TRUE-LIFE
My famous friend helped me make thousands
Laura Parks, 29, Sunderland
Turning on the telly I sank back on to the sofa to watch an old episode of Planet Earth.
Finally some peace, I thought.
As Sir David Attenborough’s soothing voice flooded the living room I relaxed.
It was January 2023, and life was busy.
I worked full-time in online car sales.
Had a family too.
Engaged to Charlie, then 28, and mum to Arlo, 6 months.
A night in with Charlie, watching Sir David, was a treat.
Always had been.
As a kid I’d loved curling up with my mum to watch one of his nature shows on the telly.
Waxing lyrical about the planet.
All too soon the episode was over.
Padding up the stairs to bed, I flung open my wardrobe to find an outfit for tomorrow and groaned.
‘What’s up?’ Charlie called.
‘These unwanted clothes,’ I sighed. ‘I’ve been meaning to do something about them for ages.’
Typical, I’d not got around to it, and with Arlo getting bigger, the pile kept growing.
‘Just chuck them out,’ Charlie suggested.
I was horrified.
‘How can you say that after we just watched David Attenborough?’
Thanks to him I knew we had to reduce, reuse and recycle, not send things to landfill.
Charlie laughed while I turned back to the heap of clothes.
They weren’t in bad nick.
I even snapped David in an old bra and sequin dress
It was just my style had changed since having Arlo.
Maybe I could sell them? We could use the money.
Babies were expensive! And Charlie and I hoped to get married the following year. Inspired, I went online.
I’d used Vinted, a site where you could flog secondhand clothes and more, before.
But only been a buyer. Now I wanted to sell.
But how to stand out from the other sellers? I wondered, scrolling through endless jumpers, tops and jeans.
Then my eyes fell on a seller using a dummy to display her clothes.
Her items leapt out from the rest.
I could do the same, I thought.
But instead of a dummy, I could use a cardboard cut-out of a celebrity. The following morning
I knew just who I’d use. The king of sustainability– Sir David Attenborough.
Inspired, I logged on to Amazon and in minutes had found a life-size cut-out of Sir David, plus a mini one all for £35.
You really could buy anything online!
The Davids arrived the next day.
Immediately, I took pictures of big David modelling my old tops and skirts.
Even snapped him in an old bra and sequin dress.
‘Doesn’t he look gorgeous?’ I joked to Charlie.
Mini David was perfect for modell
