We're excited to delve into the stories of dedication and creativity behind the local businesses we love.
Today, we're showcasing one of our absolute favourites, Salty Shadows, a Crescent Head-based brand known for their beautifully designed beach umbrellas and a range of beach essentials inspired by the sea. From umbrellas to Turkish towels and more, Salty Shadows is for spending ALL day at the beach, river, or pool - with high-quality designs that are just so effortlessly cool.
I started Salty Shadows 10 years ago after many years of talking about it with friends and family. It was the push from one friend who owned Sanbah surf shop in Newcastle that really made me jump from talking to actually doing.
It really wasn't a full-time business to start with, and I did a very small run of umbrellas, went to local markets, and sold any way I could. It was a very slow build for us.
The best moments would be the connections I've made with other small business owners and the absolute joy of seeing my products out in the wild. I still get so excited to see people out at the beach using a Salty Shadows umbrella or towel. It really makes it feel all worth it. Struggles - oh so many. There are always tears.
When you have to run every aspect of the business solo it can be really challenging. The designing, website management, packing orders, wholesaling, customer service, social media, accounting, importing, etc. It can feel really overwhelming to be jumping between all the jobs. I am not a naturally organised person so this definitely makes things harder but I am trying to get better with this.
My main inspiration at first came from clothing brands. Brands were doing such amazing colours and patterns and I thought why wouldn't that translate to umbrellas. I've always worked in the environmental field so anything in nature was inspirational for me too. Native Australian flora has been a big influence when designing pieces.
Generally my inspiration comes from nature or a beautiful piece of vintage fabric I might own or see.
I save images or take photos of beautiful colour combinations all the time and work on them for future designs. What I have learnt also is to sometimes work on designs that maybe aren't what I would love but other people may like. Whilst I think it's important to do what I like, you also need to step outside your own likes when designing.
Inspiration is everywhere really when we live in such a beautiful country. I use Pinterest a lot - it's just a haven for colour and design. I love vintage fabrics and looking at clothing brands that I love.
I think it was the natural progression. I have only ever made items that I would use myself, so anything beach-related just naturally started coming into the brand.
I've had so many favourites. But definitely the Native print in the beach bag is a design I think I'll always keep, and the Goldie Umbrella. It's so simple and the colours are just my favourite. I've had to let go of a lot of umbrellas - it's hard to not have every pattern in my collection.
Oh, I don’t know. New colours and designs will be a constant as it's my favourite part of running the business. I still want to remain small and do small production runs so that I can manage the business, kids, and have a good life/work balance. I am always open to suggestions for items that might make a beach, park or creek day easier.
Join us in following the inspiring journey of Salty Shadows as they continue to bring their creative vision to beaches everywhere.
Stay tuned for more from Salty Shadows and other incredible local makers as we continue our series!
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