A few weeks ago, we did something that felt like a landmark moment. We were on BBC Radio Essex talking about Used Creative, a business we launched just one year ago, and a problem we’ve both been quietly wrestling with at various times in our careers.
For anyone new to USED Creative, we’re Jo and Tin. We met while working at Sky on experiences for major productions, including Game of Thrones. Between us, we’ve seen just how much talent, care, and craft goes into creative production. We’ve also seen what happens when the job’s done. Perfectly made props, sets, furniture, and installations either sent straight to landfill or locked away in storage, sometimes for years, waiting for a moment that never comes…
That’s the problem we were invited to discuss on the show.
In film, TV, theatre, retail, fashion, and events, productions spend serious budgets on high-quality displays and installations designed by brilliant art directors. These ‘moments’ are made to look flawless on camera or in real life. Then the project wraps, the next one starts, storage costs kick in, … and suddenly the easiest option is to get rid of it all. We’ve seen £10,000 rugs thrown away. Hundreds of brand-new sofas sent to landfill. Shipping containers packed with props that never see daylight again.
Used Creative exists because we couldn’t accept that as normal.
We launched the platform in early January 2025, after months of conversations with industry friends and contacts. We asked the same question. ‘Would you find an online marketplace, - like Vinted, but designed specifically for the creative industries, useful?’ The answer, again and again, was ‘YES!’ - And more than that, ‘why hasn’t this been done already?’
At its core, Used Creative is a circular marketplace designed to break the barriers to creative set and prop resale and reuse. We connect production companies, studios, and storage facilities with people who want access to beautifully made creative assets at unbeatable prices. Props, sets, furniture, lighting, installations, even the occasional helicopter or missile-turned-bar. You want unique and iconic? Look no further!
Most items are listed at 70 to 80 percent below retail. You get designer quality because art directors buy and make the best - they dress their sets to impress. Plus, you get something with a story. A pendant light that appeared in Paddington. A marshmallow sofa straight out of Austin Powers. Pieces that spark conversations the moment someone walks into the room.
That sense of story really matters to us.
Tin talked on air about how objects have past lives, just like people do. We’re proud to have a hand-carved Chinese chest from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children that a talented props master friend gave us because it was about to be thrown away. It’s one of our favourite things. Not just because it’s beautiful, but because of where it’s been.
There’s also a very clear business case here. Circularity isn’t a nice-to-have. It solves real problems. Storage costs money. Disposal costs money. Used Creative helps productions recover investment instead of writing it off, and helps buyers access niche, high-quality pieces for far less than retail.
We’ve worked hard to make this practical, not idealistic. One of the biggest barriers we kept hearing about was time. People want to do the right thing, but they’re already moving on to the next job. So we have built and are in the testing stages of an AI-powered listing tool that cuts listing time from around 30 minutes to about five. It helps sellers catalogue what they already have and takes the friction out of the process.
The listeners had plenty to say too, which was lovely. Always nice to know you’re not speaking out into the void. Their requests of what items they’d like to own ranged from the TARDIS to the Friends sofa, Coronation Street wall ducks, and anything Star Wars. One story really stuck with us: A listener bought a Peter Guild settee from a film storage company near Stansted. It originally retailed at £7,500. They paid £1,000. Their upholsterer raved about the quality. That’s exactly the point.
Keeping skilled craftsmanship in use. Saving money. Reducing waste. And giving these objects a future instead of an ending.
We’re now piloting with brands, production companies, and film studios to help them release props and sets onto the marketplace, and to help them reuse what they already own. Because often the issue isn’t willingness, it’s practicality and visibility. If you don’t know what’s in storage, you can’t reuse it.
Being on BBC Radio Essex felt like a milestone moment. Not because it was showbiz, but because it felt like recognition that the industry is ready for this shift. Circular thinking isn’t radical anymore. It’s practical. And it’s overdue.
If you’re curious, you can explore the marketplace at UsedCreative.com. And if you want first access to new arrivals, our newsletter shares hot drops before they go live. A small warning. it can get addictive!