I’m so excited to be taking part in my third Super Seconds Saturday – now Super Seconds Festival! Organised by Sophie from Ink and Bear, it’s a great place to grab a bargain from 250 makers.
What is it?
Sophie created this festival in 2020 when she suddenly had a lot of seconds and no in-person markets to sell them at. The original Super Seconds Saturday was born as an event for her and other makers to sell collectively.
We’re now up to the 4th event, and while it’s grown, some things are still the same. Now officially taking place over two days (Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th), everyone will list their offers – whether it’s perfectly imperfect items, older stock, prototypes, or maybe even market specials – at a significant discount!
The full list of makers is available NOW on the Super Seconds Festival website. Just know you’ll be buying from each maker individually – whether that’s on their own website like me, or their Etsy or Shopify pages.
Sophie has really upped her game on the website this time around: there’s even a favourites section so you can keep track of all the makers you want to buy from. I’m really looking forward to using that option. My “random bits of paper” system from last year fell over when my husband tidied and they got put in the recycling.
Why Am I Taking Part?
I’m a maker and not a machine, and sometimes I make mistakes. The materials I use, like punctured bicycle inner tubes, aren’t designed to be repurposed into accessories, homeware, and jewellery. Each item has its own quirks and things don’t always go to plan.
I also like to try new products from time to time, and sometimes those early iterations are a bit rough. It’s a necessary part of the process, but I do feel bad seeing any material get thrown away.
I have an end of life process for anything that goes HORRIBLY wrong (it does happen!), but quite often there’s only something small that’s stopping me from feeling comfortable about selling it at full price.
And finally, Super Seconds Saturday Festival is also the best online event I’ve taken part in. It’s even better than some in-person markets I’ve done. Sophie does an amazing job of creating a sense of community between all the makers taking part. It’s such a wonderful bunch of people.
But generally, buying seconds is such an eco-friendly way of shopping – I’m taking part as a consumer as well as a business!
Why are Seconds Environmentally Friendly?
Honours the Makers’ Materials and Time
Part of the reason I work with reclaimed materials is that so much energy, effort, and time went into creating the inner tubes and toys I upcycle in the first place. Although it might be damaged and not usable for its intended purpose, that doesn’t mean it’s rubbish.
It’s the same with seconds. Makers aren’t machines and mistakes happen. Just because there might be a small blemish or skipped stitch, doesn’t mean the entire product deserves to go in the bin. If you look at it another way, those perfectly imperfect bits make those seconds even more unique and special!
I won’t sell things that I don’t think will hold up to normal use. And remember you’re always protected by your consumer rights, even with seconds.
So yes mistakes happen – but what about trying something completely new?
Supports Maker’s Potential and Creativity
While I’ve now had nearly three years of repurposing with inner tubes, it’s still a tricky material. Being curved in two directions means that, while I can plan ahead and maybe test shapes and ideas with paper or fabric, it’s never going to be an exact comparison. Things I haven’t even thought of will make their presences known and warp the idea I had in my head slightly out of shape.
There may also be times where the idea will go to plan, but during the ever-important testing phase, I realise that idea doesn’t hold up, or I could tweak or add new features that would make the product even better.
Knowing I have a place for these trials helps me be a bit more relaxed, which in turn helps me unlock my creativity.
Allows for Growth and Change
I’m also *FINGERS CROSSED* hopefully upgrading my sewing machine in the near future. It won’t be in time for this Super Seconds event, but it’ll mean two big things:
- I’ll have to rework how I construct my current range.
- It’ll open up a HUGE range possibilities for new products.
Again, both of those things would be a little more stressful if I didn’t have events like the Super Seconds Festival, where people are actively looking for those experimental one offs and teething issues.
And even better, you’ll get a discount!
What Will I Be Selling?
I’ll have a mix of things: seconds, prototypes, older stock, and even some upcycled display items I no longer use on my market stall! I’m debating having another market special, as I’d still love to introduce a personalisation service to my range, but I have to tweak how that worked from last time.
The best way to find out about my Super Seconds Festival offers is to sign up for my newsletter.
There I’ll be sending out early and more complete previews of all my offers, so you can get fully prepared ahead of the day.
I’ll also be giving subscribers early access to my listings ahead of the 10am start, as well as an exclusive offer on my non-seconds stock (…and maybe even exclusive access to certain seconds on the Saturday…).
So sign up if you’re interested, I’ll pop a cheeky sign up form below, too.
More Info
For even more information about Super Seconds Festival, check out the website, or follow the dedicated Instagram account! You can also check out the #SuperSecondsFestival hashtag on Instagram to see sneak peeks from all the makers involved.
I really can’t wait!