Beach News
Is cotton or linen better for tea towels?
Your humble tea towel, or dish towel in the US, is hands down the most useful piece of kitchen equipment you own. Fantastically low tech, this amazing rectangle of material that sits next to the sink in just about every kitchen is probably one thing it couldn’t function without.
Yes, you dry the dishes with it, but you also grab it before you pick up warm plates, wipe down surface spills with it, dry eyes with it, maybe you even use it for straining liquids….its uses are almost endless.
At SeaKisses we love our tea towels and over the last 10 years we have tried different shapes and materials and have come to some conclusions we thought we would share:
1. Cotton Is The Best
Tea towels come in all shapes and sizes and many different materials. The hands down best option is 100% cotton. Cotton can be woven to the perfect consistency to enable the towel to absorb enough moisture to dry things without ending up as a soggy, waterlogged mess.
2. Not Too Big and Not Too Small
The best size is 780 x 500 mm. Anything larger is just too big to handle and anything smaller feels too economic for the job in hand.
3.Water Based Ink Please
We dye all our tea towels with a water based, non-toxic ink. These inks are washable at 40°C and give great durability without compromising the environment.
4.Design Please
Linens offer an easy opportunity to put personality into a kitchen. Change them with the seasons, change them every day or change them with your mood. Choose beautifully coordinating colours or a mass of different colours. SeaKisses designs are all about putting the coast into your kitchen to remind you of days when your toes were sandy are your lips were salty, our coastal themed cloths come in faded coastal colours that coordinate beautifully and remind the world of the place you love.
5.Great Gifts
A tea towel makes a useful gift that will be used every day and may just put a happy memory into the heart of the person using it…let’s face it you have time to dream when you are doing the drying up. SeaKisses tea towels come in tubes making them a more substantial gift to give and lovely to receive.
Put Easy Coastal Calm Into Your Home
Channel the happy vibes of summer beach days with our simple guide to putting coastal calm into your home...
Fabulous Beach Theatre + Competition to WIN Tickets
Cornwall's fabulous Kneehigh Theatre Company are pitching their Asylum tent on Carlyon Bay this summer. Read about the production and enter a competition to win tickets to a performance.
Fireworks on Coast
Summer by the sea proves fireworks are not just for Halloween. All around the coast Feast Weeks and Regattas are celebrated with fireworks and watching colourful displays against the inky black of a seaside sky knocks spots off other locations.
Why We Love a Beach Sheet!
We are counting down the days to beach days and the chance to use our Beach Sheets. Here are 6 reasons why we think you should not make a trip to the beach without one this summer.
Go Swedish with the Washing Up
We came across Marie and her Swedish Dish Cloths at a Trade Show several years ago. We were attracted by their bold, but simple designs and as soon as we got talking and discovered the story, we knew we wanted them in our lives. It has taken us a while to add them, but there are lots of reasons why we are so pleased that we have. Here are just a few:
- Cellulose and Cotton are totally natural materials and, as well as making a fabulous cloth to use, they will also compost back to nothing at their end of their useful life. When you have had enough of your cloth, just chuck it on the compost heap and it will rot back to nothing.
- They last for ages! When they get dirty, just chuck them in with the washing and they come out looking and feeling like new.
- They work brilliantly. Somehow they are just the right size and they wipe surfaces leaving them beautifully smear free.
- They look great. Scandinavians know a thing or two about design and the simple, happy colours look great in a coastal interior.
It might seem ridiculous to get so excited about such a small thing, but we all spend quite a lot of time washing up and cleaning the kitchen, so it’s rather lovely to find a product that makes this a more sustainable activity and looks great into the bargain.
GET BAMBOO-ED
It was our friends at The Eden Project who first introduced us to bamboo fibre. We were amazed and knew we had to design with it. Since then we have formed a partnership with people who grow and make bamboo fibre products in China and we have used this amazing natural fibre again and again.
Three reasons for loving bamboo fibre:
- Sustainability: when you plant a bamboo in your garden, you quickly realise how fast it grows. In the perfect growing conditions of central China, bamboo grows super fast with little need for pesticides or fertilisers.
- Compostability: because it is a natural product, bamboo will eventually compost back to nothing. You can speed the process up by boiling it and the burying it in your compost heap. To us this means that it is unlikely to end up as waste, floating in our oceans and that is a good thing.
- Flexibility: bamboo fibre makes lightweight products that can be coloured and made in small quantities. This has enabled us to make Beach Dog Bowls and trays alongside re-usable cups. Unlike traditional 'eco' products these are happy, useful things that reflect a love of life. You don't need to buy them just for their eco credentials, it just makes them even better to own.
Our fabulous re-usable cups come brimming with seaside happiness.
With a smooth, matte feel, of our lightweight trays radiate coastal calm.
Beach Dog bowls guaranteed to bring happy smiles to owner and hound!
SHOP DIFFERENTLY THIS CHRISTMAS
Make a difference this Christmas. Take the opportunity to shop local, support small businesses and give original gifts. Take a look at our top tips to achieving this without breaking the bank.
Low Tide Beach Walks
Clear, sunny days, massively low tides and empty beaches have combined to make this the perfect time for exploration and long, beach walks. Check out our 3 top tips for beaches that won't disappoint.
Beach Dog Season is Here
There are so many great, dog-friendly beaches in Cornwall. Here are just three of our favourites: