Our second market: what the Orgull del Barri taught us that the first one couldn't.
There's a specific kind of nervousness you feel before your second market. You already know how to set up the stand, you know your feet are going to hurt, you've more or less got your pitch down. But precisely because you already know all that, you start noticing other things. And that, unexpectedly, changes everything.
On June 20th, we were at Orgull del Barri, the market organized by Som Eixample on Diputació Street in Barcelona. A neighborhood day, a community day, one of those that reminds you why brands like ours exist.
A different atmosphere than we expected
Anyone who was at the Queer Market in April knows what we mean when we say "explosion." So many people, so much energy, so much noise. It was our baptism, and it was incredible in its own way.
Orgull del Barri was something else entirely. More relaxed, more neighborhood-oriented, more family-oriented. The energy of Som Eixample has its own rhythm: a community that knows each other, supports each other, and comes to stroll and explore at a leisurely pace. And that, far from being less interesting, was more so in many ways.
The audience was different. Many women. Many people who perhaps weren't the profile we had in mind when we designed the first pieces, and yet they stopped, looked, asked questions, touched the fabric.
What you learn when you truly listen
That's what we take away most from this day: the value of listening to the person in front of you.
When someone picks up your product with curiosity and asks a question, they're not buying. They're telling you something. Something about what they expect, what's missing, what they'd love to find. At Orgull del Barri, we received feedback we wouldn't have gotten otherwise, simply because the profile of the person who approached us was different.
And that's exactly what a newly launched queer brand from Barcelona needs: diverse perspectives. Because inclusive clothing isn't a marketing label, it's a design decision made by listening to the most unexpected people.
The community beyond the counter
If there's one thing markets give us beyond sales, it's people. The other vendors.
At the Eixample market, we met people doing incredible things, with projects built with the same passion and attention to detail that we put into our pieces in Barcelona. Conversations that started out of courtesy led to ideas, contacts, and a "hey, we should do something together."
That's the invisible part of events, but it can be the most powerful. Community isn't just in the audience; it's also in the people who share your same challenge.
Every market adds up
The first was the explosion. The second was the quieter, deeper learning.
Every time we step out onto the streets with Sexy & Cutie— wearing our shorts made in Barcelona with locally sourced and recycled materials — we come back with something more. With a new idea, an unexpected connection, and a renewed desire to keep going.
Barcelona's sustainable market gives us that. And we give it our all every time we set up our stand.
If you want to be part of what's coming, you know where to find us.
sexyandcutie.com | Instagram: @sexy_n_cutie
