Second Song is Spared’s first ongoing collectible design series, made from waste generated through its own studio practice. The collection debuts at Material Matters, with proceeds from every piece sold supporting the work of Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Brighton-based circular design studio Spared will launch Second Song, its first ongoing collectible design series, at Material Matters during London Design Festival 2026. Each piece is made from waste generated through Spared’s own practice, with 10% of proceeds from sales supporting the conservation work of Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Founded in 2021 by Callie Tedder-Hares and Emma Lally, Spared works at the intersection of craft, material innovation and circular design, partnering with brands, architects and cultural institutions including Tate, Fortnum & Mason, Kia, Virgin Voyages and Aviva to transform waste into bespoke furniture, interiors and design objects.

By diverting waste from landfill and giving it a second life through design, Spared has reimagined everything from oyster shells and coffee grounds to masonry waste, plastics and timber by-products, embedding story, materiality and longevity into every piece.

Material Matters will mark the debut of its first widely available collection, and the start of an ongoing initiative that will continue to evolve beyond the festival. As waste streams emerge through the studio’s work, they will be given a new life as collectible pieces, with future releases building an evolving record of the remnants from the projects and experiments that shape Spared’s practice. The series responds to a question that sits at the heart of the studio’s work: what happens to the materials that remain, even within a circular design studio?

Callie Tedder-Hares, co-founder of Spared, said: “Second Song is about taking responsibility for the materials that remain within our own practice. By transforming this waste, we’re exploring how even the by-products of a circular process can become something valuable, expressive and lasting. What makes the project particularly exciting for us is that it isn’t a one-off collection. As the studio continues to undertake new projects, materials that emerge through prototyping, experimentation and bespoke client work, will become the starting point for future releases, allowing Second Song to be shaped by and evolve with our practice.”

The collection is formed of a family of sculptural birds, reduced to a simple, recognisable silhouette. Soft curves, rounded volumes and subtle changes in posture create four distinct forms, each with its own character, while a consistent design language allows the birds to come together in a unique, sculptural display. Each object is deliberately simple, designed to let the material take centre stage. Colour, texture, flecks, imperfections and the individual characteristics of each material give every piece its own identity. No two pieces will be alike, and each will be individually numbered, making each piece a one-of-a-kind collectible.

The display at Material Matters will explore these forms in two distinct scales, reflecting different expressions of the same idea. The larger forms have been created specifically for the fair and will be available for special commission. Alongside these, the smaller-scale objects introduce the ongoing collectible series, released in limited drops, with each release comprising individually numbered, one-of-a-kind pieces made from the materials Spared has generated at that point in time. Presented together, the two scales show how the same quiet, consistent form can operate both as a bespoke sculptural object and as a more accessible collectible expression of Spared’s material-led practice.

Beneath the simplicity of the forms sits the material story that defines Second Song. Every bespoke project, prototype and material trial leaves behind its own remnants, from colour tests and failed experiments to broken workshop materials and fragments of earlier ideas. Rather than treating these leftovers as an unavoidable by-product, Spared has transformed them into the raw material for this new body of work: birds cast using a resin-free, mineral binder, combined with natural pigments and waste materials including spent coffee grounds and shell; others made using the studio’s mineral-based eco-resin system, incorporating waste plastic buckets and project samples containing masonry, plastics, shell and coffee; and pieces cast from a 30% bio-based resin composite, combining workshop sawdust from furniture prototyping with waste packing foam.

The display also includes a number of more experimental pieces, made from entirely bio-based formulations, including seaweed-derived materials, and from Spared’s own waste 3D-printing PLA, offering an early look at material research that may inform future releases.

For Spared, the project is not simply about recycling materials but about recognising the value that remains within them. Each bird carries traces of a specific experiment, prototype or commission, preserving a fragment of the studio’s creative journey within a finished collectible object. In turning the remnants of making into objects intended to be kept, collected and lived with, Second Song connects material reuse with ideas of care, longevity and stewardship.

A partnership with Sussex Wildlife Trust

As a Sussex-founded studio, Spared has partnered with Sussex Wildlife Trust for the launch of Second Song, with 10% of proceeds from every piece sold supporting the Trust’s work to protect and create spaces for birds and other wildlife across the county. The collaboration brings together two organisations shaped by a shared commitment to environmental stewardship, with Spared’s practice grounded in transforming waste into design objects and extending the life of materials that might otherwise be discarded.

Sussex Wildlife Trust has protected the county’s landscapes and habitats since 1961, working across six distinct landscapes from the ancient woodlands of the High Weald to the chalk downland of the South Downs and the shingle and saltmarsh of the Sussex coast. Its Wild Sussex strategy sets out an ambition to see nature in Sussex in active recovery, with at least 30% of the county’s land and sea connected and protected for wildlife, and a goal to inspire one in four people in Sussex to take meaningful action for nature.

The Trust’s work spans habitat restoration, marine conservation, and education and engagement programmes that connect local communities with the wild places on their doorstep, all work that this partnership will help support, with a particular focus on the spaces birds and other wildlife depend on.

Caroline Pearce, Director of Fundraising and Communications at Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: “Our partnership with Spared celebrates the beauty that can be found in nature, but also highlights one of the threats facing its survival – waste.  It has been wonderful to work with Spared as they create these special Second Song birds, which will support our work to protect and create spaces for birds and other wildlife in Sussex. I hope this project will inspire us all to consider how we impact the world and imagine new ways to reduce waste.”

Second Song will launch at Material Matters during London Design Festival 2026 (15–17 September 2026).

The collection will be available from 14 September 2026 online via spared.eco