The Magic of Local Markets

The case for small local markets is hard to make in numbers. The choice is smaller than in a department store. The prices are not always lower. The weather may well be against you. Yet people who go once tend to go again, and we think we know why.

You meet the person who made it

You are not talking to a sales assistant. You are talking to the person who shaped the thing you are holding, and who can tell you how it was made, why it looks like that and whether it can be done in green. That kind of shopping has almost disappeared everywhere else.

It is slow

Markets have no escalators, no piped music and no fluorescent lighting. You wander, you stop, you go back for another look. Nobody is queuing behind you and it is perfectly fine to just look.

It changes every time

A chain store has the same stock for weeks. A market has a different mix from one week to the next, with new work and different traders. There is no point planning what you will buy. You go to see what is there.

It helps makers get started

A stall costs far less than a shopfront, which makes a market the place where many small businesses begin. Freya’s Diamond Art did her first market in December 2023 and found out how much people enjoyed seeing the work in person. Jakki’s Handcrafted Jewellery also grew through stalls and craft fairs, on the way to shelves in independent shops like ours.

You usually come home with a story

The thing you found, the person you bought it from, the rabbit hole you went down asking about their craft. That is worth a morning of anyone’s time.

Markets around Weston-super-Mare

Our own events calendar shows where you can find us or our stockists, including the weekly Weston Independent Market and Clevedon Market dates. For a wider look at what else is happening in town that week, MyWsM keeps a good listing of local events.

A few tips if you are new to it

• Check the day and start time before you go, as weather and season can change things.
• Do a full lap before you buy anything, then go back to whatever you are still thinking about.
• Talk to people. Makers generally love being asked about their work.
• Say so if you are just looking. Nobody minds.
• If you love something but cannot buy today, take a card or follow the maker online.

See where to find us at markets and pop-ups for the details, or read why we care so much about handmade in the first place.