of goods they sell but I love browsing and always manage to come away with something useful.

GT Blagg has been around since 1871. It supplies the usual hardware staples, tools, nails, a range of items I’ll refer loosely as ‘things to mend stuff with’ and various cleaning products. And then there are wellies, brooms, flower and vegetable seeds and bedding plants.

There’s an electrical section too with plugs and extension leads and also toasters and kettles. They also sell calor gas, smoke free coal and kindling.

True to form I came away with a new mop and mop bucket.

This is a great little Tapas restaurant in Didsbury. It’s small and intimate, perhaps a little overcrowded at times, but nonetheless a cosy and welcoming venue.

You can choose from a number of set Tapas menus or choose your own dishes from a large selection. I can highly recommend the Chorizo, Champiniones Al Ajillo and Queso Manchego, which is served with fresh tomato and olive oil. I haven’t tried the Paellas but from what I’ve seen they certainly look tasty.

As you would expect there’s a good wine list with a number of Cavas and wines from Spain, Italy and Chile. You can also order jugs of Sangria and Spanish and Italian lager.

With its intimate setting and candlelit tables, this is perfect for a romantic meal.

I think most people have their favourite take-away. We keep a few well-used menus in the hall drawer that are brought out and pondered over when we don’t feel like cooking. They cover different types of food – Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian – depending what we’re in the mood for. One of our pizza favourites is The Godfather.

This pizza place / kebab house was established in 1984 and has a number of awards under its belt. It is known for two things; freshly prepared food and their Buy One Get One Free pizza offer.

Most restaurants and take-aways boast freshly prepared food. It’s one of those obligatory statements you come across on most menus. This place really means it. Their shop on Kingsway has an open counter allowing you can watch as the pizza chefs prepare your food. First they roll out the dough, scoring it and placing it in the pans. Next they add the tomato based sauce and build your pizza depending on your requirements. You can then watch as it makes its way on rollers through the pizza oven, until it emerges, cooked and delicious at the other end.

The Buy One Get One Free offer allows you to buy a pizza and get another one the same size for free. This is not a seasonal promotion; it remains in place at all times.

Definitely one for the take-away drawer.

Harriet and Dee is tucked away on Warburton Street in Didsbury. I didn’t notice this at first but they have two shops on this street, one selling general gifts and the other focusing on jewellery. It’s the gift shop I’m writing about today.

This is a pretty little shop. You’re greeted with tinkling mobile sounds as you walk in and they have a huge selection of unusual and novelty gifts. A few things that caught my eye were a range of cake forks, complete with plastic cupcake embellishments, paper weights with inspiring slogans, shoe shaped soaps and a rather splendid cup carrying the slogan, ‘I’d rather be The Stig’.

Other items include toiletries, candles, ceramics and cards. There’s a good selection with lots to choose from. You won’t come away empty handed if you’re looking for a gift.