12 Days of Christmas - Covent Garden

This appropriately named Christmas market at Covent Garden offers all sorts of prepared food, fresh fruit and veg and, of course, gingerbread men and Christmas pudding.

Holloway Market - Holloway

If you have to buy nets, it seems must more appropriate to buy them from a stall at the market, from a bloke who sounds like he belongs on Eastenders, than to buy them at John Lewis from a woman who has mastered the art of talking without moving her mouth.

Greenwich Market - Greenwich

This is a great market for arts and crafts. I'm not talking about potpourri cozies with dead flowers glue on them, this is the real meaning of the word craft: lovely hand-crafted things by artisans and craftsmen. The usual suspects, pottery, jewelry and knitted clothing sit side-by-side with turned wood bowls, blown glass and textiles.

Greenwich Town Centre
Thurs & Fri: Antiques & Collectables: 10.00am — 5.30pm
Sat & Sun: Arts & Crafts: 10.00am — 5.30pm

Borough Market - Southwark

The Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market at Embarcadero used to be one of my favorite Saturday morning activities when I lived in San Francisco. I cried the last time I went there, knowing I'd be moving soon and despairing of ever being able to shop from such variety of fresh organic fruit and veg ever again.

So, naturally, when I heard Borough Market compared to the Embarcadero Farmers' Market, I jumped on the bus.

Started in 1276, Borough Market is London's oldest food market. It's known as London's Mecca for foodies. While it's unfair to compare the fruit and veg with local produce in California, it certainly lives up to it's reputation in shear variety and quality. The food isn't cheap, but everything is fresh, artisan-quality and delicious.


Free range and organic eggs of all types.


Cheese has it's own wing. Local British cheese makers sell their wares alongside their European counterparts.


For those who like Turkish Delight, there's plenty to choose from.


For those who eat meat, organic ostrich is one of the choices.


Speaking of meat, there's a whole section devoted to pig.


And meat pies.


And don't forget the fruit and veg.

Borough High Street
Stoney Street and Winchester Walk
London, SE1 1TL

What makes a good market? - Hackney & Walthamstow

Walthamstow market is the longest daily market in all of Britain & Europe. Started in 1885, it is often touted as a little piece of authentic East London. The reality doesn't really live up to the hype, though.

Walthamstow market has many good things: It's open every day. It's cheap. There are clean and accessible toilets. Shoppers are mostly locals.

So what's wrong with it? Perhaps it's best compare it side-by-side with a true little bit of authentic East London, Broadway Market in Hackney.

Both markets attract local shoppers


Walthamstow


Broadway market

Both Have Authentic East End fare


Cockles and muscles at Walthamstow


An authentic jellied eel shop on Broadway market.

The difference in in the merchandise. Although there are 500 stalls at Walthamstow, much of the merchandise looks the same. There are no stalls filled with nice old junk. Instead, it's mostley plastic tat. The fruit and veg leave a lot to be desired.



The merchandise at Broadway market is a different story:


Vintage quilts


Artisan cakes


Homemade jams......

......and blocks of vintage and handmade clothing, old knick knacks and good old junk.


Walthamstow High Street, London E17

Broadway Market, London, E8

Street Fairs, Festivals and Markets - London

It's festival season in London, and that's good news to those who love to wear hancrafted fashion.

Of course the markets like Spittalfields, Sunday Up at Brick Lane and Portobello Green run all year, but in the summer the artists and young designers and tailors get more exposure.

If you think handcrafted clothes are a bit granola, think again. Alternative fashion week at Spittalfields proves otherwise.

Portobello Green -- Notting Hill

If Portobello Market is a bit too rich, Portobello Green may be just right. Less antiques (none) fill the stalls, but there is plenty of vintage, and just plain used stuff to be had. Artists, jewelry makers and seamstresses sell their wares too.


Suitable for vegetarians? Expect to find the quirky and unusual, like these non-sweatshop made trainers. They look a bit like an art student made them.

Sunday Up Market -- Brick Lane

Handmade and vintage, that's all that's for sale at the Sunday Up market on Brick Lane. There are more Artistes (with a capital A) selling here than at Spitalfields, but prices are very reasonable and the food vendors are the best I've seen, so far, in any of the London markets.


