Author Archives: Marie

Are we eating our clothing!? The problem with microfibers

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Have you heard of microfibers? Are we really eating our clothing!?

 

Here at iSea Surfwear, we’ve always prided ourselves on being an ethical company – sustainability and looking after our environment has always been at the heart of what we do. We source products that we feel are kind to the planet, we mend, upcycle and recycle our garments as much as we can and our packaging consists of recycled paper envelopes, which we stitch closed or use paper tape which is also recyclable. We do what we can – and believe me, being eco-conscious doesn’t come cheap, but we take the hit as we love our planet.

But there’s always been this niggle, and it’s a niggle that just won’t go away…

Could we be doing more? Could we be doing better? On the surface the products we use seem green – but are they as green as we think? A recent trip to the Future Fabrics Expo in London has made us really think about what we are creating, and more importantly, the raw materials we are creating them from. The upshot is – there are going to be some big changes around here!

Polyester fleece

That little niggle I mentioned earlier… FLEECE! The fleece we currently use is made from polyester and has been a key component in our reversible hoodies – it’s what makes them extra-warm and perfect for cwtching up in when you get out of the sea.

We all have synthetics in our wardrobes: tights, running gear, swimsuits, hoodies, knitwear and more. Synthetics have been the go-to fabric for more than 50 years and amount to around two-thirds of the fabric made today. Shrink-resistant, quick drying, cheap, strong and lightweight are just a few reasons synthetics are so popular. Fleece is a synthetic fiber (made from plastics which derive from non-renewable petroleum and coal) and as such, it does not biodegrade and is very difficult to recycle. Synthetic fabrics also release microfibers every time they are washed, and there is now research that indicates these microfibers end up in the sea where they are consumed by fish and other wildlife, they then move up the food chain until we end up unknowingly eating them. You can reduce the shedding of microfibers by washing on a cool setting inside out and air drying but the ultimate aim is to make them a thing of the past and look for new, better fabrics.

eating microfibers

More than 700,000 microscopic fibres could be released into waste water during each use of a domestic washing machine, with many of them likely to pass through sewage treatment and into the environment
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/pr-features/fibres-fashion-and-the-oceans

We have always encouraged our customers to return outgrown or unwanted hoodies so we can repair them or make them into something else. And all our other fabrics are made from natural fibers, which we have told ourselves offsets using the fleece – but this is starting to feel like an excuse. If we ask ourselves the question, does polyester fleece fit in with our ethics – the answer is a resounding and definite NO!

So, we are making a big commitment to stop using fleece. This is not a simple swap to a natural fabric, as all fabrics have an impact on the environment in some way.

We have linked up with Swansea University, Material Science students who will be helping us research which fabrics really are the most sustainable, that are also durable, recyclable , feel good and look great!

Anna has been researching some exciting, sustainable alternatives which we will be trialing shortly, and are planning to introduce in our next collection.
Over the next 2-3 years (hopefully quicker) we will be phasing out our polyester fleece products completely and introducing an ‘ocean-friendly’ range. Watch this space for more on that soon…

Fabric research

Fabric research

Asking questions

Being around such innovative people at the expo really has really made us look hard at what we do and ask more questions of our suppliers. For example, the inks that we use for the screen printing are water-based. How much water is used for their production, and what is the effect of this on our planet? We’re about to start testing developing our own natural pigment inks and dyes – finally those school chemistry lessons are being put to use on something that can really make a difference! We’ll let you know how we get on.

Cotton

Cotton has always been a contentious issue it certainly isn’t as sustainable as we think.

On average it takes 42 litres of water to make a pair of jeans. The world’s rivers are being polluted and destroyed on an industrial scale.

