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The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Why The Barras reminds me of America and days gone by
Fear not. I'm at Randall's Antiques and Vintage Centre, deep in the heart of The Barras - the final stop in my wander through one of Glasgow's most unique institutions. As the crowds at TRNSMT pulsate to the sound of Biffy Clyro and Fontaines DC across the street, my girlfriend and I make our way through a somewhat empty Barras. It's not surprising. The temperature is pushing 30 degrees, a grim reality which is widely commented on at each stall we stop in. Lunch is served. (Image: Emily Page) I'm here to search for bargains, but also to try some of the unique food offerings on display. It doesn't take long to find some grub, of course, as we stop at Fellali Cafe. It's not really a cafe, to be fair, just a table behind which a lovely Iraqi woman named Wanda sells falafel, hummus, and potato patties, known as aruk, alongside handcrafted jewellery. 'I've been here for around five months,' she tells me. 'I began selling my jewellery, and then I thought I should sell some food as well. It's all vegan and very healthy.' Indeed, for £7; we walk away with a plastic takeaway container filled to the brim with falafel, fresh hummus, aruk patties, a special chili sauce, and crispy strips of samoon, an Iraqi seeded bread. Perhaps it was the heat, but I couldn't have asked for a better lunch, sitting on two chairs opposite a stall selling rows of Stretch Armstrong figurines. In C Section, where some of the largest stalls are located, including 'Sustainable Fashion Row', we stop at the well-known Cowpeople stall, branded as the UK's largest purveyor of vintage cowboy apparel. The shop is bustling, no doubt a result of the terrific social media presence cultivated by shop owner Kaitlyn De Biasse, as well as a recent Irn-Bru advertising campaign. De Biasse, a New Jersey native (like me) has seen her business explode in recent years, from a one-day spot purchased for £15 to selling cowboy boots and bolo ties to customers across the UK and mainland Europe. And of course, being from America, I have to take a photo of a cardboard cutout of our first lady - country music legend Dolly Parton. Feeling at home at Cowpeople. (Image: Emily Page) In a strange way, The Barras reminds me of home. As a teenager, I'd go to the Italian Market in South Philadelphia nearly every Sunday afternoon. Those days were some of the best, as we searched for cannoli and cheesesteaks among the many market stalls. Similar to The Barras, you could find just about anything there, from hot food to clothes and bric a brac. And of course, the people running the stalls mirror one another, despite their geographic distance. In Glasgow and in Philly, blue collar folk and recent immigrants are hard at work, clambering up the ladder of opportunity. Before long, it's time for a snack. Over in D Section, we stop at Cream Comes True, a brightly coloured stall selling Hong Kong-style bubble waffles. We have a bit of a wait, so after being handed a ticket by the lovely waffle maker behind the counter (who urges us to visit the Red Bull truck for a free beverage) we make our way around the surrounding market stalls. We walk past the well-regarded Pizza Cult and a shop selling different types of macaroni cheese, as well as a host of wee places hawking all sorts of interesting items. Ten minutes later, we're back for a slice of the action. Now, I love a thick and crispy waffle, but I have to say I was somewhat confused by the 'traditional Hong Kong' offering, which consists of a waffle folded in half and spread with butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Well, it blew me away, and at £5, not a bad price either. Hong Kong inspired Cream Comes True sells a range of waffles. (Image: Emily Page) Later, we visit the Fresh Pressed Terps stand in B Section, along a bustling thoroughfare shimmering in the midsummer heat. Orange juice for a fiver, pineapple and watermelon juice for £6, fresh squeezed pomegranate for ten quid. All are served in glass bottles, which you can return for a 50 pence rebate. 'Busy today?' we ask. 'Surprisingly not,' says the man behind the counter, as his compatriot holds a bottle under a silver spigot dripping with orange juice. 'The heat seems to be keeping people at home,' he adds. Indeed, it is hot, hot enough that stallholders are passing around ice lollies held in a chest freezer. 'You have to keep cool,' one woman tells another. Amidst the shiny offerings and the music blaring from the Red Bull truck parked near the exit, I see another side of The Barras. Piles of mismatched clothing, dusty knick-knacks, rows of DVDs, old bicycles lined up haphazardly; these are perhaps a more honest representation of the market's history. Stalls boast a wide range of goods. (Image: Emily Page) It's been years since the last police raid on The Barras, which once occurred with regularity, and I'm not one to judge the provenance of various items. I turn to mention this to my girlfriend, and immediately am told to hold my tongue and avoid noting these interesting circumstances out loud. Alas. We continue our trek through rows of antiques, pausing to peer into mirrors or examine the cost of various paintings (most unfortunately out of my price range). Read more: I see a plasticine statue of Jesus, bearing a sign which reads: "Sorry. I (s)ain't for sale" and as a devout fan, I have to take a picture. It is soon 2pm, closing time, and as we walk towards the car, the sun beating down on my black t-shirt, I reflect on days gone by. It is easy to glamorise The Barras, as I did with the Italian Market of my youth. It is quirky, fun, and certainly odd. But to do so risks failing to understand the deep cultural connection the market has to the working people of the East End, and indeed the rest of the city. Narratives about gentrification have their place, but The Barras should be appreciated for what it is. We should embrace this cultural gem as a profoundly unique and vibrant celebration of Glasgow, the new, the old, and everything in between.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Behind the rise of Cowpeople at Glasgow's Barras Market
