The Essex food and gift show is an annual Christmas market held in Brentwood where different stalls are set up across the venue. This year it was held on the 5th and 6th of November. The stalls range from jewelry such as necklaces and watches to custom baubles and different Christmas decorations; there are also various bakery and food stalls across the center. 

 

Gemma Woolley, 37, was one of the entrepreneurs who exhibited at the event. Gemma’s brand, accent by GW creates nature-inspired fluid artwork on canvases, hand-made fluid art coasters & trays.

 

Gemma: “ In covid, I wanted to do something therapeutic. I  work with children and wanted them to have an opportunity to do something creative where it wasn’t about success or failure…- Fluid art is about movement and emotion rather than making it look real.” 

 

Alan Boutel, 69, was also an entrepreneur exhibiting at the event. Alan’s brand, Alan Boutel Photography,  photographs the beauty of nature, the natural world, and the animals within it. 

 

What inspired him to get into photography?

 

Alan: “A love of nature. I‘ve been a nature fan since I  was a young boy. When I  got a bit older I  decided I‘d try to record the things I‘ve seen. I’ve been photographing wildlife for 40 years and started selling 10 years ago.”

 

Robert Anthony, 52, runs a chocolate business named TEMPERD. Originally he had wanted to open a restaurant, but due to it requiring long hours he instead chose chocolate as it was also a big industry to which they feel they could contribute.

 

Robert: “We’re trying to do our bit to help. It’s a good product to promote sustainability and ethically produce our chocolate. Initially, the hardest part was deciding on the brand and deciding on the flavors to start with. Tempering the chocolate is the process involving raising and lowering the heat of chocolate, it makes it shiny and it makes it snap… Temperd is just a play on those words.”