(Source: Fashion Revolution 2018)

We try to use organic cotton as much as possible which uses a lot less water and no pesticides, but we’re also committed to finding more water-clean resources. The off-cuts of our hand screen printed cotton we are left with are also an issue. We have bags and bags and bags of them as we refuse to throw them away, and are determined to find a way to use them. We’re currently in talks with a company in Spain who can potentially provide a solution by shredding them for us and making them into cloth, so we can create a recycled cotton range. We’ll keep you posted on that… (If any engineers out there fancy making us a small fabric shredder please contact us!)

fabric scraps

Cotton post production scraps

Fashion forward

We really believe that the fashion industry should be leading the way on educating people about ethical clothing and providing earth-friendly options; that the first thought in the process of making clothing should be the sustainability and provenance of the raw materials, and this should inspire design, not the other way round.

Here at iSea, we’ve always encouraged people to buy better, not buy more – to invest in pieces that are sustainable and that will last. We’re now making a commitment to take things further, so here’s our promise to the planet and to you, our loyal customers:

  • We promise to focus on the provenance of our raw materials and to make sure our fabrics, inks and packaging are from sustainable and socially-fair sources.
  • We promise to design a collection that is made from sustainable and/or recycled fabrics and that can be recycled again. 
  • We promise to encourage and educate other businesses and our customers and share our experiences so that ethical fashion becomes the norm, not the exception.
  • We promise to do all this without compromising the quality of the iSea Surfwear products that you know and love.
  • We promise to always deliver outstanding designs and craftsmanship in an ethical, sustainable format.

If you want to find out more facts and figures here are just a few inspirational organisations we recommend:
www.fashionrevolution.org
www.wrap.org.uk
www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
www.thesustainableangle.org

For more on iSea Surfwear and to see our range of products, go to www.iseasurfwear.co.uk

Autumn days on Pembrokeshire beaches

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Amroth sunset

We had an amazing summer travelling the length and breadth of the country and have really enjoyed meeting so many new customers and catching up with those of you who keep coming back to expand your iSea wardrobes! Have you spotted yourself on our iSea instagram feed yet? https://www.instagram.com/iseasurf/

Looking back and moving forward
Autumn brings with it a time for reflection – and we’ve had our best year yet, so it’s a pleasure to look back on. It’s also a time for contemplation and planning. We’ve got some really exciting things coming up later this year, and I can’t wait to share them all with you, once they’re out of the whirring creative stages in my brain and into reality. One of my favourite ways to mull things over and to make big decisions is to head to the beach. Whether I’m losing myself in waves, walking alongside a spectacular sunset or beach-combing for hidden treasures, the coast is the place to clear my mind, or to mull things over, and where ideas and solutions to problems just pop into my head. With that in mind, we thought we’d let you know about some of our teams’ favourite beaches, and we really are spoilt for choice in Pembrokeshire.

Jaz chases waves
Freshwater West is my favourite beach at the moment. We organise a beach clean there twice a year and we always find lots of cool things hidden under rocks and in the seaweed. I love that you can have a really long walk on Fresh West, and it’s a good spot for surfing too. Cafe Mor is also a big hit with me!

Cez gets nostalgic
There’s nothing better than walk down at Penbryn, Cardiganshire (she’s a northerner!) when the wind is picking up – it’s so invigorating. I love heading through the woodland trails that bring you to the most beautiful unspoilt beach. I spent so much time here as a child and the ruggedness of the coastline always made me feel like I was in Jurassic Park! I love taking my dog for a walk there in the winter, when it’s quiet. It’s the perfect way to blow the cobwebs away.

Flo goes in search of adventure
My favourite bit of the beach is usually the rock face down to it! West Angle Bay is great for scrambling along the cliffs – that whole area is punctuated with cool rocks and boulders and interesting cracks and crevices that turn a walk into a climb. It’s a great spot for beach-combing too – I’ve found so many weird and wonderful there.

 

Marie finds a hidden treasure
I love Porthselau beach in St David’s. It’s a tiny beach with limited access, so it never gets too busy! I’ve been going there since I was a kid and have so many happy memories there. My favourite thing is to lie back in the sand and listen to the crashing waves – it’s so relaxing. You also get a beautiful view of St David’s head and Whitesands beach from the cliffs.

