Second Opp Shop, a second hand apparel and clothing startup business, hosted a groovy night market called Thrifting for Daisies at the Courtyard Cafe on Wednesday evening for all those seeking the perfect yet personal outfit for Rocking The Daisies.
“I think it differs from person to person because everyone has their own unique style and flavour that they use to exhibit what they think is the best version of themselves in terms of clothing,” says Second Opp Shop co-founder Jo-anne Cloete (22).
Sophia Le Roux (26), stall operator and jewelry designer, holds up a mirror so that a customer can take a look at herself in a “ponchoodie”. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
Second opp shop, a vintage fashion store, consists of Janie de Vries (21), Ronell Robertson (21), Leah Setai (21) and Jo-Anne Cloete (22). The four Stellenbosch students, all sharing a love for “out of the ordinary” clothing, decided to start the brand in order to make some extra pocket money.
The team from Left to right, Jo-Anne Cloete (22), Leah Setai (21), Ronell Robertson (21) and Janie de Vries (21). PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
“We all have a similar style: retro and vintage, and all four of us shop that way. We needed cash and this one market was posted on our WhatsApp group. It was R50 for a stall and I said let’s all empty out our closets, maybe spend R1000 on stock, and yeah… It worked out really well,” says Robertson.
Rocking the Daisies is coming up next weekend and so the ladies thought it was a formality, being a secondhand store, to set up this market and please the masses.
“We all have experience with going to Daisies and we’ve noticed that a lot of people have their set style and then they have their festival style. Normally it’s secondhand clothing. I don’t know if its because you might lose something or its something expensive.
“Someone will say, ‘that’s so cool! Where did you get it? I thrifted it’. It’s the whole thing around it. You are creating stories. We knew Daisies was coming up and we thought let’s have a market for it because we know people are going to search for things that they know they can wear there,” says de Vries.
Courtyard Cafe’s general manager, Duan Fitzell (27), believes this venue is thriving on night markets and was quite happy with Wednesday’s turn out.
“That’s the whole vibe here. An acoustic atmosphere, get out there and make people feel comfortable by sitting down here with a little chow, nice pub grub kind of stuff and beautiful craft beers on tap.”
Fitzell (center), says this was the Courtyard Cafe’s second-ever night market. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
The venue did exactly that by creating a very relaxed atmosphere, which is enjoyable and reminiscent of the stalls at Rocking the Daisies.
“Courtyard is an awesome place to hangout, it’s a vibe everytime, the live music is great and kind of just the market vibe. Everyone is chatty, there’s a lot of people here and everyone is willing to meet new people,” says Ruan Combrinck (23), SU Bcom Financial Management student who was attending the event.
Customers could enjoy some live music throughout the night. Pictured here, Slowboat entertains the crowd. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
On the point of selling clothes and jewelry for the music festival, Andrea Van Tonder, a Clinical Technology student, believes the market did just that.
“There are amazing stalls here with really cool stuff, some super cool ponchos. I know people that go to Daisies like this stuff and will look really cool there. It’s really part of the vibe.”
Le Roux assists a customer trying on one of her rings for size. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
The night market had many different stalls in attendance ranging from clothing and jewelry to various types of food and beverages. The Second Opp Shop ladies hope that one day they will be able to sell their items online, but they still enjoy the market interaction and “hands on” feeling.
“Our plan for the future is to hopefully just go online. Markets are fun and we enjoy the people… We have made friends through the shop but we will see,” says Robertson.
The team from the Taco Kombi was there in their unmissable green Volkswagen kombi and customers were able to grab some of their tasty Mexican-style food. PHOTO: Wilhelm Schumann
Hit play on the video below to take a walk through the market yourself. Be sure not to miss the next one!
– Jeremy Ryall and Wilhelm Schumann