If you're a fan of a blind box, then you're going to love this.
Because very soon, we'll be able to get our hands on a range of quirky gifts, collectable toys and cute character merchandise as popular lifestyle brand KENJI prepares to open a new store at White Rose Shopping Centre.
And just in time for us to get stuck into the Christmas shopping.
KENJI brings together East Asian-inspired design, playful characters, and lifestyle products perfect for gifting and collecting.
The new White Rose store will invite guests to enter the world of their original and exclusive characters including Underverse, Caw-Ji, and Capybara Pon Pon, as well as browsing delightful collections including stationery, toys, accessories, and snacks.
The brand-new store has been created to be a playful and immersive space, with areas dedicated to blind box collectables, character capsule collections, keyrings, and accessories alongside a character statue photo spot.
Steven Foster, Centre Director at White Rose Shopping Centre, said: “We’re excited to welcome KENJI to our retail line-up at White Rose. The brand perfectly reflects the UK’s growing interest in East Asian pop culture, and makes getting to know new characters and collections fun, immersive, and accessible.
“We know our guests will enjoy KENJI’s unique new store, a perfect addition to White Rose in the run up to the festive season, and we look forward to sharing an opening date soon.”
Eddie Shepherd, Managing Director of Kenji, said: “We’re delighted to bring the KENJI brand and experience to Leeds White Rose, and feel our brand is a very complementary partner for the centre. Our UK retail expansion plan had earmarked the centre for a number of years, and we’re thrilled to be opening here before the end of the year.”
We're not sure of the exact opening date just yet, but we'll keep you updated as and when we know more.
Wakefield heroes The Cribs have announced a special hometown show to celebrate 20 years of their critically acclaimed album.
After two decades and nine albums as one of Britain’s iconic indie bands; Gary, Ryan and Ross Jarman are back celebrating their album, Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever, at Wakefield's historically significant venue Tileyard North.
They'll be coming to the city on Friday 20 August, acting as the first headliner revealed for next summer’s Live at Tileyard North series.
Now living in Portland, Oregon, New York and the band’s native Wakefield respectively; the trio’s 9th full length release, 2025’s Selling a Vibe, found the brothers proving themselves once again as a leading band in the indie scene.
Returning to Wakefield to celebrate the milestone album’s 20th anniversary, which is widely regarded as their best record, they'll be by playing it in full on the same site where the Jarman brothers wrote and rehearsed in the early 2000’s.
Joining The Cribs in Wakefield will be cult Yorkshire art rock heroes ¡Forward, Russia!, who are celebrating 20 years of their inimitable debut album Give Me A Wall.
Image: Supplied
Toby Womack, Promoter - Futuresound Events said: “I am so pleased to be able to bring back our Live at Tileyard North Series for 2027. After such a warm reception in 2026, it’s encouraging to know we have Wakefield's stamp of approval to keep it going for years to come.
"We couldn’t think of a better way to launch our second edition than with The Cribs' first hometown show in over 10 years, this will be incredibly special!”
Liam Duffy, Tileyard North said: “The launch of Live at Tileyard North was a triumph, so we couldn’t be happier about its return next year. We’re all super excited to collaborate with the Futuresound team again, who brought so much consideration and care to the venue, and together bring even more exceptional live music to the people of Wakefield.
"With local legends The Cribs leading the first announcement, next year's shows are guaranteed to be even bigger and better.”
The Wakefield Postcode Pre-sale will allow early access to tickets for Wakefield residents, and will open 10am on Wednesday 21 October here whilst general sale will open at 10am on Friday 23 October here.
Here’s how you can get FREE Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea in Leeds next week
Clementine Hall
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Clementine Hall -
19th October 2026 
