Anything goes at the Ferocious Mingle Marcade

Damien Gormley- Cake & Elf Stall (Credit: Danielle Stephens)

The Ferocious Mingle Marcade has been a feature on Thomas Street for nearly a year and a half. The owner, Rainey J. Dillon, used to run various markets once a month. However, she decided that she wanted a more permanent and more frequent format for her market. This is where she coined the term “marcade” and set up her business on Thomas Street.

According to Ms Dillon, traders can set up stalls at a permanent location, cutting out the need to cart stuff around the place. They have the opportunity to start a micro business – something between a small business and a stall, for as little as €25 per day.

One of the most attractive things for the traders is that they are cushioned by other stalls that bring in their own customers and automatically start a clientele for the new business.

Thomas Street was a strategic location for the Ferocious Mingle Marcade to choose as its home.

Rainey explains that Thomas Street is an ancient market area. For this reason, Ms Dillon, believes that there is a better footfall of customers, who actually buy products.

From the outside, the building doesn’t look much different to any of the neighbouring businesses. It’s not until you walk in that you realise you’ve stumbled across something different. There isn’t a stand-out feature that everyone would notice first. Everywhere you look, you find a trinket or a painting that catches your attention. Ms Dillon said that, in reference to the décor, it’s “anything goes”. On top of her entrepreneurial skills, she’s also an artist. Most of the artwork that you see on the walls was done by the owner herself.

Unlike the majority of other retail businesses, music has a huge part to play for the atmosphere in the Ferocious Mingle Market. There is live music on the stage every Saturday and Sunday. Musicians can audition on a Thursday or Friday afternoon and if they are deemed suitable, they will be called back to play at the weekend.

For a relatively small space, the Ferocious Mingle Market manages to offer an array of different goods and services. As you walk in the door, you hit Hibiscus Wilde. This is the first 100% vegan food bar in Dublin, in comparison to other vegan/vegetarian restaurants. Laura McGlynn, who started up and runs the business, has used the marcade as a platform to set up her business. “It’s one of the only places that you can get a permanent food stall in Dublin.”

Eithne and Bernie recently merged their stalls to form Kitten and Doll. They specialise in alterations and haberdashery, which attracts a niche market. Sinéad Giblin runs the Crafty Fox, where she sells custom head pieces for special occasions. She finds it appealing that she can sell her hats for four days of the week, but also has three days to design and create more of them.

Damien and Kate run Cake and Elf at the end of the marcade. Their Indian-influenced stall sells many types of trinkets, from leather photo albums to homemade jewellery. The easy-going atmosphere of the marcade is what attracted the duo to set up there.

On top of these stalls, customers can sit with a coffee, while watching a silent film on the big screen and they can even get their fortune told by the fortune teller at the end of the marcade. The Ferocious Mingle Marcade is more of an “experience” than just a shopping trip and everyone can find an aspect that will appeal to them personally.