Well... I did a thing. A lot of new and exciting things have happened in the Grappe house in the last few months. I launched a small business! WHAT! I don't even recognize myself lately.
After last year, I have just decided to say yes. I have been dying fabrics for a few years, mostly dish towels to be given as gifts. I have also done a few sheets, baby blankets, and clothes that my kids had ruined with stains. Last fall, after a lot of encouragement, I decided to make this a business.
I made so many mistakes that it is laughable. But mistakes are part of learning, and I am definitely learning. I'm telling you that because most people just see the success of something and never get to know about the bloopers.
Creating the website was the biggest challenge because I feel more creatively inclined and not as administratively inclined. So it has been a huge learning curve, and I am totally stepping into this with humility and so much respect for business owners. I also chuckle to think that I am somehow part of that little club now...who even am I.
Anyways, the business...ice dying...kitchen tea towels.
I decided to do this because I have so many useless kitchen towels. I have many decorative ones that are completely ruined by my children, or aren't useable because they don't actually absorb any liquid. I have considered the fact that maybe I don't understand kitchen towels. I love the pretty things, but I also love my pretty things to be practical. And it seems that most kitchen towels are one of those but not really both. So I made these to be the bridge.
I use my own towels for everything--wipe faces, clean up spills, dry my hands, and decoration.
Because I use the method of ice dying, the towels really camouflage stains. I have some towels that I have used for years, so I can attest to their durability.
So that's the basic inspiration for all of this. I launched in the middle of the snow storm and sold out in the first 24 hours. I was so shocked. So I've been working on restocking. Ice dying is not fast. It is a bit of a process, especially working with cotton. But I have new inventory and new color variations for spring that I will be launching again this week, so stay tuned!
In the meantime...I had added a link at the top of my blog page titled
"With Her Hands Shop" for quick access. You can also click here to see what the style is and what it is all about. I will be adding pillows and cloth cotton napkins to the store in the next month which will be very exciting! I am tinkering with the idea of linen napkins, but I am a little partial to cotton because that is what we farm. So we will see!
Thanks for hanging in for the update! Check out the shop and I'll send an email when everything is restocked! If you want to be in that loop, make sure you are subscribed! Also...feast your eyes on some images of the new launch for a teaser.
All my love,
Michal