The Herald is profiling the best of The Barras Market in Glasgow's East End for our new series, 'The Barras Reborn.' Here is our conversation with the woman behind the American and queer-owned cowboy shop taking The Barras by storm. De Biasse, who is from Morris County, New Jersey, moved to Glasgow in 2016, at a time when the United States 'was undergoing a big political shift,' in her words. De Biasse says it took some time to find her place in Scotland. 'I didn't feel like I took all my life with me,' she says. 'There was a gap after Covid and I was remote working. It was time to make a big change.' De Biasse moved to Glasgow in 2016, and began collecting boots soon after. (Image: Gordon Terris) As a way to cope with her new environment, De Biasse began collecting cowboy apparel with religious fervour. 'I began to collect cowboy stuff because I missed home. I met so many amazing people, and my collection got larger and larger. 'I remember thinking that I wasn't wearing all of it, so I should try and sell them or give them away,' she recalls. 'So I rented a table at The Barras. It was supposed to just be for a weekend, but the response was immediate. I sold out of everything I had by the end of the first day. 'At first, I thought the novelty wouldn't be sustainable, but it just kept going. We have a team of six now and are launching a new website to allow us to be able to ship apparel across the UK and EU. 'It's been a really fast and exciting period of growth. The Barras is quite an interesting place to run a business. It's been a trial by fire,' she jokes. Cowpeople has taken off on social media, boasting 14.4k followers on Instagram and partnering with beloved soft drink Irn-Bru in a recent ad campaign. For De Biasse, who identifies as a member of the queer community, the business is about reclaiming a cultural phenomenon. 'That's the whole point,' she says when I ask her if she hopes her business can counteract the negative global perception generated by Americans in recent years. 'As a queer person, this is a reclamation project. Western wear is really interesting because it is worn by both ultra conservatives and liberal and queer people. 'In the past, I found it difficult to find my footing as a queer person. I went to Pride, but I don't really enjoy parades. Even at other queer-owned businesses, I always felt like a bit of an imposter.' De Biasse's team are all Americans, or 'honorary' Americans. (Image: Gordon Terris) De Biasse tells me that Cowpeople is intended to bring people together, regardless of their beliefs or identities. 'We work really hard to be generally inclusive and intersectional. All of our staff are members of the queer community. You'll see trans youth shopping alongside straight old men from the Opry. 'It's good because we are sometimes asked questions about our political leanings and about things like pronouns. It's great to have really meaningful conversations with our audience. Far too often with algorithms, we get siloed on social media.' The recent Irn-Bru campaign, which De Biasse concedes was a 'big deal', helped to solidify their growing customer base. In May, Irn-Bru posted on Instagram: 'This town IS big enough for the both of us. IRN-BRU have teamed up with the iconic Cowpeople to bring you something totally BRU-nique. 'Look out for limited edition BROOTIN' TOOTIN' IRN-BRU bandanas available ONLY at Cow People in Glasgow's Barras Market, while stocks last! 'Saddle up - it's time to quickdraw a can and head to the Wild West!' De Biasse has partnered with Irn-Bru in recent months. (Image: Gordon Terris) Cowpeople's success is helped by its domination of the vintage cowboy apparel market. 'We're the only western wear store in Scotland, so people come from all over Europe to visit,' De Biasse says. 'We get tourists from all over the place. Last week, a family from Norway visited and a girl from Spain flew in. People from Berlin come all the time.' Asked what the future holds for Cowpeople, De Biasse says she would like to expand further, and eventually, open a location in the United States. Read more: 'We are really excited about launching our website next week. We've received so many DMs asking if we can ship items, and now we will be able to. 'It seems that every month and every year, the business levels up. So we are open to a different way of doing things and new possibilities. 'One day there will be multiple locations, and one in America, which feels full circle in a way. We want to bring that queer job back to a place that really needs it. 'One of my friends told me: ' You need to party to be able to protest,' and I think the road is open now. I'm ready to get involved.'
