Towelini Reinvents The Beach Towel

Tired of trying to figure out what to do with her beach towel, Susan and her boyfriend Mario have taken it to the next step with the Towelini. This isn’t the average bathing suit cover for on the beach. Once off, it is a full sized beach towel or rolled up it can be a pillow to go under your head while you tan.

Although her business is still relatively young, it’s not hard to see the potential for growth her product has. With the word getting out about her product, it shouldn’t be long before we find her invention on the shelves of large retailers.

What is the Towelini and what does it do?

Towelini is a cross between a beach cover up and a towel. It’s a large piece of lightweight 100% organic cotton terry cloth that can be worn as a skirt or dress. The special shape of the Towelini allows you to tie it into a variety of different styles like a sarong.

How many and what colors does it come in?

Towelini is available in 3 colors: coral, turquoise and lime.

What inspired you to make it?

I came up with the idea while on vacation at Sand Key beach in Florida. I would head out to the beach each day wearing a dress with a bathing suit underneath and carrying a big beach bag to hold my giant beach towel. I thought, if I could just wear my towel like a sarong it would be one less thing to carry so I tried it. It worked, but it was a bit bulky and not as form fitting as it could be. As soon as I got back from vacation I set to work perfecting the design.

What sets your product apart from other towel-like bathing suit covers?

Generally beach cover ups are something that you take off and stuff in your bag when you get to the beach. When you’re not wearing them they’re useless. The great thing about Towelini is that it’s not just a cute dress you can wear to the beach. Once you get to the beach you untie your Towelini and it’s becomes a large beach towel. You can use it to dry off after a swim or lay it out like a beach blanket. You can also roll it up to make a pillow.

How long did it take you to build the Towelini from idea to final product? What was the process like?

From idea to final product it took us about 6 months. It took a lot of leg work to get the first batch of Towelinis made. We had to talk to a lot of manufacturers before we even finalised the design because we weren’t sure how to finish the edges of the Towelini. We decided on a special stitch that is very durable and doesn’t add any thickness. Then we had to track down the fabric. It was hard enough to find terry cloth let alone organic cotton terry cloth. We’ve learned a lot.

What are the long term goals you have for your business?

The next step for us is to find some larger retail partners. It would be great if we could get Towelini onto the shelves in Sears or Target in the U.S. We are also planning to promote Towelini to hotels and spas as an alternative to the standard bathrobe.

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

I think we did what was best for us at this time. We weren’t in a position that we felt it was a good time to take huge risks to advance our business. Neither of us felt comfortable quitting our regular jobs to work on Towelini full time or put all our savings into the business. This forced us to be more resourceful and find creative solutions to problems. All of our initial investment went towards making the first batch of Towelinis because it was important to us to make a high quality product. We didn’t have money to spend hiring consultants or promoting our product but it was a sacrifice we can live with. My partner made the website and we rely heavily on word-of-mouth as advertising.

What kind of previous experience are you able to apply to your business?

My partner has some previous experience in the apparel industry so he has some useful contacts in the textile sector and he’s a whiz with computers. My sewing skills were useful in coming up with the design and making the prototype which we brought to the manufacturer. But the skills we use the most are negotiating, troubleshooting and most importantly, customer service which we’ve been developing throughout our careers in every work place we’ve ever been in.

Was there any advice you found to be particularly helpful?

I guess the best piece of advice I received was from my partner when we were on the beach in Florida and I was trying to tie my towel like a sarong. He said “write this down, it’s a great idea.” If I hadn’t written it down we probably would have forgotten about it when we got home. I was so happy when I came across the note when I got home. Developing Towelini was like a way to make our vacation last.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own business?

If you believe in your idea you can do it. Talk to everyone you know about your plan. You’re bound to meet a few naysayers but you may also find support where you weren’t expecting it. We have a friend who runs a successful internet based business who gave us some good tips on how to improve our website. Another family friend taught us how to write press releases.

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