Who

Who
better to try out the new social messaging app Yubl than the
ladies of In Bloom? A young creative agency based in London, In
Bloom is made up of photographers, mixed-media artists, event
managers, PRs, DJs and writers… and let’s face it, they’re
Insta-famous. Constantly connecting with each other and the world
around them, they are known for their bright, colourful feeds and
their unique take on London life and beyond. Follow them to Paris
for a trip with Eurostar, a Nike shoot in their hometown, DJing in
Manchester for Reebok with Kendrick Lamar, or just a girl’s trip to
New York to meet their friends and followers.

Yubl is the next platform to where you can find In Bloom’s
infectious energy. It’s a new social messaging app that aims to
transform the way you interact by bringing you closer to the people
and things you love. A ‘yubl’ starts as a blank canvas which you
can layer with text, stickers, video and photos, and add
interactive buttons (like vote, count, whereabouts, links and
pinpoint).

These yubls appear in three spaces: Chats, where you exchange
one-to-one and group messages; Your Feed, where you share and view
public yubls by people you have chosen and Explore, which is
dedicated to discovering great content from brands, media creators
and popular personalities like Dua Lipa and Poppy Jamie.

To mark their first experience with Yubl, SUITCASE sent the In
Bloom crew (ByAfrique,Vintage Doll Risa, FoxyNeela, Hannah Faith)
to create their two perfect days in Manchester and London. Download
the app here and
follow SUITCASE, By Afrique and Vintage Doll Risa to see their
first Manchester city guide come to life.

In Bloom’s Perfect Day in Manchester

Photographer Christina, or By Afrique and blogger and freelance
stylist Clarissa, Vintage Doll Risa, are born and bred
Londoners. But while they’ll shout about their hometown from the
rooftops, these girls manage to find inspiration wherever they go.
We asked the girls to pick a city outside of London to explore for
the day, so they headed to Manchester. Here modern buildings sit
beside neo-Gothic façades, while green spaces lie just outside the
urban centre. There are new restaurants and bars opening up every
week to complement high-street shops and cute boutiques. Like
London, it is one of the most multicultural cities in England with
its own Chinatown, Curry Mile and Gay Village. Of course, it was
raining, but the ladies still managed to make the city pop.

Morning Activity

We headed for a pick-me-up at Fig and Sparrow, the cutest coffee shop and
contemporary craft store in the Northern Quarter. It’s the perfect
place to meet up with friends for a quick catch-up and a latte (or
a loose leaf tea and homemade cakes). The store sells work from
local artists – prints, cards and handmade homeware pieces are
perfect for quirky gifts and each purchase supports emerging
Manchester creatives.

Before Lunch

Go shopping. Check out Oi Polloi in the Northern Quarter, a
landmark in Manchester style. Even though it’s a menswear store, Oi
Polloi is so famous in the world of fashion and retail we had to
visit. It’s responsible for creating that recognisable ‘Manchester
look’ that everyone associates with the likes of Liam Gallagher and
Ian Brown. They sell British brands that share their no-nonsense
approach to casual classics alongside independent magazines and
accessories. For a high-street shop we stopped off at Accessorize
where we picked up these matching bags. (Click here for a discount
on Accessorize summer essentials).

Lunch

Eat at Proper Tea. Located in one of the city’s most
historic quarters, next to Manchester Cathedral and its gardens,
this charming space is an oasis in the city. It’s a contemporary
take on the traditional British tea room, serving loose leaf teas
and fresh homemade meals and cakes. We had a chicken salad followed
by a cream tea – perfect for a light lunch. Plus it’s owned by the
former Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding, and we’re into
that.

Afternoon activity

In the PM we decided to get out of the city and visit the newly
renovated Whitworth Gallery. It’s England’s
first ‘gallery in the park’, which even when raining was moody and
magical. Housed in the original Grove House mansion building, the
gallery owns over 55,000 items from watercolours to pop art and
sculptures in the garden. There’s a glass wing at the rear with a
‘café in the trees’ on one end and a brick and glass landscape
gallery which beautifully displays the fabrics in the Whitworth
collection.

Dinner

We wanted to try out Beef and Pudding but ran out of
time trying to make it back to London. We headed to the fail-safe
Byron Burger for a quick bite
instead. Juicy beef burgers and chips with the perfect crunch sent
us straight to sleep on the journey home.