Published: Wednesday, 16th February 2022
Oldham Council is making March a month of celebration for the independent businesses of Oldham, by transforming an empty retail unit in Spindles into a pop-up shop called Oldham Made.
The pop-up is an exciting collaboration between the borough's local business community and Oldham Council.
Open from 1 to 31 March, the store will sell items such as crafts, clothes, gifts, locally brewed beers, and candles sourced from a range of independent businesses across Oldham.
The idea for the shop was born out of public consultations with residents at the recent Big Oldham Conversation events, where plans for the Town Centre redevelopments were discussed. At these meetings, you told us that empty units in the town should be made available for small businesses - and now we've delivered on that promise.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Cllr Arooj Shah, Oldham Council Leader, said: “Oldham Made will showcase the amazing range of talent we have in Oldham, while giving our local entrepreneurs and makers a helping hand.
“By providing a space where small businesses can come together to show off their fantastic range of products, we hope to create a buzz about shopping small, shopping local, and shopping Oldham Made.
"But what's really exciting is that Oldham Made is just one small part of our plans for Spindles and the regeneration of our town centre, and just one of the many ways we're supporting the small and independent businesses doing awesome things in our borough.”
The shop will be fun and quirky, with lots of larger-than-life installations, Instagram-worthy elements, and plenty of exciting product demos for shoppers to get involved with.
From March 5th, visitors to the store will also be able to collect four specially designed bags for life. All they need to do is spend £5 in an independent shop in Oldham, then bring their receipt to the Oldham Made store and exchange this for their exclusive bag.
The Oldham Made shop will be open Monday to Saturday from 9am until 5pm and is funded by The Welcome Back Fund, set up by the European Regional Development Fund and Her Majesty's Government.