 

Anna keeps it local
 I feel so lucky to have the beautiful Amroth beach on my doorstep. Whenever I’m working away, I love that first glimpse of the sea as I drive over the hill which means I’m nearly home. Amroth is the place I run, the place I relax and a great place to spot all sorts of sea life. I love the sense of community here too – over 100 people turned up to our last beach clean here. I find a lot of inspiration for my illustrations here – it really is a magical place.

 

Other beaches we thought deserve a mention…(too many to list them all!)
Newgale – a fave spot for surfing!

Newgale
Barafundle Bay – has been named one of the world’s best beaches

Barafundle Beach
Broadhaven South – Has a great kids’ surf life saving club

Broadhaven South surfing

Tenby – A beautifully colourful seaside town with several beaches

Abereiddy Bay – Beautiful walks along the coast path with the Blue Lagoon a must visit.

Find out more about iSea Surfwear at www.iseasurfwear.co.uk Keep up to date
For more information on how to get involved with a beach clean or to organise your own, go to www.facebook.com/iseasurf or www.sas.org.uk

Print designs at iSea this summer…

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Print designs at iSea this summer…

While our weekends have been filled with festivals, our week days have been dedicated to coming up with cool new prints. We often get asked what inspires us and how we come up with the designs for them, so here’s the low-down from Anna on our top 10 prints for summer:

1. Camper vans
Being in the camper van on a road trip is our happy place! And it seems like it is for so many of you too, as our camper van and VW prints always sell-out. You can find limited edition VW prints at the VW festivals we’re taking part in this summer. Go to our events page https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/festivals-events/ to find out where we’ll be.

2. Sea creatures
From seahorses and sharks to whales and mermaids, you could find anything that lives under the sea, popping up on your iSea print! We don’t have to go far for inspiration –our studio is situated just minutes away from Amroth beach, and you can often find us there beachcombing, enjoying a beautiful sunset or playing in the sea.

3. Flowers
Wandering around the garden in the dark is not how most people look at flowers, but for me it’s the perfect opportunity to take photos – you get a whole different perspective at night time and can pick up really interesting details by torchlight. Coastal flowers are a big draw – they work really well as a print and I love how they look on our leggings and women’s hoodies.

4. Bees
A swarm of bees in our roof inspired these latest designs, which have been creating a real buzz at shows this summer. There’s a lot of support out there for our British bees at the moment, so our swarm came to visit at just the right time for us to get on board, and our bee tees have been flying off the shelves. Plant bee-friendly flowers, avoid pesticides and save our bees!

5. Waves
It’s always, always been about the waves! The waves constantly call to team iSea, and whether we’re surfing, bodyboarding, SUPing, beachcombing or just mucking around in the seafoam, waves have always been part of our dreams (literally, we can hear them in our house!) and you’ll see this theme making a splash across so many of our ranges.

6. Butterflies
The iSea studio is surrounded by fields filled with wild flowers that attract the most beautiful butterflies in all sorts shapes and sizes. I’m addicted to drawing them and seeing how the shapes and patterns translate into screen prints. These feature throughout our women’s ranges, but I love them most of all on our racer back vests – in fact, I’m wearing mine now!

7. Surfers
Surfing is our most favourite thing to do. Our surfer designs are for people like us – it was always going to be one of our most popular prints!

 

8. Pirate ships
Pirate ships are the newest addition to our adventure range, which also features bike trails, rock climbers and watch out for skateboard designs coming soon. Whether you’re a little adventurer, a serious adrenaline junkie or just a big kid, you’ll love our hoodies and tees featuring these fun designs.

9. Jungle
Elephants, tropical flowers, toucans and palm trees – our jungle prints are inspired by our love of exploring. They feature largely throughout our kids’ range which is perfect for little warriors. Find out about our kids recycling scheme here https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/recycle-repair-reward/

10. And not forgetting birds. Birds have been winging their way into all our designs since day one – although this was a surprise to me when someone pointed it out recently. I had no idea I was working birds into all the prints – they must be our lucky charms as the orders have been flocking in!

