Manchester Craft & Design Centre

I love this place! A collection of interesting and highly talented designers!

I never bought anything at the Craft and Design Centre, although I easily would today. It's a pretty small maze of petit boutiques that have pottery, paintings, and jewellery on display (and up for sale). It may indeed be missed or even not found, and the place is not grand in size. Yet it's got the character (especially the Victorian steelwork), having once housed the fish market.

I love this place! Great for browsing local designers and buying presents. Great range of little shops with different products and prices for every budget

Lovely place to look around, with lots of independent shops, mainly jewellers. Its fab if you want to buy a gift which is a little bit different & its never too busy so a nice haven from the clamour of the Arndale!

Only downside is that its closed on sundays & bank hols.

Very nice to browse and find something unusual and unique. Great for present too. I bought my wedding ring from one of their shop and it is so unique and special! They have different shops run by artists such as accessory shop, leather craft shop, paint shop, cloth shop etc. You can see artists are making them too. They also have a nice cafe and foods looks great. It is one of the best place to see in Manchester!

So easily missed. PERFECT for presents - a real gem. When you find it, tucked away in the Northern Quarter you’ll wonder how you never visited it before. The talent producing beautiful things within those four fish-market walls is world class.

An arts institution in Manchester, been here for as long as I have - if not longer. Cool gifts, good art work, nice exhibitions occassionally , and you can get bespoke items made if you chat with the artists.

For heaven’s sake City Council, don’t ever sell the building to developers!!

I love the fact this place merges creative arts and independent small businesses! This is a brilliant centre and i recommend it to anyone who wants to buy a unique and quirky gift or a treat for ones self!

Manchester Craft & Design Centre is the best place to go if you like things on the querky side. Great for unusual pressies & wonderful for that special 'perk you up’ jewellery that we all need from time to time! Well worth a visit. X

This place is fantastic and I don’t get why everyone doesn’t know about it! Based in the old fish market building and it’s a beautiful building, just off Tib Street in the Northern Quater. The craft centre houses a number of studio spaces each home to an ecclectic mix of local based crafts people, silversmiths, dressmakers, accessories, painters, potters… A few familiar faces have moved on while others have been based here for many years. It’s a great place to find original gifts and pieces for the home that will be talking points and a diverse cluster of Manchester’s talented artists.

Not sure if this is still classed as a hidden gem, but it’s not an in your face venue tucked as it is in the heart of the Northern Quarter.
Chock full of independent crafts folk and their items for sale, the Craft and Design Centre should appeal to most generations. From fancy original jewellery to framed canvases by local artists and stunning pottery - heck even my mum on a recent visit loved this place. Set over two floors in the old Smithfield fish market , aside from it’s craft and design collections inside it’s also a fine piece of low scale Victorian architecture (wonderful glass ceiling).
My mother and missus were quite taken with the aforementioned jewellery, but also the fine range of glass and ceramic arts. I got a lot of enjoyment out of the photograph (particularly the Edward Chadwick studio) and painting studios and have my eye on a few pictures which I’ll return to buy soon enough. At the time of writing there is a studio space free should any budding crafts folk wish to rent here. I’m none too sure over the prices but I’d hazard a guess you would get a good price for such a good location.
There is also a small cafe/restaurant downstairs and it’s worth taking 15 minutes out for share the wonderful vibe inside the building.
Long may it continue.