About Second Snuggle

Hi, I’m Ruby

I’m Ruby, founder of Second Snuggle, mum of three and the person behind most of what happens here, from checking clothes and uploading products to answering messages, packing orders and running the shop.

Second Snuggle started in April 2021. Like lots of parents, I had seen how quickly children grow through their clothes and how much perfectly good clothing gets left behind simply because it no longer fits. With my first child I bought plenty new, but by the time my second came along we were being given bags of clothes from friends, using them and then passing them on again afterwards.

I loved seeing the same clothes go through several children. It saved us money, helped somebody else clear out what they no longer needed and meant good clothing was actually being worn rather than sitting in a cupboard.

When I was pregnant with my third child during lockdown, I finally had the time to turn that idea into something more, and Second Snuggle began.

Starting Second Snuggle Online

Second Snuggle started completely online, and I learnt most of it as I went along. I had to work out how to build a website, photograph clothes, organise stock, write listings and somehow fit packing orders around three children.

The children have really grown up alongside the business. They’ve been involved in post office trips, parcels, stock everywhere and all the other slightly chaotic parts of running a small business from home.

One thing that has always mattered to me is condition. Every preloved item is checked before it is listed and I try to make sure photographs and descriptions are clear about any signs of wear. My general rule has always been that I should be happy to put the item on one of my own children.

Today, Second Snuggle sells quality preloved baby and children’s clothing alongside selected new and ex-stock pieces from brands including Next, Boden, Frugi, JoJo Maman Bébé, M&S, Joules and many more.

Becoming Part of the Malmesbury Community

Although Second Snuggle began online, our local community in Malmesbury has become a big part of the business too.

In January 2023, I helped set up the Malmesbury Community Wardrobe. The idea was simple: people could donate clothing they no longer needed and anybody who needed clothing could take it for free. The Community Wardrobe is now run by HEALS of Malmesbury from the Riverside Community Centre and continues to support local families.

That side of things has always mattered to me. Not every good piece of clothing needs to be sold. Sometimes the best place for it is simply with somebody who needs it.

We also donate wearable clothing that isn’t suitable for Second Snuggle to charity, including organisations supporting families affected by domestic violence in the Chippenham area.

Opening Our First Shop

After running Second Snuggle online for three years, we opened our first physical Second Snuggle shop in Market Cross, Malmesbury in April 2024.

It was a huge step. Going from running everything online to having a space where people could actually walk in, browse the rails and see Second Snuggle properly felt very different.

But small business doesn’t always go exactly to plan. By 2025 the physical Second Snuggle shop had become very quiet and I was seriously considering closing it.

Then something completely unexpected happened next door.

Taking Over Toy Expert and Creating The Little Loft

In June 2025, I took over Toy Expert, the toy shop next door to Second Snuggle, including the business and its stock.

Rather than trying to keep two separate shops running, we brought everything together. Toy Expert was later renamed The Little Loft, which is now the name of our physical shop in Market Cross.

Second Snuggle continues as its own online business, while Second Snuggle clothing is stocked inside The Little Loft alongside toys and other children’s products.

It turned what could easily have been the end of our physical shop into a completely new part of the business.

The clothing available at The Little Loft is different from the stock on the Second Snuggle website, so if you visit us in Malmesbury there is often something completely different to find.

Why I Still Buy Preloved

After three children and more than five years of Second Snuggle, I still genuinely love buying preloved.

Children grow so quickly. Sometimes a jumper, dress, coat or sleepsuit has only been worn a handful of times before it no longer fits, and it seems silly to treat that clothing as though it has reached the end of its life.

I buy a lot of my own children’s clothes second hand too. I particularly like finding good brands that I know wash well and can be worn, passed down where possible and sold on again afterwards.

For me, preloved isn’t about trying to shop perfectly. There are things I buy new and times when I simply can’t find what we need second hand.

Second Snuggle is about making preloved an easy, normal option when it works for your family.

What About Ex-Stock?

Alongside preloved clothing, we also sell selected new ex-stock pieces.

Ex-stock is new and unworn. It can include surplus stock, discontinued lines or previous-season clothing that already exists but hasn’t sold through its original retail route.

I think it’s important to be honest about this. Overproduction is a problem and selling excess stock doesn’t solve the reason too much was produced in the first place.

At the same time, once those clothes already exist, I would rather see them worn and used than left sitting unused or potentially going to waste.

That’s why we keep ex-stock clearly separate from preloved on Second Snuggle and make the condition of each item clear.

Press, Awards and Recognition

It still feels quite strange seeing something I started at home in 2021 appear in newspapers, magazines, on the radio and in awards.

Second Snuggle has reached the finals of the Muddy Stilettos Wiltshire Awards several times, including 2023, 2025 and 2026.

In 2025, Second Snuggle received two LUXlife Style & Apparel Awards: Best Pre-Owned Children’s Clothing Company 2025 – South West England and the Sustainability Excellence Award 2025.

In 2026, I was featured by BBC News sharing practical ways families can reduce the cost of children’s clothing, and I’ve also spoken about Second Snuggle on BBC Radio Wiltshire and Cotswolds Radio.

In November 2024, The Guardian included my tips in its guide to saving money on children’s clothes, including buying second hand, shopping ahead and making clothes work harder.

Second Snuggle has also supplied clothing for an Observer fashion feature about why children’s clothes don’t have to be brand new.

In December 2023, Second Snuggle was selected as a Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday, or #SBS, winner. Earlier that year I was selected for the f:Entrepreneur Female Founders List, recognising women running businesses across the UK.

Second Snuggle has also appeared in The Sun, the Daily Mail, the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard and Bath & Wiltshire Parent. Muddy Stilettos featured us in its Second Hand September guide in September 2022, and Meta included Second Snuggle in a 2022 report looking at the role small businesses can play in climate action.

For something that started with me wondering how to give good children’s clothes another life, it has been lovely to see Second Snuggle recognised in so many different places.

Still a Small Business

Despite everything that has happened since 2021, Second Snuggle is still a small independent business.

I’m still involved in checking clothes, choosing stock, uploading products, answering messages, packing orders and running the shop. I’m also still a mum of three trying to remember whose coat suddenly doesn’t fit and who needs new wellies.

That real family experience shapes how I run Second Snuggle.

I know parents want good value, but I also know they want something to arrive looking like the photographs. They want to know about marks before they buy and they want to feel confident that what they’ve ordered is worth the money.

That is why condition, honest descriptions and customer service matter so much to me.

Five Years and Counting

Second Snuggle has changed enormously since April 2021.

We’ve gone from an online business run around family life, to opening our own shop, nearly closing that shop, taking over Toy Expert next door and eventually bringing everything together at The Little Loft.

There have been lots of changes along the way, but the original idea behind Second Snuggle hasn’t really changed.

Children grow. Their clothes often don’t wear out before they are outgrown. If something is still good enough for another child to enjoy, I want to help it get there.

Shop Online or Visit Us in Malmesbury

You can shop Second Snuggle online, with delivery across the UK including Northern Ireland and supported Crown Dependencies such as Jersey.

You can also visit us at The Little Loft in Market Cross, Malmesbury, where you’ll find a separate selection of Second Snuggle clothing alongside toys and other children’s products.

Whether you’ve been shopping with us since the early days, found us through Google or social media, read about us in the press or simply walked through the door in Malmesbury, thank you.

A small business only gets to reach five years because people choose to shop with it, recommend it, leave reviews and come back. Every order really does matter.