Who Runs the Market? Girls!
This International Women's Day we speak to some of the great women working behind the scenes to make some of the Market's best businesses weave their magic.
Chloe @ Yum Bun, Humble Crumble & The Real Fruit Ice Cream Co.
Tell us a little about what you do?
I am a freelance social media (and marketing) manager who works with a variety of brands including Yum Bun and Humble Crumble.
I also run my own little ice cream cart (The Real Fruit Ice Cream Co.) in the warmer months which I started at Old Spitalfields Market last year. It’s a concept born out of New Zealand (where I’m from) where real frozen fruit and frozen yoghurt or vanilla ice cream is blended on the spot to make a soft serve-like ice cream. Outside of that, I run @popupslondon where I post about pop-up events in London.
How does an average day unfold when you are working at Old Spitalfields Market?
It’s always varied but you’ll likely see me heading to Humble Crumble first to shoot before it gets too busy – behind-the-scenes in the kitchen or filming the latest special with Ruby.
Next, I’ll head to Yum Bun to film them making up delicious buns and then filming the finished product.
What’s your favourite place to shop/eat in the Market?
I know I’m biased but I can’t go past the tofu bun box and seaweed fries from Yum Bun and I’m obsessed with the March specials at Humble Crumble: rhubarb crumble with the easter topping (blowroched marshmallow and mini chocolate eggs).
Outside of the food spots I love and am lucky enough to work with: you’ll see me frequenting I Thai or Poke House.
Old Spitalfield Market’s full or inspiring female business owners and people – tell us a little about who or what inspires you in the Market?Kristyna, the Old Spitalfields Marketing Executive. She’s such a hardworking, inspiring and kind woman.
I was stuck in New Zealand for a couple of years during the pandemic when Humble Crumble first opened in the market and Kris was a delight to deal with, helping me to create content remotely for a brand across the other side of the world.
No favour is ever too big and she is so talented at capturing the beauty of the market.
Harriet @ Percy Langley
Tell us a little about what you do?
I’ve been a fashion designer and developer for over 13 years and I now have my on label, which I launched just over three years ago. Saywood is a luxury slow fashion brand creating beautiful edits of wardrobe foundations, with shirts and short dresses being the fundamentals. Each piece is elevated with colour and unexpected details to keep you rediscovering what you wear each time you get dressed.
I cut all the patterns myself; fit is really important to the brand, with the styles being made in small batches in factories that operate ethically. All the fabrics are responsibly sourced, using natural fibres and responsible cellulose, with a surplus cloth first approach.
How does an average day unfold when you are working at Old Spitalfields Market?
Usually I get an hour or so of work on Saywood done at home before I head into town to get to Spitalfields just before 11am when the shop opens. Saywood is stocked in Percy Langley, a beautiful store specialising in independent British designers, and I work there too a couple of days a week. It is such a pleasure to be part of Percy Langley co-founders Poppy and George’s team, and I love getting to meet customers in the store. On the average day, I open up the store, check everything is looking good and ready to go, and get the music on. First up the online orders get checked and prepped so they can go out that day, all beautifully wrapped with a personal note; those little touches are what makes small businesses and independents stand out. Sometimes new stock arrives, gets uploaded to the system and goes out on the floor and arranged. But no day is average; every conversation is different. We have lots of amazing customers coming through the doors, sometimes newly discovering the store and the brands, many returning for their next beautiful pieces, and others searching out pieces for an event or a wardrobe revamp. It’s always great meeting everyone who comes into store.
What’s your favourite place to shop/eat in the Market?
There’s a great host of wine bars, from Bottles to Funky Cellar. The food stalls are amazing and always so hard to decide which one to stop at! The chai tea from chai stall is delicious, especially on a cold day! For shopping, Percy Langley is great for womenswear, and I love Youth To The People for skincare.
Old Spitalfield Market’s full of inspiring female business owners and people – tell us a little about who or what inspires you in the Market?
I love seeing what people are wearing and how they style themselves. How people put together their clothes is a huge inspiration to me. Working with all the amazing designers and women at Percy Langley, and Poppy and George, the co-founders, is also such a huge inspiration. Just seeing how they have built their business, and have created such an incredible bond with the talented women in their network is truly inspirational and I think something that anyone would want to aspire to.
Roxy @ RoxyRara Cakes
Tell us a little about what you do?
I run a luxury cake company called ‘RoxyRara Cakes’ which I started in 2012. First and foremost I’m a baker and cake artist specialising in celebration and wedding cakes. I bake everything by hand in small batches from our micro bakery in Hackney. We cater corporate events, parties, and weddings and have stalls across East London including our vintage bike stall at Old Spitalfields Market. Our Spitalfields stall is decked out with our most popular luxury cupcakes and bakes. We’re open 7 days a week and are a true family-run business.
How does an average day unfold when you are working at/with Old Spitalfields Market?
We drop stock daily from our bakery and we have a small team of sales staff that set up our bike stall with our decadent cupcakes ready to serve from 10 am every day. We meet so many clients throughout the day, from city workers to tourists. That’s what we love about the market. Every day is different and you never know who is going to be eating our cakes!
– What’s your favourite place to shop/eat in the Market?