To see the full range of iSea prints, visit www.iseasurfwear.co.uk. Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/iseasurf/ find us on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/iseasurf and follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/iseasurf

iSea Surfwear hits the road

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Road trip iSea style!

The sun is shining and that means just one thing road trips! It’s festival season! We love this time of year as we get to pack up the camper and show you what we’ve been working on all winter. It’s a great chance for us to get around the country and meet our customers in person, so if you spot our little yellow van parked up at a festival near you, then come over and say hello, meet the team, see our new-season prints, and find out about our exclusive show offers.

Growing up
Our recycling scheme is proving really popular at shows this summer and we’ve had loads of people coming along to trade in their little one’s hoodies for something new. We know kids grow out of their clothes quickly, so we’d love you to bring back your old iSea Surfwear kids’ clothing and swap them for store credit (up to £10 depending on the condition), so you can replace them with something new. Don’t worry if they’re a little damaged as we can either repair and resell them, or recycle them into something new. We also have a second-hand, re-sale section, where you can often pick up a bargain for kids that keep sprouting up!

Say cheese!
Did you know that you can find exclusive designs at our stall? All iSea clothing is unique, but when you buy from us at a festival you may find yourself with a limited edition print, the first of a test-run or something we’ve created just for that show. And, if you find our clothes are the perfect fit, then we can keep your sizing information on our database, making it really easy when you want to order again. We love it when people visit our stand wearing their iSea hoodies and tees, so don’t be surprised when you get asked to strike your best pose for a photo! Look out for your mug shots on our Instagram feed https://www.instagram.com/iseasurf/ #iseasurfadventure

iSea savings
We have so many loyal customers who keep coming back for more, that we’ve decided to say thank you by giving you some money off! We’re excited to launch our loyalty scheme this summer! Every time you buy an iSea hoody remember to get your loyalty card stamped by us, you can get money off with every 5 stamps collected. Come and sign up with us at any of the shows we’re at this summer.

Where to find us
We’re travelling all over the country to visit our favourite festivals this summer. Click the link to find out where we’ll be https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/festivals-events/
And if there are any festivals near you that are not on the list and that you think we’d love, then let us know as we’re always looking for new places to explore.

Find out more about iSea Surfwear, browse our summer range and follow our blog at https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/ Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/iseasurf/  find us on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/iseasurf and follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/iseasurf

Big Spring Beach cleaning iSea-style

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Big Spring Beach Clean 2017

We wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who turned up to help out at our Surfers Against Sewage Big Spring Beach Cleans. We had our biggest turn out yet at Amroth, with over 100 volunteers coming along to pick up litter and take part in our easter egg hunt.

A tale of two beaches

Freshwater West
We targeted two different beaches and uncovered very different types of rubbish at each location. It was one of the first warm days of the season at Freshwater West and the beach was packed with locals and holiday makers who rolled up their sleeves to get stuck in. Fuelled by snacks that were generously donated by Jonathan at Cafe Mor (www.cafemor.co.uk) we collected a whopping 53 bags of rubbish. Among the haul we found a massive amount of fishing net and rope, over 250 plastic bottles, hundreds of cotton bud sticks, 3 lobster pots, a welly and, we’re sad to report, six needles that were just lying in the seaweed on the tideline. There were also lots of shotgun cartridges and tiny balloon pieces that had washed up from balloon releases and, as always, just so much micro plastic.

Visitors to the beach were really shocked at how much we collected: “Is that all from today?” was the quote of the day! A special thanks to Terry and Jon from the Welsh Marine Wildlife Rescue for bringing their quad bike to haul all the nets and rubbish off the beach.

Amroth

Our Amroth clean had a real community feel and was packed with locals as well as people from the surrounding caravan parks. People always comment on how clean Amroth is, but once you look a little more closely, you’ll find the tiniest pieces of rope, plastic, metal, glass and pottery just everywhere. We collected 45 black bags of general rubbish, 120 plastic bottles, loads of fishing net, a tractor tyre, four car tyres, a scaffolding pole and lots of bottle tops amongst other things.

