Geek Mart a great success
- ann-evans
- Sep 29
- 3 min read
Back in August the first Geek Mart took place in the Belgrade Theatre foyer. Organised by Fantom Events and Rosie’s Retro Bazaar, the team behind the hit Book Extravaganza series – Geek Mart was free, friendly and fun, featuring exhibitors specialising in hand crafting sci fi, horror, pop culture and other geeky merchandise.
There was quite an invasion of Daleks around the Belgrade foyer and upstairs, and while Daleks might not be able to climb stairs – they certainly knew how to use the lift! Project Dalek Ltd brought us some of these arch enemies of Doctor Who. This organisation is for anyone interested in building a Dalek. Visit their website to find everything from plans and support to its Forum where you can link with other Dalek fans. They welcome all Dalek enthusiasts whether you want to build a scaled model of one, a full-sized Dalek or a virtual Dalek.
Upstairs, there was a real treat for all Doctor Who fans, as actress Katy Manning best known for playing Doctor Who’s companion Jo Grant, was meeting fans, posing for selfies with them and signing autographs. Katy originally worked with Jon Pertwee but over time she has played alongside five different doctors as well as being in The Sarah Jane Adventures and various other Doctor Who specials and spin offs. Katy has had an amazing career of stage, film, TV, radio, her own show, voice overs and more and her presence made the Geek Mart even more special.
Exhibitor stands filled the upstairs and downstairs areas of the Belgrade’s foyer, and it was fascinating to see all the weird and wonderful merchandise they were creating. Geek Station – or Spacedock had a large stand with some of their officers talking to visitors and no doubt drumming up more members to their organisation. Based in Birmingham they are an autonomous aligned chapter of Starfleet: The International Association of Star Trek Fan Clubs (aka SFI) and part of the 20th Fleet, or Region 20, of SFI. On duty were Captain David Zabiela and Fleet Captain Sven Harvey. David explained that positions – or ranks, are earned through doing events, raising money for charity, taking exams on how to run the organisation and the like. This group have raised money for a local charity, Dazzling Dreams and Age UK Birmingham.
A unique stand was the Fright Lights made by Clare's Funk Ware. Clare recycles VHS horror and sci-fi cassettes, then decorates them with figures and toys in the theme of the original video and turns them into lights. Two years ago she was delighted to win a Small Business Award from former Dragon’s Den investor Theo Paphitis. At the Geek Mart she was attracting lots of attention from the visitors.
There was some amazing art works by Kiel Frempton with intricately illustrated sci-fi novels along with actual weapons and model figures designed and created by him – plus a life-sized futuristic warrior. Kiel has a BA (Hons) in Concept Art and his skills and experience were very much in evidence through the work he had on display.
Moving on, upstairs were a range of hand-made wooden gadgets – Mike’s Automatia, inviting people to turn the handles and pull the levers to make them work. Also, an excellent display of heads, mostly wearable of all kinds of monsters. These were the work of Creature Artist James and His Monsters. Check out his website to discover all the other work he's doing.
With the Belgrade Theatre's food and refreshments available, there was lots of choices not to go hungry, and for something deliciously sweet, we were tempted by the cakes on Delicacies by Dee’s stand. She has always baked but took her baking and her business to new heights during Covid. With their spooky and anime related decorations, her cakes were selling like… well like hot cakes!
The Theatre foyer was packed with talented people, all passionate about their work. So well done Geek Mart for bringing this altogether so that so many people could see and enjoy.
Looking forward to the next event. Keep an eye on the website. www.rosiesretrobazaar.co.uk
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