Ghanaian style bracelet made by Sanbra @ Full Moon Market

This morning, out of curiosity, I stopped by the Full Moon Market. I always find a very talented artist selling her/his crafts and this time it was Sanbra.

Inspired by the Ghanaian culture, Sanbra mixes African styles and colours with European fashion. The beautiful orange bracelet I got today is a proof of that. My bracelet is made of genuine fabrics from Ghana (£10) and it has an adjustable chain to fit your wrist perfectly. I am very happy with my purchase! :)

Roberto and Daniele, the artists behind Sanbra, come from Itali and they also brought several colourful earrings (£7), bracelets (£10), shopper bags (£10), T-shirts (£15) and many more items to the Full Moon this morning. Just check it out below!

Picture "borrowed" from Sanbra's Facebook page

Although Sanbra's website is still under construction (www.sanbra.eu), the Facebook page is up and running (https://www.facebook.com/sanbraIT). If you like handmade jewellery as much as I do, you will surely love it!

A garden, new hubs and a new look for the Bearpit

Last Saturday, they had the inauguration of The People's Garden, the mobile wildflower garden in the Bearpit underpass. They have created a tetris-like garden which provides seating for  5 people in the busy roundabout. Its aims at supporting the biodiversity, giving pleasure with their variety and colour, improving the lanscape at the Bearpit Market, educating the visiting public, attracting birds, butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects, and bringing people together. 


At the moment, the Bearpit Market is under a very important "face-lift" works and the improvements can already be felt. There will be a new layout, pavement and lighting, but the ramps and subways will be retained. Some food hubs like Bear Fruit had reopened the business. Hopefully, in a couple of months (probably December), the iconic 1979 double-decker green bus will be fully converted into a street food stand and the work currently in place will lead to fresh urban space. 

INTERESTING LINKS
WEBSITE "The People's Garden":
http://www.slideshare.net/puhdding/the-peoples-garden-mobile-wildflower-garden
FACEBOOK PAGE "Bear Fruit": https://www.facebook.com/BearFruitBristol?fref=ts
FACEBOOK PAGE "Bearpit Market": https://www.facebook.com/BearpitMarket?fref=ts

The Vintage Kilo Sale

Do you like wearing vintage clothes? Denim jackets, old rings, accessories, jumpers, shorts... EVERYTHING! Then, you should keep reading. Next Sunday, 28th November, the UK's largest retro shop will come to Bristol: the Bristol Vintage Kilo Sale. They will bring 5 tones (yes, tones!) of vintage clothes to The Paintworks so that you can buy clothes by weight!!

I might be updated but this is the first time I have ever heard of buying clothes by weight. I do buy oranges and apples by weight, but never clothes! In this market, you simply need to select whatever you like, take everything to a "weight station" and pay £15 per kilo (if you buy 10 kilos or more, the price per kilo drops to £10). This is crazy!! Hahaha

Entry fee is £1.5 general public (12-4pm) or £3 early birds (11am) which has to be paid by cash. Then, you can buy the clothes with credit or debit card.

LOCATION: The Paintworks, Bath Road, BS4 3EH, Bristol.
FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK: click here.
NOTE: Pictures taken from The Vintage Clothing Sale

German Christmas Market

For the 5th time, the German Christmas Market set up in the shopping quarter in Bristol. Why go to Germany or Austria, when a the market itself comes to your town? 

The market opened its doors the 8th November in Broadmead and they will stay open until few days before Christmas day (22nd December). The 38 festive stalls will be selling food, drinks and all kind of gifts. 

Home Christmas decoration, traditional handmade wooden games, all kind of cheese and ham, wool clothes and blankets for cold days, scented candles, salt crystal lamps, chocolates, glass crafts, hot chestnuts, bags... Everything!

In the German outdoor bar, they claim to have an authentic German Sausage which you will be able to enjoy in exchange of 4 pounds along with a mulled wine (3.5 pounds). They also have other choices such as hot chocolate, coffee, German beer, and something I've never heard about called "Grog", which is actually hot water with rum. Very interesting! They serve the drinks in very nice wintery mugs and you will have to give a 2 pounds deposit. 

The market is open 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, and on Sundays, it is closed an hour earlier. It gives you plenty of time to buy a couple of nice presents for family and friends and warm up afterwards with a glass of mulled wine.

Ashton Gate Flea Market

Today, defying the "masive thunderstorm" which was supposed to hit Bristol at some point this weekend (read here), I went to the Flea Market to see if I could find any bargain for my Christmas presents. Finally, the storm did not strike Bristol, at least not so far, although we are having strong wind and rain every now and then. Tonight, perhaps...

There are several ways to go to Ashton Gate by public transport. I took the First Bus 76 and I got off in Bedminster, Parson Street West Street bus stop. From this point until Ashton Gate, there is a 10-minute walk. On the way back, I took the First Bus 24, which stops in Ashton Vale (Smyth Road), a minute walk from Ashton Gate, and goes straight to the city centre in 15 minutes. 

