Fife Life — a visit to Bowhouse, Scotland.

I ventured out into the Scottish countryside on a wild, wet and grey afternoon with my family to find Bowhouse. We’d heard that it was a local producer’s market which combined food and produce with designer-makers in a large, modern, agricultural building.

I’d read that Bowhouse’s objective is to connect the farmer to the consumer by providing a dedicated space for them to work and a large covered market space for them to sell their produce / products direct to the public.

What I didn’t expect was to be blown away! It was amazing — showcasing the best of Fife’s producers and designer-makers under one roof! We hadn’t seen a soul en route to St Monans, which whilst wonderfully peaceful had created some uncertainty over what we were going to find. On arriving we instantly understood why — the car park was jam packed and the place was buzzing. Everyone had clearly beaten us there!

Half of the enormous space was dedicated to some of the most appetising food stalls I’ve ever come across, selling a range of mouth-watering foods from local smoked fish, pheasant sausages, cheeses and handmade artisan chocolates to locally brewed beer. Hand cut flowers was another highlight for me — I originally trained as a florist and still work in floristry part-time, so I’m always drawn to beautiful blooms.

The second half of the venue was reserved for designer makers and artists. We gravitated towards ceramicist Steph Liddle (@steph.liddle on Instagram) for her bold, stylish and confident designs crafted from marble smooth parian porcelain.

Meanwhile Ceri White Studios (@ceriwhitestudios on Instagram) cheered us up with her colourful ceramic Croft Houses. It was such a pleasure to wander the stalls of book makers, illustrators and up-cyclers whilst munching awesome fresh food. I’m still dreaming of the leather and waxed canvas aprons handmade by 1874 Works (@1874works on Instagram), maybe I need to make a cheeky return visit…

We salute you Bowhouse — we love what you’re doing and your whole ethos. It’s such a treat to have so much quality under one roof, to be able to meet the makers and understand the provenance of the products.

The next Bowhouse market weekend is Sat 14th and Sun 15th March 2020 and it is definitely worth the trip.

Bowhouse – Spring Market Weekends 2020
14th & 15th March
11th & 12th April
9th & 10th May

Do you have anything like this in your home town? Drop us a line at support@kisshouse.co.uk if you do. To find out more about Bowhouse visit this link.