Last year I had the best of intentions - close the shop for a couple of months while rebranding and relaunching as Scarborough Eco Hub. Under this new umbrella, I could incorporate our environmental activities into the shop - or so I thought!
It turns out the beach litter recycling aspect of the business is much more complicated to do inside the shop, and the massive modifications needed to the back room to create a recycling centre (while remaining safe for the public), just isn't feasible.
So almost a year on, I've been unable to reopen as intended. The shop has become a storage unit and dispatch centre for the website, and we haven't had any customers through the door since last summer.
But that's all about to change...
So, along with watching the sunrise every day since the start of 2023 (the best inspiration and therapy ever!!), I've been busy working on a few new ideas to get the shop back open. Here's what you can expect to find...
Scarborough Eco Hub
The shop is becoming a hub for all things eco-friendly.
That includes a drop off point for things collected on beach cleans that can be reused or recycled, a collection point for beach toys in the holidays (our bucket library/borrow a bucket scheme will be active throughout the season), and an education centre - we will still do our best to catch tourists on the way down to the beach to try remind them about why it is so important to keep litter inside the bins, and not on the floor.
We'll also be running educational and craft workshops so that beach litter can be upcycled and reused as much as possible. It is taking some organising but hopefully a few workshops will launch in summer.
Fresh Naturals
I just couldn't let the skincare side of the business go - I've always been fascinated by the power of natural ingredients and have been busy formulating new products over the last year. My amazing customers have been keeping the website going, and have inspired me to relaunch - but sadly quite a lot of my previous suppliers have closed up and I've struggled to find good quality replacements.
So I've been creating my own products and formulating recipes I know my customers will love. I'm just waiting for a few bits of paperwork to be finalised before I can legally sell the products (there's sooo much red tape in cosmetics) - but as soon as it comes through they'll be added to the web store, and available in the shop.
As always, everything I make is mindfully and ethically created - with vegan friendly, cruelty free, natural, non-GMO ingredients, in plastic-free packaging wherever possible. The Fresh Naturals brand values will always remain. And because I'm making it in-house, I can offer a refill scheme, to save even more waste and energy from recycling packaging.
The first batch of products I'll be launching include facial cleansing oils and moisturisers - some are available to pre-order now. I'm also working on balms, butters, scrubs and deodorants. My doggy products will also be back - with a few new additions there too.
I'll even be teaching you how to make your very own natural skincare products, with just a few ingredients. Look out for the natural skincare workshops launching this year.
Lots to look forward to!
And there's more...
Introducing Tide & Wild
A brand new name for the homewares and recycled/upcycled gifts I've been busy making, because Fresh Naturals just doesn't cover what I'm doing on this side of things.
So look out for my Tide & Wild products in the shop - all made from things collected on our beaches, or inspired by my love of the ocean and nature. A chunk of profits from these products will be donated to environmental and wildlife causes, to help protect the animals, insects and marine life we're very lucky to have on our doorstep in Scarborough.
For those who know my design background, I've been itching to get back into creating digital designs for a while (for something other than skincare!). So I have a range of ethical postcards and greetings cards as well as eco inspired prints (all printed on seeded card, or recycled cards/papers). All will be revealed when the shop reopens.
And a few other products I've been busy making include - macrame and seaglass homewares, and recycled beach plastic products (guitar picks, litter cards, jewellery, and a few other random uses I've discovered for beach litter!). By the time I reopen, there will probably be lots of other changes to report, or products I've created - but change is good, especially when its for the benefit of the planet!
I hope you'll continue to follow my journey, please join me on social media for more updates. I'll share everything from across the 3 brands on the Scarborough Eco Hub pages, but will keep content on each seperate page relevant to that particular brand... so follow:
Fresh Naturals - for everything skincare, including skincare tips, natural beauty, ingredients, skincare recipes, foraging, DIY recipes, herbs and botanicals.
Facebook: facebook.com/FreshNaturals
Instagram: instagram.com/FreshNaturals
Pinterest: pinterest.com/FreshNaturals
Tide & Wild - for recycled/upcycled gifts and homewares. These products will initially be available to buy on this website, and in the shop.
Instagram: instagram.com/TideAndWild
Scarborough Eco Hub - A collective of local eco-friendly and environmental activities. Plus information on upcoming eco workshops and community beach cleans. We'll share a bit of everything, not just our own activities, but other local environmental groups too.
Facebook: facebook.com/ScarbEcoHub
Instagram: instagram.com/ScarboroughEcoHub
TikTok: tiktok.com/ScarboroughEcoHub
Twitter: twitter.com/ScarbEcoHub
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