Discover the joy of restyling and upcycling with Little Gems Interiors
Join us in celebrating Second Hand September, exploring some of the small changes we can all make to help our planet.
Over the course of the month, we have a variety of events planned, encouraging everyone to do what they can to donate, reuse, re-wear and restyle rather than always buying brand new.
From a preloved clothing sale raising funds for charity, to upcycling demonstrations helping you transform your old furniture, there’s a lot going on at Assington Barn this month!
Why Second Hand September?
The idea for Second Hand September was dreamt up by Oxfam. According to the charity: “When a new pair of jeans is made, an estimated 16.2kg of CO2 is emitted – the equivalent of driving over 58 miles in a car.
“So, by recirculating our clothes – buying, wearing and donating second hand – we can help to reduce the demand for new clothes. And this could in turn help to reduce the damage to our planet.”
But for us it’s about more than just clothing – we can see so much potential to reuse and upcycle many items around the home. And not only is upcycling great for the planet, it saves you spending out on new items, too.
Donate your good quality clothes to our preloved sale!
As part of our Second Hand September activities we are holding a preloved sale on Friday 29 September in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
The sale has been timed to coincide with the Macmillan Coffee Morning which sees fundraising gatherings taking place across the country.
Everyone is invited to donate good quality women’s clothing to be sold at the preloved sale in return for a free hot drink voucher which can be redeemed next door at Assington Country Kitchen during the Macmillan Coffee Morning event.
So, have a rummage in your wardrobe and dig out all of those good quality items you never wear and donate them to our sale! Items can be dropped off at our Assington Barn shop between 10am and 4pm daily.
On the day of the preloved sale there will also be a pop-up shop and skincare demonstrations from Neal’s Yard Remedies.
Transform old into new with our upcycling workshops
At Little Gems Interiors we are already firmly committed to upcycling home furnishings, and our programme of workshops is designed to help others gain the skills they need to do the same.
Whether you are just starting out and need help with the basic techniques, or you are already a keen upcycler and want to develop your own personal style, we have a workshop for you.
Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint makes transforming old, tired furniture a real joy, as little prep is needed and it’s easy to achieve fantastic results. Plus you don’t need to just stop at painting tables and bookshelves as this versatile paint can be used to brighten up anything from fabric and floors to your old pair of DMs!
We stock the complete Annie Sloan Chalk Paint collection, alongside brushes, wax, stencils and more and our team are always happy to offer advice if you aren’t sure what you need to complete your project.
Join in the fun at our Wellbeing Weekend
The Wellbeing Weekend fun continues on Saturday 30 September with a Family Day including upcycling paint demonstrations and children’s mini crafts, while on Sunday 1 October it’s VIP Day with a new season launch and Grand Prize Draw.
To find out more about all of the events follow us on Facebook and Instagram.