For the past 12 years I have spent Christmas in Düsseldorf – and each year I head to the Weihnachtsmarkt, the traditional Christmas market. For a month a little rural village arises on the streets of Düsseldorf. Spread across the Altstadt are lines of stalls selling traditional wooden toys, socks, crystals, and candles – the perfect solution for those last minute presents.

Yet the true heart of the market is the food and glühwein stalls, which create a meeting place in the public square. In a way it is a broader understanding of the idea of the market – a meeting place to talk, to trade and interact.

During one wet night in December 2012 I was rather delighted to see a Jack Vettriano painting printed on an umbrella…