It’s our Easter market in Gosport High Street THIS SATURDAY! We’re very excited to see it all come together. 50 independent traders popping up to create a wonderful day for the whole family. Expect great shopping opportunities, street food, bar, seating, live entertainment and classic cars!

There’s a dedicated kids area with crafts, glitter, hair braids, the base for BUNNYNAPPED (an interactive hunt for the Easter bunny hosted by the brilliant Enigmatic Theatre), and Pop-up Spray Studios with their amazing creative spray paint activity.

Anchored in Gosport have sponsored the spray paint activity so it’s available at the subsidised rate of £2.50 for A3 or £3.75 for A2.

Lets find out more from Pop-up Spray Studios!..

Hello! Please give us a brief introduction to your business and the products you offer.

Pop-up Spray Studios CIC is run by Mark and Rachael Kellett. Mark is a local artist and Fine Art Lecturer / Course Manager at HSDC College, and Rachael is the Finance Manager of a domiciliary care agency and Child Psychology student with the Open University. Together, we have combined our passions and skillsets to create Pop-up Spray Studios! A safe space that hosts spray painting workshops for all ages and abilities to enjoy. We encourage participants to embrace their creativity by allowing artistic freedom, whilst being on hand to offer safety guidance, advice, and support.

How long have you been going and how did the business come about?

We first had the vision for Pop-up Spray Studios in August 2023, after Mark was asked to attend Car Fest, a local charity-run festival, to paint a mural. The idea was thrown about that perhaps the festival goers could participate in the creation of the mural somehow. This is when we put our heads together and let our creative juices flow. We suggested to the event organiser that we could let participants spray paint onto A2 card, that way they can take their work home with them, and it doesn’t limit the number of participants that can have a go. The budget was small, but we were so passionate about that project and wanted to ensure we provided a safe and effective service, we decided to self-fund the majority of the project ourselves.

The event was a huge success and we thrived on seeing all the participants leaving with smiles on their faces. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, especially from participants with neurodivergence. This is where we decided to combine both of our passions, and make the dream come alive. After a lot of planning, Pop-up Spray Studios was born. Our first official event booked under Pop-up Spray Studios was with Nest and Anchor Markets at Cams Hall Estate.

What's your favourite thing about what you do?

Our favourite thing about running Pop-up Spray Studios is seeing all the happy, smiling faces, so proud of the artwork they have created. It might seem quite daunting or scary the first time you pick up a spray can, but the main thing for us is to encourage participants to embrace not being “good” at something, and instead just enjoy the process of creating something. To find the joy in creative freedom, without fear of getting it “right”. When you activate that part of your mind, and let go of that anxiety, it is very difficult to not be proud with your end result.

What's your least favourite thing?                                                                                        

Setting up and dismantling our equipment at the end of a long day has to be it. It’s a slow and exhausting process! We look forward to the day when we have a permanent space we can call our own, where we don’t need to set up and dismantle our equipment quite as often.

When you're working but not at events, what does a typical day look like?

A typical day usually consists of us working our day jobs, spending family time with our boys, Tommy (8) and Ace (7), and trying to keep on top of Pop-up Spray Studios enquiries and admin.

What's the soundtrack to your day? i.e. do you listen to music? Radio? Podcasts? 

Mark is your typical music lover and will always be listening to obscure and up and coming bands. Rachael is a true crime girl! A classic Psychology Student!

What do you like about trading at markets?

Trading at markets, you always reach a new calibre of people. Because we host regular spray-painting sessions at Pitt St Undercover Skatepark, we tend to get regulars or people who have found us through friends or social media, but with markets you always tend to reach a new audience who haven’t ever tried spray painting before. It is always very rewarding experience.

Do you have a favourite product?

For me personally, I love the geometric workshops we host – but I think that’s just because I love creating them! It’s a very mindful process. A great stress reliver for our busy lives!

Where do you get your inspiration?

We’re inspired every day! Its difficult as creative people to not feel constantly inspired by everything you come across in everyday life. Whether it’s by other artists, paintings, nature, politics, conversations… or by the random wrestling figure you’ve bought in a charity shop for 50p (MARK!).  I think the main thing is remembering to embrace creativity as a mindset, not a skill set. Inspiration then comes as more of a collection of images, ideas, and thought processes on a spectrum, as apposed to focusing on one end goal. It then becomes easier for the ideas grow on their own.

Finally, what do you enjoy getting up to when you're not working?

When we’re not working, we love just spending time together as a family. Being outdoors, traveling as much as we can, and just being general weirdos to be honest… We just love to laugh, be silly and have fun!

www.instagram.com/popupspraystudios