Tucked beneath the motorway near IKEA, the M32 Flea Market is an eclectic, creative and colourful event held every last Saturday of the month.
Founded in 2016 by LitterARTI, a local arts organisation working with communities facing social and environmental neglect, the market hosts a vast range of stalls ranging from food to good quality vintage and pre-loved clothing, records, jewellery, art, prints, pottery, books, plants, tinctures, essential oils, bric-a-brac and gifts.
We had the opportunity to talk with eight stallholders about what the M32 Flea Market means to them and the extent the cost of living crisis has impacted their small business.
Here’s what we found:
5. Esme Lower
Esme, an illustrator and muralist selling artwork and doing commission work, said: “I think the M32 market is just a really comfortable environment to sell work and connect with people. It’s very low pressure compared to a lot of illustration markets I do. It’s just about the day itself and just about the people that come. It’s about the day as well as making money, I’d say. The cost of living crisis has impacted quite a lot. I work in hospitality part-time, so I think a lot of the time I’m picking up more shifts there and therefore putting less time into my artwork. So I think that striking a balance is really hard.” | adriana amor
6. Crimson
Crimson makes pre-loved scrunchies and pre-loved clothing and sells vintage clothing and pre-worn clothing, said: “It’s such a lovely market. It’s one of my favourites because everyone is so friendly and really nice, there’s a lovely sense of community here as well. The organisers are friendly, the stallholders are friendly and everybody that comes along is friendly as well so it's a really nice sense of community. I really enjoy myself every time. As a small business owner, it is always difficult with the cost of living, but because I sell pre-loved items, a lot of people are now looking for good-value, cheaper items that have been preloved because obviously there’s an environmental impact as well. So the cost of living crisis is a bad thing but I’m seeing some benefits where people are more careful about where they spend their money.” | adriana amor
7. Chris
Chris, who was trading for the first time at the M32, said: “It’s been wonderful. This is the first time I’ve been showcasing my artwork and I’ve sold one and got lots of interest. So it’s all positive for making connections.” | adriana amor
8. Amaya, Holly and Germaine
Amaya, Holly and Germaine who were selling pre-worn clothes, said: “I think a lot of the reason why we do it is to connect some part of the community and buy things for people we know. It’s just a really nice vibe and it puts me in touch with a part of Bristol that I really like. I think this is only the second time I’ve done a stall, but I’ve been coming to the market for a couple of years. It’s a nice market and you tend to see the same people every time. Something that’s really nice about the market is that everyone seems to be selling things at a really low price. It feels like a nice circle to be a part of and we’ve started to develop relationships with people. The living crisis is probably the reason why we have a stall. I don’t think I would be doing stuff like this to get extra cash if it weren’t for the cost of the living crisis.” | adriana amor