Two best makers’ Christmas market in Edinburgh in 2019

Christmas Tradition in Edinburgh/ Scotland

Placed at the up north of the United Kingdom, Scotland has its unique traditions and culture in almost every aspect of their life. The festive season is also special for the previous kingdom of Vikings.

In fact, it is a fact that Christmas in Scotland has never had much emphasis on people’s daily life. The rules of the Church of Scotland were the restriction on this celebration in 1580 because they saw its support of Romanism. Therefore, Christmas celebrations were not a social and cultural tradition until the 1950s in Scotland.

However, after the mid of this century, Scots started to celebrate it- and even they celebrate better than many of the cities.

Christmas’ traditions in Scotland are similar to many of the places in the world, whilst the Scottish people do have their unique tradition. Though there are various celebrations, basically the Hogmanay is the scot’s tradition for the new year.

Hogmanay;

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay means the Torchlight Procession on the day before the New Year’s Eve that is 30th December. A spectacular firework follows the torchlight.

At present, you are not excluded from the New Year’s Eve fireworks. Therefore, if you visit Edinburgh, you will have two fireworks for the end of the year which is a bonus. The street parties and of course the Scottish dance Ceilidh are the culture of the celebrations.

The first day of the year, the North Sea welcomes the brave ones. However, more attention is given for visiting the homes of friends and neighbours, as the first guest of the new year as a tradition.

1. Glow Makers’ Market in Dovecot

Built around a leading international tapestry studio, Dovecot Gallery is a landmark centre for contemporary art, craft and design. “Dovecot Tapestry Studio is a world-renowned producer of hand-woven tapestry and gun-tufted rugs. The Studio helps to produce extraordinary works of art by commission from private and public collectors from across the globe.

Wee Collective –

The Wee collective is a couple of makers working between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Their mission is that they support and inspire the members. They like to collaborate on projects which focus on locally sourced and ethical materials.

In the market, I observed the quality of the handmade craftsmanship, which they promised to bring. If you are looking for a handmade craftsmanship chair with the highest standards, then you follow ‘wee collective’ and check their products.

They do the source, restore, and then customize their lovely products.

Image credit: Photo © Dr Hatice Ozhisar. More info about the furniture via wee collective: Facebook and Instagram

The travelling bookbinder –

In a world where we started to read almost everything online and from a computer in pdf files, what Rachel Hazell does is invaluable. In her about page, it says that;

“Rachel read English Literature at Edinburgh University, trained in Bookbinding at the London College of Printing and completed Masters degrees in Book Art at Camberwell College of Art, and Printmaking at Edinburgh College of Art.”

However, words and books are central to her. She inspires people to find their books inside them.

Red Houss Shetland –

Red Houss is a studio of Mike Finnie located at the south end of East Burra. Mike Finnie, chartered architect, is the owner of Red Houss- small red artists’ studio on the island of East Burra in Shetland.

Mike also works as the chairman of ‘The Belmont Trust,’ as mentioned on his website. They restored a category A listed Georgian house on Shetland’s northernmost island.

Wooly Originals –

Using wools from Jamieson’s of Shetland, Woolly Originals- based in Edinburgh- creates bags in vintage knitting machines, which their all design based on a range of ideas and inspiration from Scottish culture; such as shapes of gin bottles or Scottish wildflowers and trees.

2. Chrismas Makers’ Market in Summerhall

Located at the east end of the Meadows in Edinburgh, Summerhall provides space for any events you are looking for- no matter how it is big or small. Exhibitions, venue hire and all other events. You can check their web site here. The Christmas market is the biggest and best that I visited in Edinburgh

The Teapot Trust –

Teapot Trust supports the mental health and well-being of children and their families and provides creative interventions to manage anxiety. The Christmas market is a good opportunity for reaching more families.

Workshop by Teapot Trust- Image credit: Photo © Dr Hatice Ozhisar. More info via Teaport Trust

Eira soaps –

Inspired from nature Eira Soaps have healthy and environmentally friendly products. Meric, owner and soap maker of Eira Soaps, is a chemical engineering with a specialization in sustainability. She says that;

I love experimenting with natural colourants and botanicals and creating new soaps. I am also in the quest to find good quality and practical plastic-free alternatives to skincare products. Therefore, I am constantly working on developing new products.

For this reason, I love her Turkish coffee lip balm. They are not only selling in this Christmas market, but also having an online shop.