'Grateful' market trader continues family tradition and set to open Gosport stall in 'personal milestone'
She hopes that her witching supplies business will be a big success
A passionate market trader is set to follow in her father’s footsteps by launching her own business in Gosport Market.
Paige Callard, 26, can’t wait to get started and launch Rogues Rituals on June 27 at the Traditional Street Market on Gosport High Street. Growing up in North End in a family of market traders, she hopes her business selling witching supplies can be a big success.
Paige told The News: “I am big on family tradition and would love to keep it going for my dad, it might make his day.”
Paige’s father, Peter Callard, is still a market trader today. Selling on the high street has been a part of Paige’s life since she was a little girl. She attended what was Lyndhurst Junior School and is now King’s Academy College Park.
Rogues Rituals will specialise in crystals, spiritual gifts, candles, jewellery, tarot readings, gothic décor and wellbeing products. Paige got her first deck of tarot cards as a gift when she was 16 and has always been drawn to spirituality.
She said: “The launch is not only the opening of a new independent business but also a personal milestone, bringing together a lifelong connection to local markets with the ambition of building something of my own.”
The Mayor of Gosport, Councillor Kirsten Bradley, will be performing the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the launch. Alongside her, Cllr Lesley Meenaghan and Cllr Richard Earle will also be attending.
The idea for the business first came about earlier this month, during a manifestation painting class. Paige said she painted an old-school wagon, then saw one the next day. She added that she then had a spiritual bath with herbs and crystals, during which she decided to start her own witching business.
Diana Cooper, her grandma, has Romani family heritage and Paige has always felt connected to her grandmother’s traditional side of the family. She said the launch feels “incredibly special” as she wants to continue a family connection to local markets that stretches back many years.
Her grandparents, Diana Cooper and Frank Callard, met while working at Southsea funfair in the 1960s. They later worked with her dad on the market stalls. Paige has a three-year-old daughter, Freya, a Viking name inspired by Norse mythology.
Paige said: “Growing up around market stalls and traders gave me a real appreciation for independent businesses and the communities that support them. Rogues Rituals has been built from the ground up through determination, creativity and community support. The encouragement I have received from residents, businesses and community groups has been overwhelming, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped make this dream a reality.”