Jubilee Market, Covent Garden: a stallholder's guide

Every weekend, somebody stops at my stall, looks up at the iron roof and asks, "So what is this place?" Fair question, darling. Jubilee Market is the one Covent Garden market most visitors walk straight past on their way to the Piazza, and it's where I've been painting and selling since 2021. Here's what it is, when to come, and how to get the most out of it.

What is Jubilee Market?

Jubilee Market is the big covered hall on the south side of Covent Garden Piazza. The hall was built in 1904, and it's a Grade II listed building, so the bones are proper Edwardian London: brick, iron and a glass roof that makes everything glow on a sunny afternoon.

It's a different market from the Apple Market, which sits inside the main Market Building in the middle of the Piazza, the one with the street performers out front. People mix the two up constantly. If you're standing facing the street performers, Jubilee Market is behind you and to the side, across the cobbles.

• Address: Jubilee Market Hall, 1 Tavistock Street, London WC2E 8BD
• Nearest Tube: Covent Garden (Piccadilly line), a few minutes' walk
• Also close: Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly) and Holborn (Central and Piccadilly)

What's on each day

The hall changes character through the week. According to the market's own website, it runs roughly like this:

• Monday: antiques and collectables, from early morning
• Tuesday to Friday: a general market, with gifts, souvenirs, clothing and London bits
• Saturday and Sunday: arts and crafts, when the artists and makers are in

Times can change around holidays and events, so check the market's own site before a special trip. If you're coming to see me, I'm there every Saturday and Sunday, and you can WhatsApp me first to check a piece is on the stall.

The weekend arts and crafts market

Weekends are the best time to visit if you like buying things that someone actually made. You'll find painters, printmakers, jewellers, ceramicists and makers of all kinds, most of them standing right behind their own work and happy to tell you how it was made.

My stall is the one with a wall of bright slogans and people laughing at it. I hand-paint bold statements onto antique book pages: one of a kind originals, A4 and A3 prints, antique images I've painted over, plus sweatshirts, totes and notebooks with the same jokes on them.

The originals hang on the wall, so you see the real colours and the texture of the old paper. The prints sit in racks you can flick through, and the cheeky ones always draw a crowd.

What to buy at Jubilee Market

What's worth taking home depends on the day, but at the weekend these are the things people come back for:

1. Original art. Something no one else on your street has. My originals start at £55, and every one is different because the book page underneath is different.
2. Art prints. Light, flat and easy to carry home. Mine are £20 for A4.
3. Gifts with a punchline. Notebooks at £12 and tote bags at £25 make the best "I went to London and thought of you" presents.
4. Christmas cards. In November and December, my packs of four Christmas cards are £12, one polite and gold embossed, one very much not. See the funny Christmas cards.

If you're after London souvenirs that don't come with a plastic Big Ben attached, I wrote a whole guide to London souvenirs that aren't tacky.

Tips from someone with a stall inside

• Come before lunch on a Saturday. Late morning is calm. A sunny Saturday afternoon is, let's say, lively.
• Talk to the makers. It's the whole point of buying in person, and we love it.
• Take a photo, have a coffee, come back. If it's still on your mind an hour later, it's the one.
• Ask about delivery. Many traders post. I deliver across the UK and to the USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland and much of Europe, so you don't need to squeeze a frame into your hand luggage.
• Bring a bag. Or buy one of my totes, which is the same thing but funnier.

Jubilee Market at Christmas

From November, the whole of Covent Garden goes full Christmas, and the market halls are part of it. It's the best time of year to shop here and the busiest, so weekday evenings and weekend mornings are your friends. If you're planning a festive trip, read my Covent Garden Christmas market guide, and if you need presents in a hurry, my last-minute Christmas gifts in London.

Christmas delivery dates: order by 18 December for UK Christmas delivery and by 10 December for international. Luis posts every order within 3 days. Made-to-order clothing, totes and notebooks take 7 to 10 days, so order those sooner.

Can't get there? The stall is online

Not everyone can get to London on a weekend. My whole stall is online at the same prices: UK delivery is £1.75 a print and free over £80, and you can order online and collect from the stall instead. See the shop, or plan a weekend visit on the visit page.

More around the area: my guide to things to do in Covent Garden, the Covent Garden art market and the Covent Garden shopping guide.

Jubilee Market questions