Manchester Craft and Design Centre

Welcome to Manchester Craft and Design Centre

Opening hours: Monday - Saturday 10am - 5.30pm, every 2nd Sunday of the month, 11am - 5pm | Closed bank holidays  
17 Oak Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 5JD

Explore Explore

Visit Us

Come to our haven in the Northern Quarter to browse, buy and be a part of our community.

For over 40 years, Manchester Craft & Design Centre has provided a home to some of the region’s most talented independent designers and makers. Selling textiles, jewellery, accessories, ceramics, glass, prints and homeware, each of the 20 studios offers much more than just a shopping experience.

We run a regular exhibitions programme that promotes and celebrates regional, national and international Craft talent. Our exhibitions are free to visit and are open to the public Monday – Saturday from 10am – 5.30pm and the 2nd Sunday of the month, 11am – 5pm. We also run a regular series of craft workshops in Space2 on the ground floor. Find out what’s coming up here. Our new cafe Fred’s is now open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5.30pm and every second Sunday of the month, 11am – 5pm.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Manchester Craft and Design Centre

Food & Drink

Fred's Cafe

Fred’s is exactly what you’ve been waiting for – an English-style café with a northern accent and appetite.

Inspired by classic British staples and high-quality ingredients, we take simple, locally sourced, seasonal things and turn them into lunch things, snack things, baked things, sweet things, comfort things and surprisingly chef-y things, along with all the cups, mugs, pints & bottles of things you’d expect from a café that isn’t mucking about.

Made fresh every day, you might find that some things can and do change. But that’s not a bad thing. You can always try something else.

Open for coffee and breakfast snacks from 10am, and serving lunch from 12pm, you’ll find us here Tuesday -Saturday doing what we do best.

Simple things, done very, very well.

Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5.30pm and the 2nd Sunday of the month, 11am – 5pm.

Exhibitions

connecting spaces

CONNECTING SPACES IS AN EXHIBITION IN COLLABORATION WITH AWOL STUDIOS

12TH APRIL – 23RD AUGUST 2025

connecting spaces is an exhibition in collaboration with AWOL Studios, our creative neighbours in the heart of Ancoats. Housed in the stunning Grade II* listed Hope Mill, built in 1824, AWOL Studios provides space for creatives to thrive.

We asked AWOL Studios artists to respond to the theme CONNECTING SPACES and selected work which demonstrated the importance of location, local relationships and the environment.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre