From a young age, I loved a good market. My Gran would take me, a screaming baby, to hustle toys from vendors. I have remained a chancer since, and gained a deep appreciation for markets, but have become pickier as I have aged, no longer willing to go anywhere based purely on the title ‘Market’.
Seeking to make the decision of which alternative market to choose from easier for our dear readers, I grabbed a friend and ran to the Midnight Solar Market to gather information. The Midnight Solar Market is an offshoot of the popular Midnight Lunar Market and specialises in goth homeware and oddities.
Image Credit: Midnight Solar Market Via Instagram
This is the second Midnight Solar Market, staged in the Assembly Roxy, a repurposed church about two minutes from the National Museum with vaulting ceilings and a gothic fantasy energy. The décor is streamlined with two corridors between vendors leading to a stage where, throughout the night, various performers bring the vendors and visitors to a standstill.
Like all old churches, the walls are built to trap the heat and Edinburgh in June is more than willing to turn the venue into an oven. Still valiantly, the vendors surge onwards, selling anything from art all the way to real human bones.
Art By Xanthe. Image Credit: Midnight Solar Market via Instagram
A few vendors took some time out of their busy night to tell us a little about their business.
An important theme at this market is ethical consumption and ethical acquisition. The Emporium Next Dorium is run by a genuinely lovely person who is far braver than I, wearing all that intricate black in the blistering heat. After seeing a video about growing your own copper using electrodeposition, Leilani decided that she wanted to use this process to create her jewellery using found materials.
She sources all her materials and only takes bones that have been picked clean by scavengers to keep the environment as central as possible in her making. As such, each piece is unique, and she is more than willing to discuss individualised commissions to match your budget.
Moving to something 2D for a time, Not Available Art is composed of one of the loveliest couples I have ever met, Nathan, the artist, and his wife, Meghan, frontwoman of the stall and her husband’s biggest fan. With some truly incredible pointillism-inspired pieces alongside some wonderful mixed media pieces, the variety of artwork means there is something for everyone. All of Nathan’s art is composed traditionally, only touched digitally when heading to the printer.
Nathan tries to be as environmentally conscious as possible, even his pin badges are biodegradable.
The biggest compliment I can pay Nathan’s art, apart from the fact that I genuinely love his style, is that my friend bought a piece he made, displaying a ribcage and hips. I cannot tell you the number of times this friend has complained about inaccurate bones in paintings. It was truly a success to find one he approved of. Nathan finds art relaxing, and his wife is his biggest supporter.
The first thing you notice about Rainbow Gargoyles’ stall is the row of tiny skulls mounted and cast in bronze, bird and squirrel alike. Tiny vials filled with little bones on string, patches and some mysterious black bags hiding at the back. Naturally, the mysterious black bags pique our interest. In each bag is a real human scapula, which my friend assured me is in incredible condition.
I am always more than willing to give in to his general expertise in this area, given the degree he has in bones. I would hope that, should he have a question about violence in Renaissance literature, he might come to me as mine is in English.
You might be justifiably concerned as to how someone might have on-hand human bones, but not to worry. Rainbow Gargoyle was more than happy to share the ins and outs of ethical procurement of human remains from ex-medical research cadavers. All human bones have been willingly given.
Before we took our leave, she even showed us her spine! Her second spine, which she keeps on a display table in her house. Very cool.
Image Credit: Rainbow Gargoyle
Closing down an evening of interesting conversations, wonderous merchandise and sweltering heat, I watch fondly as my friend struggles out the door, weighed down by his many purchases.
For fans of the curious, cute and macabre, the Midnight Solar Market is well worth a visit!
You can follow along with the event via their socials, @midnightsolarmarket or on their website, http://www.midnightaltevents.bigcartel.com.
Featured Image Credit: Midnight Solar Market
The Mourning Paper 