A Must See Craft Fair In Glasgow's Merchant City
The Weekend Craft & Design Fair In Merchant Square.
In the heart of the historic Merchant City, to the east of Glasgow’s main shopping precincts, is Merchant Square, which, every Saturday and Sunday, hosts a Craft and Design Fair.
Merchant Square itself dates back to
the mid 1800’s, when it formed part of the old fruitmarket. It has been
recently refurbished to create a wonderfully vibrant indoor destination, with a
range of independent bars and restaurants and a large paved and cobbled courtyard
under a twinkly glass canopied roof.
Even though it was a cold mid-January day, the warmth and atmosphere hit me instantly when I went inside. This is the type of place where you could sit and people watch all day...
With my love of Scottish architecture, I was immediately drawn to Iona MacKellar-Bruce’s stall. Local artist Iona was trained at the Glasgow School of Art. She has developed her unique style of using natural, reclaimed materials, such as leather and suede, to create pictures of traditional and iconic Scottish buildings.
When I visited she was working on a picture of the Scotland Street School. I watched how she laid carefully cut strips of suede on the hand drawn outline of the building to create colour and texture.
What Is On Offer?
The mix of art, crafts and design on offer ranges from original artwork and photography, to handmade cards, soap and candles, textiles and jewellery. It is apparently a rule of the organisers that all the stallholders must make their own products, a reassuring measure of their quality and authenticity. |
| Clydeside Soap and Stevie Spiers Photography |
With my love of Scottish architecture, I was immediately drawn to Iona MacKellar-Bruce’s stall. Local artist Iona was trained at the Glasgow School of Art. She has developed her unique style of using natural, reclaimed materials, such as leather and suede, to create pictures of traditional and iconic Scottish buildings.
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| Iona McKellar-Bruce |
When I visited she was working on a picture of the Scotland Street School. I watched how she laid carefully cut strips of suede on the hand drawn outline of the building to create colour and texture.
By way of contrast Glasgow photographer Stevie Spiers’, “My Little People” series just made me laugh. His photographic prints feature miniature railway workers, set into “scenes” including some iconic Scottish products, such as Tunnocks caramel wafers. You can see them in more detail on his website. Stevie recently won a silver award for best product at The Scotland’s Trade Fair.
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| Stevie Spiers Photography |
I’m discovering that often the
artist’s work is inspired and dictated by the materials available to them. Phil
McCluskey of Gnarled & Knotted makes beautifully hand-hewn
wooden serving boards, each of which is entirely unique. He explained that each
batch is completely different, depending on the materials available; the
majority on that day had been created from a single, locally sourced elm tree.
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| Knarled & Knotted |
Susan Barnwell of Orchy Design showed me her beautiful dichroic glass jewellery designs, hand fired in her home-based kiln. Because of the nature of the firing process each piece has a slightly different finish.
I loved this market so much that I went back just two weeks later. As promised by those I had spoken to, there were almost double the number of stalls to see.
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| Merchant Square |
Saturdays and Sundays from around 11am to 5pm.
Address
71 Albion Street, Glasgow G1 1NY. Link to map here. The main entrance is on Candleriggs.
How To Get There
Merchant Square is in the city centre and so accessible from both the bus and railway stations. There is metered parking nearby and a car park in Ingram Street.
71 Albion Street, Glasgow G1 1NY. Link to map here. The main entrance is on Candleriggs.
How To Get There
Merchant Square is in the city centre and so accessible from both the bus and railway stations. There is metered parking nearby and a car park in Ingram Street.
Coffee Stop
While there’s plenty of bars and eateries in Merchant City, today I went to Spitfire, a relaxed independent coffee shop a few minutes’ walk away on the corner of Candleriggs and Ingram Street.
While You Are There
If you do nothing else it’s worth
a walk just around the corner to see the beautiful “Fellow Glasgow Residents” mural
in the carpark at Ingram Street, part of the City Centre Mural Trail. There are
a number of the murals in the surrounding area, if you feel like an extended walk. A map of the full trail is
available here.
Verdict
Verdict
A lovely indoor market, Merchant Square was a great way to while away a wet Sunday, with welcoming makers and some beautiful handmade products. Definitely a venue worth returning to time and time again.
PS: Want to read more? Click here to return to the main blog and hit "Subscribe" to register for updates. Find a list of all of my posts about Glasgow here. Before you go, let me know what you think in the "Comments" box below.
PS: Want to read more? Click here to return to the main blog and hit "Subscribe" to register for updates. Find a list of all of my posts about Glasgow here. Before you go, let me know what you think in the "Comments" box below.
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| "Fellow Glasgow Residents" - Glasgow City Centre Mural Trail |
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