Karpincha – Delicious Sri Lankan food and really lovely staff!
– Old Spitalfield Market’s full or inspiring female business owners and people – tell us a little about who or what inspires you in the Market?
There are LOADS of inspiring business owners in the market. One is Kim, the founder and owner of Humble Crumble. We used to have stalls next to each other before the pandemic and I have watched her grow her business from strength to strength. For such a young woman to be so courageous, smart, and business savvy… It’s inspiring. As women, it’s often hard to have the confidence to go for the things we want, especially when juggling babies, family life, etc. It’s been a struggle at times but the market is full of people in the same position building businesses out of their passions whilst providing for their families.
Ruby @ Humble Crumble
Tell us a little about what you do?
As the Recipe Developer at Humble Crumble, I am lucky enough to have a role that is both diverse and creatively stimulating. At the heart of my role lies the exciting task of creating our monthly specials, where I get to bring both the customer’s and team’s ideas to life. Beyond this, I give support in upholding quality standards across our three sites and am constantly seeking ways to refine and improve existing recipes. Outside of the kitchen, I lend a hand to our social media manager during our monthly special shoots and work on the costing of our products.
How does an average day unfold when you are working at Old Spitalfields Market?
My daily routine varies, but it typically begins at the market. Our Spitalfields bakery is larger than our other sites, so tends to be the hub for my recipe testing. Throughout my day I divide my time between experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes and completing more administrative tasks in the office. My busiest days typically fall at the end of the month, when I spend time at each of our sites, training our teams on new specials and recipes.
What’s your favourite place to shop/eat in the Market?
Chi Chi and The Pasta Family is definitely my go-to spot in the market. They offer a selection of fresh, authentic pasta dishes, with their “Irene’s Pomodoro Rigatoni” being a favourite among the Humble Crumble team. The staff are passionate and hardworking, and this shines through their dishes.
Old Spitalfields Market’s full or inspiring female business owners and people – tell us a little about who or what inspires you in the Market?
The market is lucky enough to be home to a variety of successful female-owned businesses. As mentioned, one of my key responsibilities is the creation of our monthly specials. This requires lots of inspiration to keep our menu fresh and exciting. Two main sources of inspiration come from the female-owned Yum Bun and Bleecker Burger who are known for their ever-evolving menus, featuring delicious limited edition products. I also have to mention Humble Crumble’s very own Kim Innes whose strong, hard-working and “humble” nature inspires our entire team.
Kristyna @ Old Spitalfields Market
Tell us a little about what you do?
I am the Old Spitalfields Market’s marketing team’s ground soldier. I am here to help promote all the big and small businesses of our big market family.
I collect and create content and try to spread the word about how amazing this place is and help with daily market operations too.
How does an average day unfold when you are working at/with Old Spitalfields Market?
I usually spend my day between our marketing office and the market floor, meeting with all the people of the market, creating content, planning events and helping promote their amazing businesses.
What’s your favourite place to shop/eat in the Market?
After almost five years in the market, I basically only shop here now. I am a regular in Mercantile, Percy Langley and lululemon and I love our vintage traders. You will always find the best treasures on Thursdays here.
My favourite food spots change all the time, I have seasonal obsessions. At the moment I love Melt’s cheese toasties. That gravy is life!
Old Spitalfields Market’s full of inspiring female business owners and people – tell us a little about who or what inspires you in the Market?
Hard to name they all, there are too many inspirational and hard working people here.
But if I have to pick one person it would be Debra from Mercantile. Mercantile is a well established business she built. Debra not only sells some great products, she also created an amazing community and never stops educating me when it comes to slower and more sustainable fashion.
Rebecca @ The Mercantile London
Tell us a little about what you do?
I’m a director at The Mercantile, an independent women’s clothing store, where we’re home to an abundance of brands from all over. We’re bit of treasure trove and bursting at the seams with really beautiful product! We put in a lot of leg work to find those special pieces that last a lifetime and curate bold stories in store that reflect our individual styles and area alike. Retail is often reduced to speedy deliveries so we have to create a great in store experience for our customers to feel oh so welcome.
How does an average day unfold when you are working at Old Spitalfields Market?
It can be quite chaotic in our little store from shooting for our site to unpacking the endless stream of deliveries so escaping to the market for a natter with stall holders, (mostly) for a snack or browse on Antique Thursday help keep things buoyant. And what I love about our pocket of London is how varied the days are, from the different events, workshops and pop ups, there’s always so much going on.
What’s your favourite place to shop/eat in the Market?
Funky Cellar is a must for all the cheesy goodness and a stellar selection of wines, they also make a mean cocktail. Inspitalfields for their immense selection of gifts. It’s hard to pick a foodie favourite but Sud Italia, Pasta guys & Cafe Caribbean are SO good.
Old Spitalfields Market’s full or inspiring female business owners and people – tell us a little about who or what inspires you in the Market?
We’re quite the clan of strong female business owners in our community. I can’t not mention my business partner Debra, she’s bit of textile nut with incredible production knowledge and so deeply passionate about what we do. But also, Fiona at Inspitalfields, Kristyna, Laura & Amie at OSM, Poppy and George at Percy Langley, we all pull together for support and ideas. What a network we have!