Shine to celebrate first year on School Road with party
Independent gift and eco shop Shine is celebrating its first birthday on School Road this weekend with a party that will also look at the building’s history.
Shine is inviting the community to join in its first birthday celebrations at its School Road home this Saturday (28 March) with a day of fizz, cake, competitions and a special new product launch. The colourful shop opened on School Road in March 2025 after previously trading at Emporium M33 and has quickly become a very cheerful addition to the high street.
Owner Claire Hines is marking the milestone with a birthday party in the shop on Saturday 28 March and says the day will be about more than just celebrating Shine’s first year in the space. It will also shine a light on the fascinating local history she has uncovered while researching the people connected to the building.
A key focus of the celebration will be the story of Emily Ann Broomfield, née Prosser, who ran The Gem, a tobacconist and confectioner, from the shop after the death of her husband in 1915. Claire recently shared the results of her research into Mrs Broomfield’s life, tracing her journey from Herefordshire to the Manchester area before she took over the shop at the age of 57. The research found that the School Road premises had been built in 1910 and was originally run as a sweetshop, before Emily took it on and made it her own.
Claire described Mrs Broomfield as one of a growing number of female entrepreneurs of the time and said she was excited to share her story with customers and the wider community as part of the birthday event.
Anyone popping in on the day can expect cake, fizz, a couple of competitions and a new product launch. For long-time supporters who remember Shine from its Emporium M33 days, as well as newer customers who have discovered it since the move to School Road, it promises to be a lovely way to celebrate both the shop’s first year in its new home and one of the women who helped shape its story more than a century ago.
Shine’s birthday party: The details
Saturday 28 March, 10am to 5pm
Shine, 18 School Road, Sale M33 7XP
