ᵃᵈ  Love Southsea is an established independent market scene in Portsmouth – one well worth popping by if you’re visiting the city!

Take a look at the brand built by Pompey born and bred, Lulu, who’s championing Southsea across Portsmouth and beyond.

Lately you might have seen the Love Southsea Markets on Palmerston Road, Gunwharf Quays, North Harbour and at The Victorian Christmas Festival at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Serving up the best retailers from Portsmouth’s creative scene these markets have become extremely popular and it’s not hard to see why.

It’s a carefully curated selection of fantastic independent makers you can find some great gifts and artisan goods while supporting the local economy, keeping the pound in Pompey!

I love these markets, how they started and why Lulu is so passionate about promoting the incredible, thriving, independent scene Portsmouth has to offer.

I caught up with her for a chat and found out about all things Love Southsea…

Behind Love Southsea

The powerhouse woman behind it all is Lulu Whitmore, director of Love Southsea. Her formidable blend of business acumen and PR and social media savvy have seen her create the brand 10 years ago and grow it into the thriving business it is today.

I love the reason behind the start of the brand too, her wider intention was obviously to give local traders and creators opportunities to sell their wares but also to provide more things for locals and tourists to do, attracting more people into Portsmouth.

Lulu said that she was fed up with Londoners taking a pop at Pompey people along with the doom and gloom people were facing in the economic recession that hit in 2008.

Two of her friends had to shut down their shops when the recession hit. Feeling frustrated at the injustice Lulu wanted to give them a platform so they could still make a living, and that’s when her market stall concept was born. We all need a friend like Lulu!

From humble beginnings in Old Portsmouth and a big move to Palmerston Road in 2013 the market has gone from strength to strength and can attract up to 13,000 visitors a day!

Community

Lulu is now a big part of the community and has joined the Destination Marketing Portsmouth team, which aims to bring more people into the city.

As a self-confessed ambassador of Portsmouth she believes that working and supporting each other can make this city even better for residents and visitors.

Through the Love Southsea brand she’s also helped organised so many local events, festivals and parties across the city.

Her community efforts and business efforts saw her win the Portsmouth business award for enterprise in 2018. Isn’t that amazing, getting recognised for your efforts – building a business and supporting a community is hard – nice one Lulu!

The business is going from strength to strength and you’ll find Lulu sharing her ‘What’s on guide to the city’ with a weekly radio slot on Express FM. If you’ve not tuned in, it’s really funny as Lulu brings her own brand of humour and fun to the show.

You might also recognise her as she co-hosts a weekly podcast called ‘She made me do it’. She’s got a real talent for seeking out other people’s success and loves sharing them with her network.

Products

Love Southsea has a seriously awesome selection of products and has created its own signature brand with the instantly recognisable swallows framing the business name.

Love Southsea kindly gifted me one of its signature jumpers and I’m low key obsessed with it. I went for the black one but there’s a beautiful white version too.

The tattoo influenced design screams Southsea and the sweater is great quality with great length in the body and arms, something I usually struggle to find.

This beautiful jumpers is going to be keeping me very cosy this winter and beyond.

There’s also lot of other gorgeous items that you can pick up at the market and on the online shop. I also like the jute bag with the same Love Southsea logo on it – it’s a great size for shopping and hasn’t left my side since I got it!

Love Southsea Market

I went to the market at Gunwharf Quays and at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s Victorian Christmas festival and can’t wait to check it out in its regular spot on Palmerston Road.

Lulu really believes in the importance of creativity and diversity on our high streets and it’s something I bang on about all the time. I love being able to actually see what I’m buying and support local creators. Who doesn’t like wandering round a market making awesome discoveries?