We spent the day at Yorkshire’s new 100-stall market propping up city centre

Red Brick Market opened in Sheffield in March 2024

You could spend hours in Red Brick Market and still not have a clue what else was in there.

The independent makers’ market, which has over 100 stalls from independent, local sellers, is a treasure trove of trinkets, clothes, cards, prints, and even comics. You will do well to not find what you are looking for in Red Brick Market.

The hipster heaven opened in March 2024, taking over one of the largest abandoned warehouses in Sheffield. Now 18 months old, YorkshireLive spoke with staff and traders about their experiences there.

General manager Jordan Close said business is “going really well” and has grown substantially over the last year.

“Things are going really well. It’s nice to see how much things have grown since last year,” she said. “Last summer was quiet for us, but this summer it was non-stop, and we were going the whole time. We got lots of new people through the door, which was brilliant to see.”

Jordan said it took about six months to “find our feet” and fill out all the stalls, but as more people have discovered where it is, the footfall has consistently improved. That tallies with Mary Asenenka’s experience, too. Mary owns one of the stalls, Petal Ritual, a beautifully crafted dried flower display.

She has been trading at Red Brick for “around 18 months”, so she has seen the market grow almost since its inception.

“It’s quite a good place, it’s getting busier and busier,” she said. “Every time I pop in here, I can see it’s quite busy. Usually, it’s busy, and the variety of traders attracts different types of people. There’s a much wider audience now than at the beginning.”

Wandering around, it’s hard not to see why Red Brick Market is increasingly popular, especially with a younger audience and university students. Retro football shirts, bold and colourful prints, confident outfits and a whole range of unique and characterful designs, jewellery and other bits and bobs, you really could get lost for hours and hours.

This, Jordan says, is Red Brick’s shining quality. “There’s something for everybody and every price range, and there’s loads of stuff here that you are not going to find anywhere else in Sheffield,” she said. “That’s the feedback we have received from shoppers. An entire family can come at the weekend and everyone can get something to take home.”

It comes amid a background of declining retail spend in Sheffield city centre. A recent Centre for Cities report said just £1 of £20 spent in a physical Sheffield shop is spent in a city centre store. This is compared to £1 in every £12 in Meadowhall.

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