Whimsy & Tea | Handwoven Tea Towels

weaving beauty into your everyday

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Thoughts on beauty

Eighth & Oxford

Eighth & Oxford

I walk in silence beside my mother. She’s listening to classical music on her iPod. I’m thinking about beauty, specifically how it doesn’t have to ...
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sunflower-inspired kitchen towels

Sunflower happiness

Four sunflower heads floated in shallow plates of water on the dining table. Earlier that day they had lined the path at a wedding. Now ...
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sliced beets on the cutting board

Alphabet soup

Chicken noodle. French onion. Potato leek. Beet Cabbage Borscht. A bowl of warm soup hits the spot and offers comforting nourishment. And nourishment is so ...
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Whimsy & Tea towels hanging in my booth

The uncommon magic of a handwoven kitchen towel: What I long to tell you

I was at a craft fair recently and over the course of three days, I heard several women comment, I’d wear that as a scarf, ...
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handwoven towel over the shoulder

Can a tea towel reduce the crime rate?

In the 1990s the crime rate in New York City fell suddenly. Violent crime decreased in cities across the country as the crack trade declined, ...
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The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

A gift for you – The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

Touching the towel can serve as a silent meditation to be present. For me, it’s about connection. These quotations are from interviews with Caryn Cushman ...
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three towels hanging on a ladder

Everyday soul-tingling

One day, a few years ago, when I was making a deposit at the bank, the teller, Cindy, asked me about my business name, “Whimsy ...
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10 pairs of towels

Thank you for your generosity

In December, I invited you to join me in a unique project to bring beauty and hope to survivors of domestic violence. I wanted to ...
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towels for Dina's Dwellings with a gift box

A unique project to give hope and beauty to survivors of domestic violence

The day after Claire’s boyfriend kicked her while she was holding their baby, he was nice to her. She knew then that he knew what ...
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tomatoes drying on a handwoven towel

Ways to use a kitchen towel

My senior year in college my uncle came for a visit. After I cooked us a vegetarian dinner in my basement apartment, he kindly offered ...
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Does everyday beauty make a difference?

I have been interviewing a few customers about the towels, napkins and table runners they purchased from me. I am curious to know how they ...
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tiny house

Living with less

Last November my friends Amy Halko, Holly Jordan and I held a Clay Wood Cloth event at MIX Garden in Healdsburg, CA. We donated a ...
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What do you mean when you call something “beautiful”?

One of my high school English teachers instructed us not to use the adjectives "nice" and "interesting." According to my teacher, to describe someone as ...
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Beauty: the perfect medicine

I've been settling into my new more permanent home and running move-related errands: opening bank accounts, registering my car, finding a vet, getting a landline ...
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Where is beauty when it hurts?

My friend Helena asked me what a world without beauty would look like. At first words like gray and bland came to mind. Then I ...
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Beauty is not a luxury

The other Sunday I had a lovely massage. As I sat in the waiting area with a warm neck wrap and a cup of mint ...
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Investing in beauty

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for the past few months, you know that I am passionate about using beautiful things in everyday life and ...
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Ordinary and extraordinary beauty

Several years ago I traveled back to India, to the foothills of the Himalayas where I grew up. My class was having a reunion in ...
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Honoring the ordinary

I've been talking with friends about the ways they bring beauty into their everyday lives and have been moved by the depth of their responses ...
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An experiment with beauty

I have been conducting a little experiment. What I'm learning from this experiment is deepening my understanding of the importance of beauty in the everyday ...
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But it’s too beautiful to use!

"There once was a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his ...
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Get my ebook — The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

The power of beauty in everyday life: Five stories

Please accept this gift that celebrates and explores the power of beauty in everyday life.

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More writing: Shining a light on the ordinary that’s not so ordinary

circle of beech leaves and flowers on a mossy rock

Although the store is closed, the philosophical heartbeat of Whimsy & Tea – shining a light on the ordinary that’s not so ordinary – is now expressed more fully and a little bit differently in stories and notes at WalksWithAsha.com.

Read and listen

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Popular blog posts

  • In praise of slow weaving
  • But it’s too beautiful to use!
  • The sound before the sound
  • Enough
  • Weaving the Gulf Shores towels
  • Replenishing a tired spirit
  • Honoring the ordinary

Copyright © 2023 Marilyn Webster | Whimsy & Tea | Contact | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

  • HOME
  • ABOUT MARILYN
    ▼
    • Meet Marilyn
    • In the media
    • Environmental stewardship
  • HANDWOVEN GOODS
    ▼
    • Kitchen towels
    • Table napkins
    • About colorgrown cotton
    • Laundering
    • A word about color
    • My guarantee
  • EVENTS
  • BLOG
    ▼
    • Making cloth
    • Thoughts on beauty
    • Life’s lessons at the loom
    • More than a dog walk
    • Customer stories
    • Recent posts
  • CONTACT
  • ONLINE STORE