An Idea That Became a Reality: Overflow Market

Kim Norcross and Carla Thiessen went to a pop-up used clothing sale put on by a local organization not that long ago. The event was at High Street in Abbotsford, BC. While they browsed, they realized most of the people attending were a lot younger than them. Even though they picked up some nice items, the event was targeted at younger, early twenty-year-old group. They didn’t feel like they belonged.

Carla had been thinking about putting on a similar event like the one they went to for awhile. She suggested to Kim that they do a curated second-hand clothing market, but with a bigger age bracket of 20-40s. From their experience, it was hard to find used clothing for their age.

“It’s our age group though, that really cares about being eco-friendly, reusing and not being wasteful,” Kim says.

Sure, you can go through Value Village or any thrift store and find a couple things. However, putting on a market where the used clothes are hand-picked seemed like a much better option. The event also would be a fun night out with friends.

“Everybody likes to shop. Everybody likes great deals. We felt like it could work,” Kim says.

Overflow Market was born.

Both Kim and Carla have social media presences. Kim is a social media consultant and a professional photographer at Kim Norcross Photography. Carla is a blogger with her sister at Feather and Mane. Overflow felt like a natural way to extend that. They both care strongly about community, and work to be a part of the community in their city.

Kim puts all the clothes that she doesn’t need anymore in what she calls her overflow pile.

“We just thought, we have everything we need,” Kim says. “We can go out and buy whatever we want. And the fact that we have excess to give is a huge deal, so we wanted to use the things we have and the skills we have to love others and build community in our own town.”

Another thing that has been meaningful for Kim is connecting with the organizations they brought the excess clothing to (whatever they weren’t keeping for the sale). Everything they didn’t choose was given to Central Heights Women’s Centre, unless it was business attire, which they delivered to Dress for Success Vancouver. It’s an organization that collects business clothes for women who need help getting back into the workforce.

“Both those organizations are awesome,” Kim says. “When I dropped off the first four garbage bags of clothing at the Central Heights Women’s Centre they were so excited. It’s a really good space for women in our community to get the help they need.”

The entry fees will be donated to Wild Wonder. A non-profit organization that gives kids the opportunity to develop confidence and self-esteem in an outdoor environment.

All the proceeds from the clothing sales will be donated to SARA for Women. A non-profit society that provides safe refuge and community-based resources for women.

“The money that you are spending on clothing, that you are using again, is also going towards blessing someone else,” Kim says. “It is an all around feel good event. Giving back to the community, reusing and new clothes.”