It's a Long Life: Why Spend It with Ugly Housewares?

The Beyond Her manifesto is pretty simple:  "Life is too short for ugly dish towels."  But the more I think about it, the more I'm sure this thought needs a major revision.

In truth, life is too LONG for ugly dish towels.

We all know how much time we spend in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning up.  Why wouldn't you want to be surrounded by things that you love to see, and like to work with? 

Little things like handsome hand towels can make a difference.  They provide a kind of decoration that changes with the laundry, and if you're like me, you will often be more in the mood for one towel than another. 

---

And anyone who has spent any time making dinner or doing dishes knows that there are good dish towels and there are bad ones. 

The good ones, like ours, are a rich 100% nice cotton muslin, and really soak up water and wash up well. The bad ones, even the cute ones, are shiny, slick and pretty useless when it comes to doing their job.

People often have a regretful reaction Beyond Her kitchen towels -- after they appreciate the hand-dyeing, the original art, the surprising colors, the modern aesthetic.   "I could never use these, they're too pretty," they mourn. 

---

Too which I say, dishtowels are not rags. 

For god's sake, don't clean up messes with them. Don't wipe up the floor!  That's what paper towels are for.  Use hand-picked, soul-satisfying, sensual dish towels for your hands and for dishes -- and perhaps for the occasional place mat, bar towel, or gift wrap. 

Go ahead - live a little, in the kitchen and beyond.  Get a lovely dishtowel! 

---