Over to Jaz
As the youngest ever Surfers Against Sewage beach clean rep, iSea’s Jaz really is leading by example when it comes to keeping our coast clean.

“I hate swimming and surfing in rubbish and the sea is just full of it. It also really upsets me to see animals stranded in litter or full of plastic – that’s why I decided to get involved with the beach cleans. It’s actually become a really fun hobby as we look on it as a treasure hunt rather than picking up litter. We’ve found some really cool things like toy soldiers (we are building a beach army!), fossilised pliers, lots of tiny plastic toys and a cool rubber turtle. You do find some gross stuff too – someone put a dead fish in one of the bin bags which you’re not supposed to do – and I also found a big piece of rubber with black tar all over it. It was horrible to pick up – but at least it’s not in the sea anymore!

I think everyone who uses the beach should do what they can. You don’t have to organise a big beach clean, like we did. You can just take a bag with you every time you go for a walk, and fill it up as you go. If everyone did this it would make a massive difference.”

Feel-good factor
One of the best things about the beach cleans, apart from cleaning up our coast, is how they bring people together and make you feel good. Both events were really social and the beach looked a lot better after we left. They’re pretty addictive too – everyone was trying to find the best treasure or fill the most bags! And beach cleans don’t have to be all about rubbish. We made our Amroth one fun by hiding painted pebbles for people to find in exchange for prizes, and had a special treasure chest to fill with the most interesting finds.

We were really well-supported by local businesses, so a big thank you to everyone below for helping us keep our beaches clean.
Temple bar

Smugglers bar and grill

Osborne Shop

The Pirate Café

Amroth Arms

Amroth castle

The new Inn

Coastal Wood Holidays

Amroth Cottages

iSea Surfwear

For more information on how to get involved with a beach clean or to organise your own, go to www.sas.org.uk.

To find out more about iSea Surfwear and see the latest range go to www.iseasurfwear.co.uk

Surfers Agains Sewage rep logo

Spring shake-up at iSea Surfwear!

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We’ve been having a spring shake-up here at iSea and we’re excited to let you know about some changes we’re making to our website shop and to announce our new-season line up…

One of the things we love most about meeting you all at shows and festivals, is that we get to hear your feedback, and can change the way we do things to make shopping at iSea even easier for you. With that in mind, we’re bringing our Made to Order range across everything we produce, so you can now buy everything on the website in a range of sizes, and we’ll be introducing new colour choices really soon – so look out for that, too! But never one to mass-produce, all our prints have colour variations and we purposely reposition the prints when cutting, so you can still be sure that your iSea purchase is unique.

It’s tee time!
We trialled our new T-shirts at last month’s Telegraph and Outdoor Travel show and they were a sell-out, so we’ve decided to make them a permanent fixture in the range. We’ve always wanted to offer tees, but it was so expensive to buy in the fabric to make them that didn’t feel we could offer an environmentally-friendly version that was good value too. But, after an extensive search for ethical suppliers, we’re delighted to have found a manufacturer of top quality, organic tees. To buy in t-shirts has been a tough decision for us as everything we sell has always been handmade by us here at the iSea studio, so we needed a really good reason to do anything differently. But we’re confident we’ve found one with these tees, which make the perfect partners for our iSea prints – and we’ve really gone to town on them! We have launched a trial range of men’s and women’s T-shirts on our website today! Check them out here https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/shop/womens/womens-organic-cotton-t-shirt/ and here https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/shop/mens/mens-organic-cotton-t-shirt/ we will be adding more designs, colours and sizes really soon and T-shirts for kids too. If you would like information on our latest products why not sign up to our news letter, we promise not to bombard you with emails and you can unsubscribe at any time!

