Oneupmanship Journal: Bags of Flavor.

Situated on Tib Street in Manchester's trendy Northern Quarter, Bags of Flavor opened late in 2009, having previously operated out of Wood on Oldham St for a couple of years and in Affleck's Palace since the turn of the millennium. Rich from Bags of Flavor has been making his trademark custom record bags for well over a decade, starting out doing them for local DJ's. 'Almost all my bags are made from recycled materials, and vintage sports goods but I also use the finest tweed and leather fabrics. All the bags are hand crafted in Manchester and are genuinely one of a kind as the materials I source are often rare and unique.
I pride myself on finding unique materials which I transform into Bags Of Flavor. I am happy to make bespoke bags from fabrics found or owned by my customers which often have a sentimental value to them and I am also prepared to try and find specific fabric on request within reason. In most cases I can make and supply a custom bag within 10 days'.
This is my kind of shop, a mine of vintage outdoor and casual wear, brands you will be familiar with and brands you won't have heard of before, rails of real timeless stuff, from old school mountain jackets from the UK and US to more street and sportswear. This shop reminds me of my old bedroom, which is no bad thing, loads of ace coats and gear hanging up, choice deadstock footwear, and cool pictures and old advertisements on the wall, with glass cabinets full of toys it's okay to like, and little nik naks dotted about.

The knowledgeable Rich has been buying and selling clothing for years and used to trade out of Wood on Oldham St, that was merely a hint of the stuff he could sell, and he now has a large open plan store to showcase that. Bags of Flavor sits on Tib St and the corner of Dorsey St, facing the now old Oi Polloi store which has just moved around the corner. There is a healthy vintage clothing scene around this area, with Bags of Flavor and Bionic Seven on John St, facing the new Oi Polloi, the one's really leading the way. Get yourself in there and have a look; anywhere that you can buy a one off tweed bag, a Richard Allen novel and vintage bubble jackets is worth a look in my book, it's like a real life eBay you can actually walk into.
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