I’ve been going to Red Brick Market in Liverpool for a few years now, back when it was still part of the old Cains Brewery building and since the move to its current home over the road. And honestly, it is one of those places that is very easy to like.
The concept alone does a lot of the heavy lifting. Independent traders get a space to sell their products without needing to run a full-on shop, and customers just wander around, pick things up, then pay at the main counter. No pressure. No awkward hovering. No need for every seller to be stood there all day pretending not to watch you pick something up and immediately put it back down again.
It is simple, and it works. So much so, there are now two more Red Brick Market venues, located in Birmingham and Sheffield.
For small traders, it offers a way to get products in front of actual people without the usual pain of trying to launch a shop on the high street. For shoppers, it turns into a bit of a treasure hunt. And for people like me, it becomes one of those places you can nip into for “a quick look” and somehow leave 40 minutes later carrying three presents, a random bit of art, and something you did not know existed when you walked in.
It has the kind of variety that keeps you nosing around
That is the real strength of Red Brick Market. There is just loads in there.
You have got stalls selling handmade gifts, retro and vintage clothing, antiques, sweets, records, art, food, candles, odd home bits, and all sorts of strange little things that somehow make sense the second you see them in person. Some places feel curated in a very polished, slightly sterile way. Red Brick Market feels more like organised chaos, and that is part of the appeal.
There are units I always find myself drifting back to. Sharky’s is one of them, especially when the other half is after a band tee. That has become a bit of a tradition at this point, and I already know we will be back again before we go and see System of a Down this summer. Then there is Back to the Rack, which has that old-school video store energy, packed with DVDs and bits that make you want to spend far longer browsing than you meant to. It scratches a very particular itch if you grew up loving that whole “flick through shelves and find something random” experience.
Then you have got places like Ambwub’s Emporium, which feels like someone took a normal market stall and asked, “yes, but what if it was much stranger?” Stuffed mice pushing little shopping trolleys. Skeletal remains. Oddities that sit somewhere between art, curiosity, and the kind of thing that would either delight your guests or make them quietly back towards the door. It is the sort of stall that reminds you independent retail does not have to be beige to survive.
And scattered around all that, there is work from local artists, handmade bits that clearly had time and thought put into them, and the kind of gifts that actually feel like gifts rather than panic-buys.
It is very good at making you buy things you did not plan to buy
That is probably how Red Brick Market gets you.
You go in for one thing, then get derailed by five others.
Over the years, we have picked up all sorts there. Soaps and other smelly bits. Random gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Bits for family members. Things for my brother’s dog to help keep it calm around Bonfire Night. Candles in designs that are, let us say, open to interpretation, with scent names that are equally questionable. And before anyone asks, we definitely have not bought any shaped as a penis.
Probably.
That is the beauty of the place, though. There is enough variety that it actually feels worth browsing. You are not just seeing the same three products with different labels slapped on them. Or at least, not all the time.
Not every stall at Red Brick Market is a winner
Because this is where the article stops sounding like I am trying to get hired by the tourism board.
As much as I like Red Brick Market, it is not flawless. Some stalls absolutely do blur together after a while. There are repeated product types, repeated styles, and repeated bits of stock where you start to notice the overlap the more time you spend there. Incense sticks, little decorative knick-knacks, samey gift-shop filler, all popping up in multiple places at different prices depending on whose shelf they happen to be sat on.
And then there is the more annoying side of it.
There have definitely been times where things bought there have turned out to be the sort of cheap products you could easily find on Temu or similar sites, just with a much bigger markup and a bit more effort put into how they are presented. Fine if you are happy paying for convenience and the chance to walk away with it that day. Less fine when it is being dressed up like some exclusive original product from a lovingly built brand identity, only for you to realise it is mass-produced stuff you could have found online in about 15 seconds.
That sort of thing does not ruin the whole place, but it does chip away at the feeling of discovery if you spot it too often.
The good stuff still makes Red Brick Market worth the trip
Even with all that, I still rate it.
Because the best stalls there are genuinely good. The interesting ones are really interesting. And the variety means there is usually still something that catches your eye, even if one or two units leave you a bit cold. Liverpool’s site even has a retro gaming shop tucked away towards the back of the hall, which is exactly the sort of place that will pull you in if old consoles, CRT TVs, and a bit of nostalgia are your thing.
That is what keeps Red Brick Market on the right side of worthwhile. There is enough real character in the place to outweigh the rougher edges.
It helps, too, that the whole thing is built around a genuinely useful idea. Red Brick Market’s own story is that it was founded to give independent traders a fairer shot at retail, first through physical spaces and now online too. That tracks. It feels like a place built to help people get seen without needing massive startup costs or a full shopfront of their own.
And that matters, because small businesses need spaces like this.
Independent traders deserve better than fighting for scraps
Starting any kind of business is hard enough. Starting one that relies on people physically finding you, trusting you, and buying from you instead of some giant faceless retailer is even harder.
That is why places like Red Brick Market matter. They lower the barrier a bit. They give makers, artists, collectors, and sellers somewhere to actually be discovered. Not buried under an algorithm. Not stuck behind ridiculous costs. Not drowned out by whatever giant chain can afford the biggest sign and the most sterile lighting.
It gives people a shot.
And as a shopper, that is worth something too. Not just because it is nice to “support local” in a vague, feel-good sort of way, but because these places are often far more interesting than the alternatives. They have more personality. More surprises. More chance of finding something that actually feels like it came from a person rather than a supply chain.
Go in with your eyes open, and enjoy the weirdness
That is probably the fairest way to sum Red Brick Market up.
It is a great premise, and in a lot of ways a great place. It gives independent traders exposure, gives shoppers variety, and gives cities something that still feels a bit different in an age where so much retail is either painfully bland or painfully expensive. I have found loads there over the years, and I will keep going back. Maybe I’ll even visit the other locations to see how they compare.
But Red Brick Market is also not some flawless indie utopia where every stall is a hidden gem and every product is handcrafted by candlelight under a full moon. Some units are stronger than others. Some products are more original than others. And some prices definitely rely on you not asking too many questions.
Still, I would rather have somewhere like Red Brick Market than not have it at all.
Because for all the duplicate stock, the occasional marked-up tat, and the stalls that feel a bit more copy-and-paste than creative, there is still a lot of good there. A lot of personality. A lot of people clearly trying to build something of their own.
And that is worth backing.
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