19 April, 2016
In partnership withYubl
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
