A popular market is returning for its sixth event in Swindon and will be back at the venue where it all started.

Lora O'Callaghan, an illustrator who creates her own prints, cards and totes, founded The Swindie Makers Market in 2021, hosting the first two events at Christ Church in Old Town.

But the market quickly began attracting such a large turnout and so many independent businesses from Swindon, Bath and Bristol that it moved to bigger venues, including STEAM Museum and most recently Pattern Church in March, where there were 100 vendors.

At the next event on Saturday, September 7, up to 40 local businesses are set to bring their unique, artisan products to Christ Church, following feedback from customers saying they loved the original venue.

Lora said: “We are different to other events because we really have a focus on modern, trend-led brands and businesses, so we’re not a craft market or anything like that.

"We’re trying to push the boundaries in terms of people who are just out there doing their own thing and their brands are more like their full time businesses.

“We also bring live music, street foods, beers and coffee, all from independent businesses, so there’s a big push on that.

“There’s a community online of other businesses and brands and it started from a conversation between me and another girl who had her own brand too. We went for a coffee and we were talking about there being so many of us online who don’t actually get out there, network or sell face-to-face with customers, so we came up with the idea to start this event and we’ve just grown from there.

“I now do it by myself, she’s gone on to other things, but because the demand is there I have kept it going. It’s such a nice vibe and something for everyone.

“I like to see the whole networking side of it because so many relationships have flourished since I’ve started this. We’ve had so many business owners meeting up and collaborating and they have got more customers through the markets - it’s great to see them flourish. You don’t realise there are so many people doing creative things so it’s cool to see it all.”

Lora is hoping to organise another market just before Christmas and continue growing the idea by hosting a market in Bristol.