Everyday Moments | Birmingham Markets

Moving on from my research surrounding the Library of Birmingham, I really wanted to move my research and samples on and focus on traditional marketplaces.
During my city walk, one of the places I found to be the most inspiring was the in and outdoor markets by the Bullring which are always bursting with colour, vibrancy and interesting characters.

In this modern age, I've found markets like this are often few and far between despite being a very affordable way to do your shopping and to often find things that aren't in big name supermarkets! I love the hustle and bustle of it all and it was interesting to listen to interactions between the vendors and the customers and the offers they would shout to try and make a sale.

The colours found there are amazing, everything is bright coloured from the fruit and veg on offer to the reams and reams of fabrics being sold at different stalls. The people are also equally colourful and I've found the markets are a more sociable and exciting way to shop as opposed to wandering around the supermarket mindlessly and silently having almost no interaction at all, especially with the introduction of self service machines.

Sadly I think the markets are a reclining trade in most areas due to the increase in supermarkets and the growing popularity of online grocery shopping nowadays but it's uplifting to see such a large market presence in Birmingham which provides a lovely sense of community between the public. I also think markets are a great way to combat food waste as we're able to buy exactly what we need rather than buying a pre-packaged item that might go to waste in the fridge if we don't need to use it all.

I'm looking forward to developing my work further with the markets as my source of inspiration, and finding out a little bit more on the history of the Birmingham markets in particular as well as doing some research into modern day shopping habits.