The Flea Market is on the East wing of Ashton Gate Stadium. In order to avoid surrounding the whole Stadium to search for the entrace (which is something I did), check the picture out. The entrances are marked with two red arrows.

There is a free parking in front of the Stadium which was half empty today at midday. If you come by car, you would be able to park it in that car park.

The ticket for the Flea Market is 2 pounds (children free). If you need cash, there is a cash machine in the Sainsbury's in front of Gore's Marsh Park or apparently another cash machine in somewhere at the north side of the Stadium (I just overheard somebody talking about it).

There are around 100 stalls with everything you can imagine. Most of the things selling at the market are old but not everything, which surprised me. There are some arts & craft makers selling their latest works too. If you are redecorating your place, it is worth having a look at the Flea Market as you will probably be able to find some bargains there. 

There are nice pieces of old restored furniture, decorative paintings and posters, flowers, postcards, old jewellery, vintage hats and clothes in general... and there is always something that you are not expecting to find. For me, it was a old wooden children dog you can see in the picture. Don't be afraid of making your offer, they are happy to haggle!

The Bristol Flea Market in Ashton Gate is held once a month during the whole year. Next one is 24th November. The one in County Ground is held a couple of times a year. Check the exact dates on the website.

Some weeks ago, I published a post for market lovers which you might be interested in: Bristol Market Lover's Guide

LINKS

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Bristol Flea Market: http://www.bristolfleamarket.co.uk/

Making Sundays Special: Highlights

For the very last time in 2013, we have been able to enjoy (even though it was under the rain) the Make Sundays Special day, which has been happening for once a month for the past months. Traffic is closed to motor traffic in Baldwin and Street and Old Market and opened up for walking people.

The special event going on today was the Bristol Eyd Fayre 2013 in the Creative Common (BS1 6DG), where they were selling islamic goods between 12-5.30pm. There were also food stalls, performances and children's activities.

I post some pictures from today and other (sunnier) "Make Sunday Special" days. I hope you enjoy them! :)

LINKS
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http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/leisure-and-culture/make-sundays-special

The Big Market: Highlights

The Big Market located in Corn Street and surrounding roads gathered all type of organic food and crafts. I would like to highlight a couple of interesting stalls starting with the smelly organic body oils two women from Opulentia Organics were selling. You can see their business card and you might be able to appreciate the softness of my hand after applying Ylang Ylang and Lime oil in the second picture. 

I felt in love with another stall as well. The Metal Press was selling original jewelery inspired in the life under the sea. All earrings and necklaces had the shape of different molluscs and crustaceans. Check the thirds picture out and you will see!

In another stall in Wine street there was a guy selling very different style of necklaces. He happened to be the Californian/Mexican guy who I happened to meet in a National Express coach a couple of days ago. It's a small world!

For chilli lovers, Wiltshire Chilli Farm was selling spicy products: chilli plants, oils, sauces and spices. At the end of Corn Street, Shiatsu professionals inside a tent were providing 20-min-long  Shiatsu sessions for £10, if I am not wrong. Riverford organic farms was advertising their organic veg and fruit boxes starting from £6.95 as well as White Lake Cheese brought a good selection of goat cheese for the Big Market. Very good cheese! (I tasted some of them). Severn Cider had also its own corner in front of the Walkabout.

My morning ended with a very tasty lamb bun with salsa verde and salad. The lamb was very tender and the salsa verde gave a special touch. I have to give a big congratulation to the three boys who prepared it!

LINKS
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The Metal Press: www.metalpress.co.uk 
Opulentia Organics: www.opulentiaorganics.co.uk 
Riverford Organic Farms: www.riverford.co.uk 
The Wiltshire Chilli Farm: www.wiltshirechillies.co.uk

Green Day

Bristol's biggest market day is here. Next 22nd June, 200 stalls will invade Corn street and surrounding streets. Anything will be selling there: food directly from producers, local artisan products, crafts, vintage and ethical stuff,... The open air event has it all.


The BIG market will start at 11am and it is part of the BIG Green Week. During the week, there will also be numerous activities related to art, music, family events, walks and tours, talks and debates, comedy and many more. I suggest you visit the website to check the programme. 

Follow the BIG Green Week on Facebook for latest news and updates or in the official website. 

French Market

According to the flags around Broadmead, something "frenchie" is going on. Bristol Shopping Quarter is hosting the French Marked for the weekend.

Soaps from Provence, traditional French dishes such as Ratatoille, honey, saucissons, Dijon mustard, foie gras, sweets... They are some of the things I could identify in the market.

My french friends will have to judge if those goodies are really French or not, but I found something in the cheese stand that made me smile and miss my country very much.

P'tit Basque cheese has its heritage in the Basque Country, a proud region between Spain and France, where the culinary tradition very much alive.

For more information about the market: http://www.bristolshoppingquarter.co.uk/offers-and-events/news-and-events/2013/3/1/french-market-on-broadmead-a2093