The Sculpts in Terminal 1

A gift from Manchester

If you're looking to buy someone a gift, or take back a memento of your time in the city, there's no need to just grab a mass-produced generic souvenir. Instead, you can find a range of thoughtfully designed items from The Sculpts. This independent local brand produces a range of decorative hand-crafted homeware and lifestyle accessories with a distinctly Manchester feel. Their product range represents Manchester’s industrial spirit, its cultural icons and our home-grown creativity in a tasteful and fun way.

Where to find them in the airport

The Sculpts has a store in Terminal 1, giving millions of passengers the opportunity to take a little piece of Manchester with them all over the world.

How The Sculpts took shape

Illustrator and architect Richard Bennett, launched the business during the pandemic with a handful of his illustrative Manchester tile designs. This soon evolved into a distinctive signature Northern Alphabet Tiles series. Each black and white tile represents a single letter surrounded by intricate drawings of local landmarks or icons, allowing customers to create their own bespoke collection.

Since then, the product range has evolved, drawing inspiration from the patterns, spaces, shapes and designs that form Manchester’s DNA.

Many of The Sculpts products also feature hand-drawn Worker Bees – the adopted symbols of Manchester. These have been applied to a collection of greetings cards, prints, textiles, and ceramics inviting customers to take a piece of the city away with them.

How the business has grown

The Sculpts first began trading online in 2020 before branching out and selling at local artisan markets. This led to them opening a Christmas pop-up John Lewis and a permanent stall at Altrincham Market. Its first bricks-and-mortar store opened in Sale in 2023 followed by a retail outlet at T1 Manchester Airport.

“Opening at Manchester Airport felt like the natural next step for us,” says Richard. “We already had a loyal customer base who were buying our products as gifts to take abroad, so the airport was a perfect fit. It gave us the chance to connect with Manchester’s global mix of tourists, business travellers and corporate clients, and to share our ‘Made in Manchester’ pieces with a much wider audience.

“The response has been amazing,” he continues. “People really value being able to pick up something that’s beautifully made and rooted in the city. It’s helped us grow the brand, ship nationally and internationally, and create more local jobs all while continuing to support British manufacturing. Plus, we’ve built a fantastic relationship with the airport team, which has been a real bonus.”

How the city of Manchester influences The Sculpts and its products

There are so many things that make Manchester special, from its pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution, to the powerful Suffragette movement, and our contribution to the early days of technology. Fast forward and there’s our world-renowned music scene, our top flight sports teams and much more.

The Sculpts has captured the history and heritage of Manchester to produce a range of exclusive artwork, tasteful homeware and luxury gifts that celebrate the spirit of the city. Products include greetings cards, prints, textiles, mugs, candles, and collectable tiles.

Collaborations

The Sculpts design team continues to explore new products through exciting collaborations with some of Manchester’s best-known cultural institutions. Many of these must-visit places also stock the company’s products in their own gift shops. You might have seen The Sculpts at Manchester City Art Gallery, John Rylands Library, the National Football Museum, and the Whitworth Gallery. The Sculpts even collaborated with MTV recently, creating an exclusive design for the world-famous music artists performing at the Europe Music Awards at Co-op Live.

To see the full range of products, visit The Sculpts. And if you’re flying from Terminal 1, why not pop in and pick up a gift that perfectly represents the spirit of Manchester?