Black Phillip’s gothic market at Impossible bar in York

“A lot of people have been asking if I’m real,” said the character called Black Phillip, docking a white face mask, black bowler hat and dark suit as he stood in St Helen’s Square on Saturday afternoon (April 11). “I am very real. And some people are asking for pictures and the like.”

Phillip said he did not mind the attention from as it helped get people through the door of his market above the Impossible bar.

Inside were 23 traders selling gothic themed produce – from witchcraft items and taxidermy to décor and drawings.

Inside Black Phillip’s Impossible market on Saturday (April 11) (Image: Dylan Connell)

The market is “unlike any other”, Phillip said, “the smell’s strange, the look’s strange and it even sounds a little bit strange”.

“It’s all about celebrating local alternative culture and art,” he added, “finding those people who make hand-made wares that you can’t find anywhere else, with a certain dark, gothic grandeur, and giving them a platform to sell their wares.”

The market has been in York for around three years, previously held at the Artful Dodger in Micklegate and the York Medical Society in Stonegate.

Saturday was, however, the first time it had been staged at Impossible.

“It’s been very good,” Phillip said of the new venue. “The staff have been excellent – very thorough. I’ve very much enjoyed working with them all. I do hope it’s been a success on their part.”

Phillip said he is attracted to York as it is “where my vessel lives, and there’s not really anywhere doing this on a regular basis – true alternative art”.

Phil and Louise Potts, from Darkmoon Designs, at Black Phillip’s Impossible Market on Saturday (April 11) (Image: Dylan Connell)

Inside Black Phillip’s Impossible market on Saturday (April 11) (Image: Dylan Connell)

Phil and Louise Potts, from Middlesbrough-based Darkmoon Designs, were manning a stall at the market selling skulls, ghosts and other gothic décor.

It was their first time at the market in York. “We love it,” Phil said. “Everyone is great and it’s a lovely venue with a really good atmosphere.”

He said they regularly visit York and Whitby, which hosts the bi-annual Goth Weekend events, adding: “York and Whitby are our happy places.”

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Darkmoon Designs, Phil said, started as a hobby making 3D printed models before turning into a full business.

Phil said the company has now “found its niche” and started “concentrating on gothic décor – a bit of darkness”.

And it will “definitely” be back in York, he said.

Yulia Kachurova, from Aurorah Nero, at Black Phillip’s Impossible Market on Saturday (April 11) (Image: Dylan Connell)

‘Sassy frog’ by Yulia Kachurova, from Aurorah Nero, at the market on Saturday (April 11) (Image: Dylan Connell)

Meanwhile, Yulia Kachurova, from Aurorah Nero, was at the market selling gothic drawings.

Yulia, who draws on her iPad then has the work printed, said her drawings feature folklore, ghosts – and frogs, which she is particularly fond of.

Her work also uses humour, an example being “sassy frog” – a drawing of a frog sitting on a mushroom with freshly done hair and long painted fingernails.

“I like meeting people, our local alternative crowd – it’s nice chatting with everyone … It’s such a special event for York,” said Yulia, from Estonia originally and now living in York.