Clark Brothers was a stalwart of the district, soon it’ll be turned into something totally different
It was a mainstay of the Northern Quarter for decades (Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
It was a mainstay of Thomas Street for over 60 years, selling everything from stationary to eclectic Christmas decorations, but last year Clark Brothers closed its doors for good.
Established in 1948 it sat at this exact site for 26 years. Before that, it was located a few units further up at 50 Thomas Street – a site that has now been demolished.
A stalwart of the district, it was there long before the restaurants and bars that came to define the Northern Quarter came to be. Reams of goods draped down from the ceiling of this family run business where you could find pretty much anything – from tickets, posters, and tinsel, to replica trees, flowers and balloons.
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It’s the same street, which just a few years ago was transformed into a catwalk by French luxury brand Chanel for its prestigious Metiers d’Art show. A perspex canopy protected the world’s biggest celebs, models and influencers from the Manchester weather as they posed for photos outside the iconic Clark Brothers shop front.
Inside Clark Brothers on Thomas Street
Rather serendipitously, and after lying empty for more than a year, the shop will soon be home to an exciting Manchester-born fashion brand. Business owner Jake Messer moved to the city for university, and now 15 years later he’s finally found a home for his brand Bound – a clothing concept bridging the gap between streetwear and contemporary ware.
“I’m an adopted Mancunian as I came here for university, but I then founded my first business, UN: IK Clothing when I was 22,” he tells the Manchester Evening News.
The streetwear brand and platform is all about highlighting independent designers and young creative collectives. Though founded here in Manchester it ships its diverse collection of streetwear brands all across the globe.
Jake Messer will be launching the first physical store for his Manchester-based brand, Bound (Image: Supplied)
“A few years later I created a brand in-house within that, which is where Bound was born. Slowly but surely I’ve added people to the team and we’ve worked on some really cool collaborations.”
The independent, Manchester-based brand is known for its community driven fashion and collaborations including a massive 2025 partnership with the NFL UK as well as their 2022 range with Arctic Monkey’s Matt Helders.
The success of both of his businesses has attracted attention from all over, with many offers to open a shop in the capital. But Jake has been holding out for his adopted city.
Bound spans a number of collections and items from t-shirts and polos to knitwear and outwear (Image: Supplied )
“I’ve always wanted a Manchester flagship. I’ve been offered units in London, but in Manchester everything gets leased before you get a chance.
“My ears perked up when I heard about this shop, and I wanted a physical touchpoint for the brand. It makes sense to bring the quality and value of the brand to people. That in person experience will be huge, and I’m glad I’ve waited for the right spot.
“Oi Polloi was here and there’s that heritage – it’s an iconic street. The Northern Quarter doesn’t have enough retail, it’s saturated with food and drink and I wanted to bring something different.”
Jake Messer and the team from Bound (Image: Supplied)
Jake and the team have agreed a nine-month pop up within the site, with hopes to make that permanent if all goes well. “There’s a lot of history here and we don’t want to change that so we’ll be doing the fit out around that.”
In terms of launch, Jake is hoping for mid-June and already has a number of collaborations and store-exclusive collections in the works. This includes a special World Cup capsule collection, a knitwear range and working with one local brand or business every month on activations and events – think food collaborations, live music from local bands and potentially even a Bound podcast.
“I knew I always wanted this to be in Manchester and not down south. Fingers crossed it’s a mainstay and we have it forever. If we take it from pop-up to permanent it may look a bit different, but we’ll have to see. This will be a moment of learning for us and a place for people to come and meet us as a brand.”