Local resident, Helen Ruff of Flo’s Circle, has started the monthly market in Portchester to bring some more life into the town centre.
At each market there are up to 30 handpicked local traders selling a variety of quality items such as local tea, coffee, art, jewellery, clothing, alcohol, local preserves, homewares, candles, pet products and lots more!
There is craft beer from The Portcullis Taphouse, outdoor bench seating and live singers busking throughout the event.
There are also street food traders and kids activities.
The event brings an old fashioned sense of community and ‘buying direct/local’ that we miss in this modern day. Getting to meet the passionate people behind the products is so interesting, and vice versa; it’s great for the independent traders to meet their customers face-to-face.
While you’re visiting the market you can get coffee from local places such as The Coffee Cup or Darcy’s. You can grab some baked delights from Soothills and have a mooch around the charity shops perhaps!
Organiser Helen Ruff is very passionate about the local community, so much so she launched a local magazine last year aimed at Fareham and Gosport. It’s a quarterly free publication that can be found in local shops and cafes. The content focuses around small business spotlights in the lifestyle sector; food/drink, shopping, art, craft, wellbeing, property, interiors etc.
The free magazines are available at each market.
Helen also runs small business networking events at Tides Coffee Shop, Fareham Marina.
