Back to College & First Apartments!

Classic White Waffle Weave Towels

Last year, our second oldest son Samir went off to college and one of the amazing new "suite" dormitories. Go Big Red!

His room was spacious and his roommates were great guys. What a change from the traditional dinky dorm rooms that we lived in!

We worked hard to make sure he had all the basics to live comfortably in a shared environment. It seemed like a mountain of stuff, but it all worked and all came home again this summer, mostly in pretty good condition.

This year it's a new challenge. He's moving into a house with roommates, and suddenly we're figuring out how to move his bedroom furniture and any extra furniture we have to fill up their house.

One thing is clear - he'll still need his waffle weave bath towels!

With roommates and  any guests all sharing a single bathroom in the house, he probably won't want to leave his bath towel in the bathroom. Fortunately, waffle weave dries so fast he'll be able to store it on a hook in his room, without worrying about it getting mildewy.

Lots of people in tiny apartments have fallen in love with waffle weave bath towels for that very reason - because they dry so quickly!  Read more in TheSweetHome.com.

Want to get towels for your college-bound student?  Click here!  Or check out our Back To School section - with lots of great items.

Two New Colors in Waffle Bath Towels!

Have you ever wondered how companies choose new colors for things like towels?

One way is to look at color forecasts, looking at the colors that Pantone® and other color companies believe will be most popular in the coming year, which they base on extensive and thorough research.

Or you can look at trends in home improvements sales - for instance are warm, earth-toned tiles popular or are vivid, jewel-toned tiles selling better?  (Both are probably true at the same time.)

For a small company like Gilden Tree, bringing in a new towel color is a big commitment.  So, we debated - do we try to dig into the research and choose a color the experts say is going to be big, or do we follow our hearts?

 Of course, we went with our hearts, since we're inspired by the same things that inspire our friends and customers.

In my case, it was a visit to Sanibel Island a couple of years ago, where I fell hopelessly in love with the blue-green colors of the ocean, and the rich, velvety blue of the night sky at the shore.

Suddenly I was noticing those colors everywhere, and realized that blue was the color we've really been missing.

So, we found a wonderful shade of Seafoam, and another dark, rich Midnight Blue and added those colors to our waffle weave towel line.

We used Seafoam in our Classic towels and Midnight Blue in Modern Style towels. We're delighted with all your great comments and knowing how much you love these new towel colors.

Some people couldn't even wait for them to be listed on the site and ordered them sight unseen!

So, be sure to take a moment to check out our new colors and if you feel inspired - bring these beautiful new blue towels into your home.

DIY Spa Basket Items

I've been thinking about what to put in my teenaged daughter's Easter Basket and it's a surprisingly delicate thing.  She's really too old for these things, I know.  But there is a delight in giving and receiving that we both want to hold on to, I think.

So these last few years, I've tried to focus on something she enjoys. I've done gardening themes, art themes and cooking themes. This year I'm making her a spa basket - and it's been really fun!

I looked on Pinterest (where else??) and found lots of great ideas that inspired me to create a board, too.   Check out our Easter Spa Baskets Board, featuring fun Gilden Tree items. 

Our washcloths are perfect for making little bunnies and our orange washcloth is a great little carrot - and they're both so easy.

I took some home and got just a bit carried away!  But they were fun to make and would be a great project for kids.

You're welcome to use my simple instructions for making bunnies and carrots.

To make it even easier,you can just order a bunny with a classic waffle washcloth kit or a bunny with a modern washcloth kit.  

Enjoy!