Operating somewhere between a permanent shop and temporary market and events space, Spot Design Market is the brainchild of artist Anna Hepburn. Founded in 2019 after starting her own textile business, Hepburn realised she couldn’t find her target audience at existing makers’ markets. ‘It was really frustrating,’ she recalls. ‘I knew the work I was creating was good, I just couldn't find my people.’ 

The decision to make her own market came ‘pretty naturally’, she says. ‘I’ve always had an interest in design and fashion. My parents are both makers as well so we spent a lot of time going to markets and looking at people’s handmade things.’ Alongside this childhood love, Hepburn has brought her study of art and immersive theatre projects to this latest business venture. ‘We’ve also got the gallery here. I think the way that I run Spot comes from my art degree. I talk about curating a lot; the way that I navigate that is by making sure there are no overlaps between works and between makers. And I think that comes through in all that we do.’ 

Design markets taking place three to four times a year, featuring stock mainly made in Scotland, are interspersed with weekly pop-ups and workshops where a designer or maker is invited in-store to sell their work to customers directly. ‘We had flower arranging and ceramics at the first workshop. It probably links into the immersive world that I like exploring, but it’s exciting to be able to bring people in and leave them with something beautiful they've made that’s attached to the maker.’ Looking to expand this offering, Hepburn is excited to launch a new website and online shop this month plus hopes to open a new events space under the shop next year. In the meantime, she asks us to ‘watch this space’. 

Spot Design Market, 1139 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow.