Second Nature Online has been running for over twelve years. We are based in the small Scottish town of Dumfries and our premises are home to six staff and more products than we ever meant to stock!

We buy from our favourite suppliers in the UK but we also design and import our own ethical, eco-friendly home textiles. Our own products carry the registered Second Nature Online brand and we are also a licensed GoodWeave importer and retailer.

The business has its own website (you're on it!) but we also have shops on Amazon, Ebay and Etsy We receive around 2000 orders a month and we despatch to customers all over the world.  

These days, we look like a proper grown-up company, but it wasn’t always like that!  In fact, it all started - in 2008 - with the sale of a single £7.99 rug on eBay.  

From then - until now! Join us on a brief history of Second Nature Online.

Having tapped into so many lovely products, the Ebay shop was soon booming – but why stop there? Karen added to her markets by setting up an independent retail site and an Amazon UK store.  As a result, more customers began to browse and buy from the online shops.   

More sales meant more stock – and more stock needed more space!  A box of stock soon became a spare room of stock …. and then two spare rooms …. and then the shed …. and the utility room …..and the garage ….. and other people’s spare rooms.  

In 2011, Karen and her other half, Clayton, moved back to her home town of Dumfries and rented a 6 bedroom house with cellars.  It still wasn’t enough.  With pallets on the pavement, bedrooms full of stock and parcels in the hallway – something had to give.

Following the India trip, many products were ordered but importing that first container was a nerve-wracking experience!  Karen had already rented a mini warehouse, but she also found a new obsession in the form of Marine Tracker.   From Mumbai to Grangemouth – the first container journeys were observed on a daily basis. 

Then finally - the container doors opened on Second Nature Online own label products.  With 8000 rugs to unload, it was most fortuitous that those fine firefighters from Dumfries Red Watch were off duty and able to do the job! 

They've unloaded every container since then too! 

In 2018, the day to day business was still being largely out-sourced with everything else operating from the garage and the kitchen table (just like the old days!) - but it was time to get back to normal and to bring stock and operations back home again.

The hunt was on for new Second Nature premises!   

An old town centre church came onto the market in Dumfries. This was the Former Baptist Church which was built in the 1870's and which had never been sold in all that time. Having passed through 150 years of trustees, it came into the ownership of Second Nature Online in October 2018.

With its large open plan hall, it was perfect for the job – swinging from the chaos of container deliveries to the precision of special event days!  

Boom! With COVID starting to ease, the team had a full warehouse, fire in our bellies and we were ready to move on up. What could go wrong?

BREXIT!

Like most of Scotland, Karen voted to Remain - but alas, it was not to be. She had a feeling that leaving the EU would not be good for business, but hoped that everything would somehow sort itself out.

It didn't.

When Brexit took effect on 1st January 2021, we literally lost over half of our customers overnight. It was the beginning of some very hard times.

For a while, the surge in lockdown shopping helped to soften the blow but COVID shopping could not last forever. As sales began to fall, container prices also tripled and we began to worry.

Eventually, we turned our hand to wholesale supply and were delighted by the number of independent retailers who were interested in stocking our products. We became a Wayfair supplier too - and travelled to the big city to take part in the Scottish Trade Fair. More racking was installed and a JCB scissor lift was acquired to help us reach the heady heights we were aiming for. It became our most favourite thing!

There was just one casualty - our lovely old church became neglected and rarely used. Everything had been moved out to the warehouse and just a few empty shelves and chairs remained of what once was. This was a definite downside of the changes we had been forced to take and seeing the building so lonesome after 150 years meant we needed to do something to bring it back to life............. But what?..........

Well the first big event of the year was Clayton retiring from the fire service after 31 years of service. This co-incided with his big birthday which both he and Cosmo enjoyed. People were worried about how Clayton would cope with so much time on his hands given that he had been in the fire service since aged 18! They needn't have worried!......

First up was a bit of time sourcing new products and then on with what we do best - unloading lorries and delighting in new products.

Unfortunately - the pinch in sales returned. A combination of cost of living, global unrest, new EU restrictions, higher material costs, increased costs and times of sea freight all started to take effect. The winds of change were sweeping over us again.

Mild panic returned but Karen was fortunate in having plenty of training contracts which helped to keep everything going. Although she had been training and advising for many years, 2024 saw a real shift of her time into this area. Ecommerce, international trade, small business advice and a hard earned post grad certificate in Digital Marketing - by the end of the year she was a rare sight in Second Nature Online.

Just when we think we can't work any harder - we work harder!! Moving out of the unit was a monumental task which left everyone with dead arms and many bruises. We said goodbye to our beloved scissor lift and waved it off to a good home In Glasgow.

It was a bit sad but also a good feeling to be taking control of a business that was feeling very hard to control. Plus we found a £10 note during the clear out!

Next came the move back into the church and yet more dead arms and bruises. With the new floor and the opportunity to have a multi functional set up we were full of enthusiasm - most of the time.

We also moved our stock into rented containers just like the old days!! With that we rid ourselves of a tonne of overheads that made business feel more viable again although our beautifully organised warehouse with numbered shelves is much missed in the face of rooting through containers to find stuff!

We set up the main hall as a business hub where Karen could coach and train her clients and also a co-working, meetings, podcasting, photography and general networking space - after all - we all love a good yap at Second Nature Online.

And in the spirit of going back to our roots we also experimented with a pop up shop - just like we had over ten years ago. Trouble is we love it so much I am not sure how 'pop up' it will be! Could be there a loooooong time! And if you are wondering where it is? See those screens on the left hand side of the hall? Next to the training area? Well take a peep behind there and you will find....

⬅... THIS!!

If you are ever in Dumfries - why not pop in and see us! We are open from Mon - Thursday 9am - 5pm. It's only May but we have big dreams for 2026. We've learned that the secret to staying in business is to keep moving and keep smiling!