The Old Truman Brewery
91 Brick Lane
London
E1 6QL

Portobello Market -- Notting Hill

It's said that people who like a lot of junk, can make their spaces look less cluttered by grouping their beloved things into collections. Of course, that means buying more junk. Portobello Market is a great place to do it. The vendors considerately group all their wares into collections for you. The junk doesn't come cheap, but hundreds of one-of-a-kind collectibles, antiques and vintage nick knacks fill the stalls. On Sundays, just as many shoppers fill the street.



First aid for collectors? Each one of this interesting set of cigarette cards illustrates a different bandaging technique




Portobello Road, W11
Nearby Tube Stops: Ladbroke Grove Station Westbourne Park Station Notting Hill Gate Station

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Spitalfields Market - Spitalfields

It seems that much literature mentioning Spitalfields focuses on poverty and deprivation. Children of the Ghetto,
Jack London's melodramatic The People of the Abyss and then there's The Satanic Verses. True, it has been the site of large cemeteries, starting with the Romans. True, the name came from some illiterate pronunciation of hospital. However, now the area has become so gentrified that it is no longer a haven for the poor, the disenfranchised and the artists. They've all moved to Hackney.

There is one place, though, where artists abound: Spitalfields market. Open every day except Saturday, it's the place to buy and sell handcrafted clothes, bags and bric-a-brac, as well as vintage housewares, books, records and general truclaments. Usually the artists, themselves are selling their wares so if you need another size or want something in a different colour, they are often willing to accommodate you. Last time I was at the market, I bought a necklace that was a bit to long for me, so the designer sized it on the spot.

Old Spitalfields Market
105a Commercial Streeet
Spitalfields, London E1 6BG

Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market -- Embarcadero

I love the Ferry Plaza Farmers' market. True, it does attract a bunch of tourists, pretentious "foodies" and yuppie gourmet wannabees, but who cares? Of course they're going to go where many chefs in the city pick up their produce.

The truth is, though, vendors are required to use sustainable farming methods, follow standards of animal treatment, pay their employees decent wages, and, of course, farm in an ecologically responsible manner. It's not all about what you put in your mouth. Then again, it is all about what you put in your mouth. Shoppers can buy something delicious, without the harmful chemicals, in a picturesque setting and still be socially responsible. If the prices are a bit decadent, at least shopping here is socially responsible decadence.

Buying eggs laid by happy chickens, beaks intact makes me almost able to stomach people like the woman I saw a month ago, prancing along with a large wicker basket, as if she was frolicking through the fields, gathering daisies in a Swiss meadow.




Ferry Building
Embarcadero
At the base of Market Street
San Francisco

Arthur Avenue Retail Market - Arthur Avenue

rolling cigars
Italian delicacies

If you crave authenticity in a world of Pottery Barns and mall pastiche, go to Arthur avenue in the Bronx. One of the great gems is the Arthur Avenue Retail Market. Fresh cheese, fresh bread, fresh veg, fresh meat (including rabbit) and fresh cigars can be bought at a good price. Apparently, Mayor LaGuardia opened the retail market in the 40's to get the pushcart vendors of the street, out of the elements. It's still going strong.

2344 Arthur Ave
New York, NY

Alameda Flea Market - Alameda Point

I'm not the type of person who longs nostalgically for the past. I mean, do we really want to go back to the times before penicillin and botox? I am, however, nostalgic for the Sausalito Flea Market that was closed years ago to make way for a low-end shopping center. I much prefer to look at junk piled up on a blanket in a parking lot than look at junk thrown on the floor at Ross.

Now I have to get my junk fix at the Alameda Flea Market, officially called the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Fair. No matter what it's called, my first Sunday of every month is reserved for a good old prowl among the junk. It's a great place to pick up vintage patterns and fabric, china sold in grocery stores in the 50s, and branded premiums, like the toys cereal companies used to give away if you collected enough box tops. Furniture, clocks and Persian rugs are also big sellers. Even though there's a sign at the entrance stating that all items sold must be at least 20 years old. I'm not 100% convinced of the authenticity of some of the stuff sold here. Do fancy $300 repros of old movie posters count as vintage?

Nevertheless, it's well worth the $5 admission. This is the last great flea market left in the Bay Area. If it wasn't for the Alameda flea market, and it's dead sister, Sausalito, I've have to decorate my house from IKEA and Craigslist -- the horror!

Alameda Point
formerly Alameda Naval Air Station
at the end of Atlantic Avenue
Alameda, CA
510.869.5428