We have gone to many markets during our time here in Joburg. It seems like every free weekend we have is an excuse to explore a new market. Here are my thoughts about the markets I have gone to!
Rosebank craft market
A few weeks ago, most of us set out to go to the Rosebank market, and since there were more of us than could fit into an Uber van, we split up. Unfortunately, one car definitely had more directionally-challenged people. When the Uber driver dropped us off, he pointed in the general direction of the Rosebank market. As we walked up to it, we saw a sign that said “Rosebank Art and Craft Market.” Since none of us really knew what we were looking for, we figured this was it.
We explored the many stalls of the market, each with unique (and not so unique) key chains, magnets, and other trinkets. Little did we know we had not gone to the market we intended to, if we had just kept walking for about 15 seconds we would’ve found the Rosebank mall’s rooftop market, our intended target.
I certainly bought way too many things at this market. Everywhere I turned was another extremely convincing vendor who could easily persuade me to buy at least one of their trinkets. I will cherish the things I got here, although I probably could have done without a few things. When we finally escaped for lunch, we saw the group who went in the second Uber, and found out that they had gone to a completely different market, the Rosebank rooftop market …
Rosebank Rooftop market (actually)
After finding out that we had missed out on the main Rosebank market, we made a point to go back. I love this market. An entire section of the mall’s parking lot is converted into a market, filled with food, drinks, vintage clothes, jewelry, antiques, and even more. This market was pretty similar to the Rosebank craft market in that I spent too much money at both, but maybe that’s more of a reflection of me!
At the rooftop market, I was finally able to stock up on warm layers. I got a long-sleeve shirt (that will soon be Asia’s, thanks to a how-fast-can-you-put-on-jorts bet) and a great wool sweater. Asia and I also met some great vintage clothes resellers and found matching Adidas muscle shirts, naturally.
Four-Ways farmers market
Seli, Anika, Emma, Elon, Sofia, and I went to Four-ways farmers market after a late night out and it was amazing. The highlight of the market was definitely the live music – Pitch Perfect inspired acoustic mash-ups were just what I needed. My favorite was an acoustic rendition of In My Feelings by Drake.
The scenery at Four-ways definitely won. Anika and I tried our hardest to explore the fields but were stopped by a creek that was just too wide to cross.
The actual market was fun as well. It was either mainly food vendors, or maybe somehow we only saw the food vendors. There were so many different food options, including American carnival food, and enough options to accommodate the vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores. I also got possibly my favorite trinket so far, a grinder/plate which you can just rub garlic on to mince it.
Prison Break market
Prison Break market was probably the most boujee of the markets we have been too, reflected especially in the prices of their stuff. The items there were extremely nice, which were hand-woven wool and knit scarves, blankets, and pillowcases, some even from recycled materials. I got some great gifts here, a makeup bag for my little sister and a green scarf for my grandma (her favorite color).
Not to brag, but Anika and I were scouted for a modeling gig (we tried on sunglasses and the owner of the shop posted pictures of us on his instagram). The sunglasses I got were certainly pricey, but were almost exact replicas of a pair of sunglasses I got in Chinatown around 2 years ago which have since been lost. We all tried on several wool sweaters and Asia and I may or may not have briefly fought over who got to buy which sweater, a risk of shopping with someone with such similar style.
