At Blue Noun Language hub, our English language holidays introduce EFL English learners to a variety of artists and makers. Ordinarily, this involves travelling to their studios and workshops.
(In truth, it’s no hardship really, artist workshops tend to be dotted around the most gorgeous parts of Perthshire).
However, on the last Sunday of every month, Blue Noun visit a makers’ market with a distinctly urban feel.
There are around 70 makers in one space.
And what a space!
The Yard Market Perth takes place in a large 3-story nightclub called The Ice Factory.
This funky old factory is awash with graffiti. Most nightclubs look grim in daylight. The Ice Factory’s combination of dark, spotlit rooms and stages, and open-air courtyard has a happy mix of plastic plants and rainbow flags. It’s just fun to be in.
Once a month, Perth is a really, cool, funky metropolitan place to be – and here’s why.
Explore The Yard Market
I love that it’s a bit of an adventure navigating your way around The Yard Market.
It is very sensory with chaotic walls, utilitarian metal stairs and the scent of candles, coffee and baking mixing in the air.
Surprisingly, fresh, lovely ingredients absolutely stand out against this unusual backdrop. It might not seem the ideal place to showcase more delicate works or fragrances, but each stall has a lot of space around it, and you can explore each item and talk to the vendors very easily.
The courtyard is a nice place to hang out – there was live music and sunshine last weekend, both of which really helped people to want to stay in the space chat.
Unique Produce
Most of the stalls sell handmade goods or at least interesting second-hand stuff – like vinyl and vintage curtains. There’s a massive representation of eco-businesses, such as vegan soaps or ethically sourced teas and goods such as wooden toys and kitchen items. Artists are well represented too.
It’s really impressive that a city the size of Perth (small) has so many great, ethical businesses within it – and that they are supported by The Yard in this way.
A visit to The Yard Market Perth is a fun afternoon chatting to the vendors and discovering their produce.
Fabric Landscape (two vintage fabrics side by side on a vendor’s stall)
Urban Market | Street Food
The absolute best thing about The Yard Market Perth is the combination of food stalls and having a place to sit and eat, chat and watch all the activity in the venue.
In case you don’t know it already, Perthshire is known as the ‘larder of Scotland,‘ for its specialist food produce, top-quality ingredients and abundant agriculture.
Cakes and curries seem to feature at The Yard – and we’re always happy to sample both!
This month, we finally tracked down Anaji’s Nimto – Aucherarder based caterers who make authentic Indian food and take subscribers on a ‘Curry Tour of India’. We’d heard about them on the grapevine, but it was a pleasure to meet them and to take a couple of curries home with us.
I’m subsequently following them on Facebook. Every week they publish their set menu with information about the region and style of food, it’s fascinating.
There was also a West African stall, a toastie van and absolutely enough coffee and vegan cakes to keep anyone happy.
Spiderman at The Yard Market Perth
Perth | Changing How you Buy Your Coffee
This week, our biggest delight was in meeting two different coffee vendors.
The first, Rogue Partner Coffee made blends designed to complement vegan milks. We’d just bought a large bag when we met up with Manifesto Coffee Ltd. on the ground floor.
Manifesto Coffee Ltd. seem to be coffee R & D scientists, blenders and all-round change-makers.
Firstly, Manifesto Coffee has developed a completely recyclable packaging (tins). (I hadn’t known that almost all coffee bags are composed of layered material rendering them non-recyclable).
Secondly, Manifesto Coffee are experimenting away with tastes and blends, including flours for gluten-free vegan baking (they grind their own).
Printed on their tins are the details of the price paid to the farmers (which is incidentally much higher than supermarket ‘fair trade’ coffees).
We pledge to source at least 50% of our coffee through traders and importers that are willing to provide FOB pricing data as a minimum level of transparency.
We pledge to maintain a stock of at least 2 coffees that we are able to disclose the farmgate price for.
Manifesto Coffee Website
Manifesto Coffee Can
An Invitation to Visit Manifesto Coffee
Manifesto Coffee also have a new cafe on King Street in Perth, with all their coffee blending and gluten-free flour grinding done onsite.
I’m happy to report that Manifeso Coffee are happy to be included in Blue Noun Language Hub Meet the Makers tours.
We can have lunch at their cafe (I’d go a long way for their vegan, GF macadamia and white chocolate biscuit), and chat with them about how they are growing their business, designing their beautiful packaging and more.
Our English language holidays are always packed with makers to meet, local food and drink to taste and unusual cultural experiences designed to get you talking in English.
We still love exploring our region and meeting all the creative change-makers within it.
Let us share these adventures with you.
Find out more here.
Find out about the Yard Market Perth here
And Rogue Partner Coffee here
And take (and taste) Anjali’s Nimpto curry tour here