Swarming with ideas…
We’ve been out in the garden and up in the roof to find inspiration for our new prints. Coastal flowers and bees are creating a buzz in the iSea Studio. After getting advice from a local bee-keeper about the resident honey bees  in her cottage eves, (he assured her that honeybees rarely sting when swarming,) Anna braved it and stood amongst the swarm to take close-up photos of them so she could draw from them for the latest iSea prints. That is dedication for you!

You can watch a short video of the bees swarming by clicking on the link below

https://www.facebook.com/anna.strzelecki/videos/10151849837095537/?l=227298961312017081

Slightly less adventurous, (but still very Anna!), midnight photography excursions around the garden inspired the latest flower prints: “I love taking photos of nature at night time – it’s so peaceful, with the sound of the waves crashing against the pebbles in the distance, everything looks so different in the dark and you can pick up some great detail with torchlight.”

Spring collection
You’ll find these new prints across our spring range which includes our popular Jersey hoody dress which is always a good-seller at this time of year. Part of our made-to-measure collection, this longer-length hooded dress is ideal for wearing with leggings and is a good transitional piece as we go from chilly spring evenings into summer days.

Our summer-weight leggings and yoga style trousers will be hitting the shop soon – look out for some fab new colours and fun sea creature designs, and we’ve just added new shark prints across our product range. T-shirts and reversible hoodies, feature rock climbers, mountain bikers and wave prints, too. And there’s plenty to keep the kids looking cute, with new campervan designs, sea creatures and mermaids across our t-shirts, reversible hoodies, leggings and dresses.

Show much fun!
We’re looking forward to getting back on the road and meeting you all again this summer. You can always find limited edition prints and custom-made one-offs at our stand, so keep an eye on our Facebook page to find out where we’ll be. https://www.iseasurfwear.co.uk/festivals-events/

To see the latest designs and our complete range, go to www.iseasurfwear.co.uk

iSea hits Surf Snowdonia with Surfers Against Sewage

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Ever noticed how surfing and cake always seem to go together? Well there was plenty of the sweet stuff to be had at last weekend’s Surfers Against Sewage Training and Celebration Event. And a good job too, as it was such an action-packed couple of days for some of the iSea team.

As the South Pembrokeshire region reps, we were invited up to Surf Snowdonia for SAS’s annual get together where we got to catch up with the SAS team, meet other reps and take part in a weekend of team building, learning and celebrating.

Road trip
We packed up our little yellow iSea surfwear van with wetsuits, boards and our warmest iSea hoodies, and took a slightly longer than anticipated drive north (thanks Sat Nav!). The journey was soon forgotten when we saw the amazing camping pods that we got to sleep in, and a BBQ meet and greet provided the perfect welcome.

Teamwork
Over the course of the weekend we took part in loads of workshops and team building activities, the aim of which was to help us find effective ways to educate beach users about environmental concerns around the coast and wave protection issues. We loved learning how to make animations with eco messages on the stop motion workshop – you can see some of these here –  https://www.facebook.com/SurfersAgainstSewage/ – they’re a really cool tool for teaching in schools and for getting social media spinning into action. The stepping stones team-builder was a fun challenge, where we had to navigate blindfolded members of the group through a watery maze in a bid to clean up the ocean. We were really interested to hear Alice (Scotland rep) speak about her nurdle-catching invention and loved the talk by Patric (The Wirral rep) about two artists who built New Brighton’s Black Pearl – a full-size pirate ship made entirely from driftwood and things washed up on the beach.

Best grom!
We packed in surfing, yoga, hill walking and lots of eating. It was great to try the surfing at Surf Snowdonia where Jaz picked up some great tips from the pros on how to catch the waves, as they are quite different to surfing in the ocean. But our highlight of the weekend was the awards ceremony on the Saturday night where reps are rewarded for great service. We were super-proud when iSea’s own Jaz won the Grom Award. As SAS’s youngest ever beach clean leader and only child rep, it was a very special moment to see her dedication to keeping our coast clean being recognised and rewarded. With such a great win in the bag, we danced the night away to the fabulous Sunset Sons who were excited to congratulate Jaz on her award and all insisted on shaking her hand!

