This Saturday, the Open Culture Winter Arts Market is back at Liverpool Cathedral for another fantastic year of celebrating local independent artists.

The Winter Arts Market is the biggest independent shopping experience in the region and has been taking place since December 2009. Starting off small and growing year on year, the market now hosts more than 200 artists, designers, makers, food producers, clothing designers and vintage sellers who pack the aisles of Liverpool Cathedral.

Christina Grogan, Director, Open Culture:

‘This will be our eleventh Winter Arts Market and we’re so happy to be back at the Cathedral this Christmas! We’ve hand selected over 200 of the best artists, makers, food producers and vintage sellers in the region to give our visitors the best possible shopping experience. What we love about the markets is that they’re not only a way for the public to buy amazing and unique gifts for their friends and family but also a means for those artists to promote and platform their work and connect with potential clients and other creatives’.

Alongside the 200 artists, food fair and vintage fair this year’s event will also feature a kids’ Craft Club with the Arty Aunties. From 12-5pm, these thrifty sisters who never throw anything away will help little ones make their own festive gingerbread folk, giving sparkly Christmassy new life to recycled materials. There’s nothing better than giving old stuff new life with the power of imagination!

Of course, the Winter Arts Market is still all about showcasing the incredible artists and crafters that the region is packed with and giving the public an opportunity to purchase that work directly from the person, or people, who made it. Textiles, photography, clothing, jewellery, candles, handcrafted beauty products, woodwork, glassware, ceramics, illustration – you name it, you’ll find it.

Downstairs in the Cathedral’s Concert Room, a pop-up vintage and clothing fair will offer a range of vintage clothing, accessories, handbags, homewares and vinyl alongside work from independent clothing designers.

Along the corridor in the dedicated food fair, local artisan food producers are on hand with delicious food and drink including chocolate, liqueurs, tea, jams, cake and much more.

 Jessica Slack, from West Kirby, is an artist and textile designer specialising in printed textiles. Her work is inspired by nature, the contrast between urban and rural landscapes, and the power of colour to evoke unexpectedly powerful emotions. Her work features bold colours and textures and is all hand-produced in her Bluecoat studio.

Claire Mills, aka The Mountain and Me, makes wooden jewellery that’s strongly inspired by Scandinavian design and nature: combining sustainable materials, bold colours, geometric shapes, contemporary patterns and meticulous hand painted detail. Claire has been designing jewellery for over 10 years and created The Mountain and Me in 2016.

Rawhide Custom create a range of leather goods entirely by hand here in Liverpool. All their items are made from the highest quality British veg-tanned leather using only traditional methods: no power tools and no sewing machines! This means every piece is completely unique and designed to last a lifetime.

Squidges create fresh hand-baked cookies, tiffin, s’mores, brownies and other delicious treats using locally-sourced ingredients. You can also grab a Christmas Eve box for the kids to create their own cookies and milk for Santa!

Ria McKelvey of Coco & Veve creates timeless clothing for women: dresses and separates, which can be styled in several different ways for all occasions. Ria creates her own prints, which are then digitally printed onto fabric and crafted into limited-edition clothing.

Categories: News

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