Hi everyone, hope you are all having a good week, and that you are all excited like me, that the sun is returning by Friday…ish.

So, just like a lot of you guys at this time of year, and as a consequence of Covid restrictions easing, I have started thinking (or should I say dreaming) about holidays. For me, being an Aussie girl through and through, holidays means hot weather, sunny skies and days on the beach. I was really lucky in that I grew up in Sydney’s south and spent a lot of time on the beaches near there. As well as this, we spent many childhood holidays at my Aunts ramshackle beach house on the south coast of New South Wales at a place called Callala Bay. I have the best memories of days digging in the sand, learning to eat oysters off the rocks, snorkelling in rock pools and later water skiing as a teenager. My memories are of clean, golden beaches that stretched for miles. Yes, age has probably sunkissed my memories a bit… I appreciate that, but I’ve got to say, I don’t remember too much rubbish washing up on those beaches…

So, it tends to upset me a little when on holidays now near the beach, when I see so much plastic waste washing up on the shoreline, as I’m sure it does all of you too. But what to do about it? Well, as we all know it’s a massive problem… a global problem, and that there is no quick fix or one solution for it.

When I started sourcing products for the start up of Island Home, I really wanted to try and be sustainable in my approach whenever I could. So, when I came across a English company located in Yorkshire, who were making some great products out of recycled plastic bottles and other recycled materials - i thought, this is worth a look!

Our Herringbone throws, Mosaic cushions, Bangalow Stripe Rug and Byron outdoor floor cushions, all come from this fantastic company. They are all made from 100% recycled PET plastic bottles, which are sourced from both ocean and land waste sources. I thought that was pretty cool, as it was turning something with usually quite a short usable life span into something not only beautiful and soft, but something that can keep on being used for a long time.

I can’t promise you that every product we sell will have such great eco credentials, and the last thing I want to do is come across as preachy… but being honest, it will make me feel a little better when I’m walking along the beach next, to know that in my little corner of Manchester, my choices of what to sell on Island Home will have a positive effect on a beach somewhere in the world.

Take care, enjoy the sunshine when it re-appears (hope you make it to the beach !) and speak to you all again soon…bye x

Btw … I am very proud of working with Phoenox Textiles - a proud Yorkshire company.