Sea people
We set off for home on Sunday afternoon full of enthusiasm and ideas and cake! One of the most inspiring things about the whole event was just being in the same space as other people who are on the same wavelength – people who are passionate about the environment, the sea, art, animals and doing good. It was a very uplifting experience and one we hope to replicate on our own Beach Clean event, which is coming up soon. We’d love you to join us – find out everything you need to know here https://www.facebook.com/events/928087897294105/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/115821405619997/

Links
For more information on the iSea team, what we’re up to and our latest range, visit www.iseasurfwear.co.uk.

For more on Surfers Against Sewage and how you can get involved, go to http://www.sas.org.uk/ we would like to say a massive THANKS to all the lovely folks at SAS headquarters for making this happen!

This event was sponsored by  postcodelocaltrust. Thank you!

Rock out to the amazing Sunset Sons – https://www.facebook.com/SunsetSons/

Find out about the pirates who created The Black Pearl at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheBlackPearlNewBrighton/about/?ref=page_internal

And lastly check out the amazing https://surfsnowdonia.com/ – a revolutionary world-first inland surf lagoon and the UK’s most compelling outdoor adventure destination, in North wales.

For more information and pictures check out  #regionalreps, #plasticfreecoastlines and @postcodelocaltrust.

An iSea adventure in London

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iSea Surfwear stall 2017

iSea Surfwear stall 2017

An iSea adventure in London: This week we’ve been making, making making! We’re knee-deep in orders from The Telegraph Outdoor Travel and Adventure Show we attended last month and have been working hard to get all the made-to-measure wear posted out to their new owners! The show was such a success for us and we’ve had such a great response from new and loyal customers. Most popular on the day were our kids’ reversible hoodies – not surprising as the show was packed with young adventurers. We hardly saw Jaz on the stand, as she was busy making new friends at the climbing wall, testing out the cycling track, learning about protecting our sea life from plastic at the Ocean Fest, and we couldn’t drag her away from the Flapjackery, where she managed to trade an orange for an amazing palm oil-free chocolate flapjack – nice work Jaz!

Creating a buzz
We were really excited to launch our T-shirt range at the event – they went down really well! We’ve been asked to produce tees for years, but have resisted as it’s not cost-effective to make them ourselves and sourcing eco-friendly suppliers has been a challenge. But we finally found a fantastic company who can supply us with carbon-neutral, organic tees and we set to work screen printing onto them iSea style, customising them with our sharks, whales, waves and mermaid designs. We loved the look, so decided to showcase our newest print on them – we’ve created a bee-themed design, inspired by the bees that live in our roof and the nature we see on our coastal walks around Amroth. 

Celebrating individuality
One of the things we really promoted at the event was our made-to-measure service. We appreciate that we’re all unique and not everyone fits standard shop sizes. We had customers queuing up to be measured for our dresses and hoodies, and we took heaps of orders from people who find it difficult to get the perfect fit. Once we have your measurements, we’ll keep these details on file, so it’s always easy to re-order.

Highlights
As well as meeting so many of you, the show was a great opportunity to meet other businesses who share our vision of creating environmentally-friendly, locally produced, high quality goods and services. We were really lucky to be placed next to the Marine Conservation Society who we hope to work more closely with in the future. Other favourites included Whalefest, a not-for-profit company that supports a global partnership of major charities working for whales and dolphins – the World Cetacean Alliance. Jean-Michel Cousteau is president, and with strong media coverage we are drawing attention to win these vital campaigns.
We also met the Meek family who sold up, quit their jobs and took their girls out of school so that they could go on a year-long expedition around the UK. Jaz made great friends with Ella and Amy Meek who are two kids campaigning against single-use plastic bottles, with the aim of removing them from supermarket shelves in the UK, along side three other big aims. Ella and Jaz had so much in common and are now pen friends!
The Action Sports Tour, in the bike section was amazing, showing high flying displays from Europe’s best action sports stunt team! There was loads of the big companies exhibiting but it was smaller companies like Adventurenow who really stood out, as they offer exclusive unique products that are different and exciting.

