Gina Bunch, owner and founder of Sassy Seconds in Texarkana spoke to TxkToday for the first time about the true reason she built Sassy Seconds for the Texarkana community over ten years ago. Her story outlines how bullying in her daughter created a foundation of hope for others in the local community in need of name brand items, with a low price to dress themselves and their children.
“I have thought about this a lot over the last few days, about whether or not I wanted to open up about how this store came to be. No one really knows why I did this except for my daughter, not even my close family knows. When my daughter was 11, she experienced cruel and heartbreaking bullying in one of our local schools for the way she dressed. We had three children at the time, and we couldn’t always afford to buy our children the nicest name brand clothing. Other children took notice of my childrens’ attire and began to bully our daughter. She would come home daily with tears in her eyes, and would constantly beg for me to home-school her, so she didn’t have to continue to experience the pain of bullying. I decided enough was enough, and removed her from the district and placed her in a home-schooling program. However, in order for us to afford the homeschool program, I had to find a job of my own. With a leap of faith, and with the incredible support from Mr. King, who ran the McKnight center where our first store was located, I was able to open up a 1,000 square foot business selling and taking in consigned clothing and donated items from our community members,” said Bunch.
Sassy Seconds is now in a larger location, located near Hobby Lobby on Mall Drive, with over 3,000 square feet filled with brand named clothing ranging from Louis Vuitton, Nike, Adidas, Vans, Gucci and more. While the store is filled with brand name clothing and accessories, the prices reflect perfectly the affordability of each item. “I know how hard it is to find clothing for my children that is brand name, that is cute and makes my children feel good about themselves. I didn’t want to open a store that was selling expensive clothing. I wanted to ensure that the clothing I sell makes our customers feel good about how they are dressing themselves, or their children. But I also wanted to make sure that when my customers come in they would not spend $50 for one piece of clothing. Instead, they can buy 5-10 brand named clothing items for the price of what it would normally cost to get one. The best part about my job is knowing that my customers are leaving with pride and with comfort in mind knowing they are dressing their families in the nicest clothing, while not breaking their bank,” said Bunch.
The community support has been nothing short of a blessing for Sassy Seconds, with daily swarms of community donations and consignments coming in hourly to the store. “I wasn’t sure the store would succeed. Honestly, I didn’t know much about name brand clothing. I never really cared about the brands that we were wearing because we were doing what we needed to do just to keep them clothed. It took awhile, but with the help of friends, community members and a lot of research on my part, I was able to really learn about the clothing brands, and the items that were being donated,” said Bunch. When Sassy Seconds first opened Gina relied solely on community support for donations and consignments, and she wasn’t sure how the business was going to make it, but with God and luck her store hasn’t stopped bringing in the business.
“People started swarming us with consignments when we first opened. The store literally evolved from the first day we opened our doors. I truly believe it was a God thing. Through the years my daughter and I have helped kids feel good about themselves by dressing in cute, trendy clothing. We have helped children and adults feel good about themselves, but we made sure they weren’t going broke to do it. Anyone, at any age, can be bullied for their appearance. We strive to ensure daily that everyone who comes in to visit our store leaves feeling proud and confident. Through our mission we have been able to help thousands of customers over the years, and we have continued to outgrow each space we have occupied, thanks to the community’s continued support of this business,” said Bunch.
Sassy Seconds has become well known in the area for its large variety of clothing, ranging from young boys and girls, to men and womens’ clothing, shoes and accessories. “My daughter grew up in this store. From being able to walk confidently down the sidewalk to her home-school classes, to now owning her own business building furniture, she made it. She was why we started this business. But we continue to operate to help everyone in our community feel good about themselves. I am blessed to be able to continue to do what we do every day. If not for the community’s support we wouldn’t be here today,” said Bunch.
Sassy Seconds is located at 3711 Mall Drive in Texarkana, Texas. They are open Tuesday- Thursday 11am-5pm, and Friday& Saturday from 11am-6pm. Sassy Seconds also runs their own Instagram in which they post items daily, where customers can write SOLD on any image and send their information to the store to receive shipping or pick-up instructions of items. If you are interested in donating items to receive money or store credit, Sassy Seconds, generally accepts and purchases more clothing items in comparison to other options in the Texarkana area. For more information about the store you can call 903-293-9567.