There were too many amazing people and companies to mention, but here are some links to a few that really inspired us. We think you’ll love them, too:

Whalefest
http://www.whale-fest.com/

Kids against plastic
http://www.clearplasticuk.net/

The Meek family
http://www.dotrythisathome.com/

Recycling ghost nets
www.healthyseas.org

The Marine Conservation society
www.mcsuk.org/

Flapjackery – The best flapjacks ever (palm oil-free)
www.flapjackery.co.uk/

Adventure Now – Residential courses for aspiring outdoor adventure instructors
www.adventure-now.co.uk

Action sports tour – the UK’s premier Action Sports Entertainment provider http://www.actionsportstour.co.uk/

Team iSea

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We’ve just returned from an amazing few days at The Telegraph Outdoor Travel and Camping show, London Bike show, Triathlon show and Oceans Festival (4-in-1!) in London, and one of the best things about the event was that we got to meet so many of you! It was so lovely putting faces to names, and to see your positive reactions to our newest designs and ranges. It really bought home to us how important your feedback is to us. So many of you were interested in hearing our story and how we work, that we thought we’d invite you all in to take a look behind the scenes at iSea, and so we’re launching this blog, so you can get to know us a little better, get an exclusive look at the latest designs before they hit the shelves and see how, why and who brings our creations to life. So, first things first, let’s meet the team…

The creative one

The creative one!

iSea Surfwear grew from Anna’s mission to find the perfect hoodie!

“I’m obsessed with hoodies but couldn’t find anything that had nice prints on decent fabric with a sporty edge, that was kind to the environment, too. So I decided to make my own!”

Her passion for surfing and beach life was a natural fit, and her determination to make great things happen meant running her own business was inevitable. Anna comes up with all the creative artwork and screen prints the designs herself, she often makes the garments from start to finish, especially any custom made-to-measure items, as well as getting stuck in with the cover stitching and finishing off. A self-confessed control-freak, she checks each and every item that leaves the iSea workshop, and her exceptional eye for detail is what ensures our garments are the very best quality around.

The production princess

Cez the production princess

Cez (The production princess)

Cez was the very first employee at iSea and joined us permanently after completing an apprenticeship where she was put through her paces by perfectionist Anna! Cez is our production princess who just can’t be beaten when it comes to overlocking. She’s the one who makes sure your clothes have strong seams and the perfect fit. Cez’s ‘work hard, play hard’ theory of life means she’s great fun to have in the workshop – when she emerges from her pile of sewing that is!

 

The sane one

Flo, the sane one

Flo (The sane one)

An adrenalin junkie outside of the office, nothing phases our lovely Flo, who keeps us all on track when there’s a show coming up or a big order deadline to meet. The perfect all-rounder, she’s good at everything we throw at her, which usually includes cutting, making buttonholes, sewing and sorting orders. We love the way she finishes your clothes with stitching you can barely see, and the general oasis of calm that she brings to the iSea shores!

“Working at isea surfwear is very rewarding; the process of starting the day with individual pieces of fabric but ending with a complete hoodie is so satisfying. The wide range of products we produce mean the work is always varied and engaging, and our drive towards being environmentally-friendly requires creative thinking, and a willingness to work in innovative ways.”

The supermodel

Jaz (The supermodel)

Jaz (The supermodel)

Jazz is the youngest member of the iSea crew – and chief product tester. Her love of surfing and no fear attitude means our kids clothing range is bomb-proof! She has very strong ideas on what she likes to wear and isn’t shy about giving her opinion on what we should be making and wearing for the season ahead too. She’s an absolutely beautiful model and has been a happy member of the team since she was three years old. She’s also very good at making those all important cups of tea!

So that’s us! We work out of a gorgeous workshop in beautiful Amroth, which we’ll be showing you around soon. In the meantime, you can find out more about the iSea team and see our latest range at www.iseasurfwear.co.uk