Hey, we're cool! No, seriously...

So would you Adam and Eve it? ToDryFor is officially cool!

We're super-excited to have been named a CoolBrand for 2012/13. CoolBrands® is an annual initiative to identify and celebrate the UK's coolest brands; the previous year's list included Instagram, Tiger Beer, and Le Creuset.

Co-ordinated by The Centre for Brand Analysis, the prestigious CoolBrands® list, now in its eleventh year, was drawn from over 10,000 independently identified brands compiled using a wide range of sources from sector reports to blogs. These brands were then assessed for coolness (based on various factors including style, innovation, and originality) and whittled down by an expert panel and members of the British public to a final figure of 571. And we're one of them... Bonkers! We're glad they never saw my bowl haircut or Dave's teenage passport photo.

Woop! Cups of tea are on us.

To see the full list for 2012/13, visit the CoolBrands website...

Donna Donna Donna

Kebab? No, Wilson!! As we've not been blogging for a little while we thought it might be fun to get back into the swing of things by looking at various artists' tea towel ranges, starting with the inimitable Donna Wilson.

Use My Tail

Acorns and Leaves

Use My Beard

Use My Beehive

Handy

We love Donna's perfect blend of humour and stylish illustration. Our personal favourite has to be her new 'Use My Tail' design; we're nuts about it. Ha! Ha ha ha ha...

All of Donna's towels are made of linen union (a linen/cotton blend) and are a mighty 48cm x 80cm (which means your dishes will be dazzlingly dry in no time)! View the full range.

2012 Design Competition Gallery

So... you've got a spare few hours, a full packet of chocolate HobNobs, and a blank canvas waiting for tea towel inspiration. What do you do? Here's what...

Ahoy Sailor by Nicole Miles

Domestic Goddess by Matt Oxborrow

If in Doubt by Helen Hancocks

Snazzy Jumper by Philip Pittam

We received so many fantastic and original designs in our 2012 Design Competition that we thought we should share some of our favourites with you.

Check out the full gallery of entries that caught our eye over on our facebook page!

ps - sorry that this has taken us a little while to put together, but better late than never, eh!? 

Woop! Woop! We have a winner...

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who entered our 2012 design competition. We received over a hundred fantastic designs and it was a truly mammoth task trying to choose a winner. Speaking of which, we're incredibly excited to announce who's won, so without further ado....

Congratulations Moira Millman! Your 'Personaliteas' design immediately made us want to put the kettle on for a brew.

Brian Breakfast definitely looks like he'd help mend your garden wall, whilst Olly Oolong's steamy quiff got us reaching out for the custard creams.

Moira's design is now going to be winging its way to the screen-printer's, and will be available on a tea towel near you within the next couple of months. Woo hoo! To see more of Moira's work, why not visit her website...

We'll shortly be putting together a gallery of some of our favourite competition entries on the ToDryFor facebook page, so do keep a lookout over there. Thanks again to everyone who entered; we can't wait to see what you guys come up with next year!

Design Competition 2012

Following on from the success of last year's design competition (won by Robbie Henderson, with his awesome Bear Hug! illustration), we're once again giving everyone a chance to submit their artwork for possible inclusion on a ToDryFor tea towel!

The lucky winner's design will become part of our existing line-up of talented artists, which includes Gemma Correll, Rob Ryan, Julia Pott and other highly acclaimed individuals, as well as receiving five free samples, on-going commission payments, and international exposure through press and worldwide stockists. Exciting, non?!

For more information and to submit a design, visit our competition page...

Take Note: Christmas Order By Dates!

Okay, we know it's still a bit early to be talking about Christmas, but just in case you live in Outer Mongolia and are getting nervous, we've put a page up on our website with all the important 'order by' dates to ensure your tea towels arrive before Christmas.

Here's a quick overview, if you want to start planning - December will be here before you know it:

Rest of world*:
Order by Sunday 4th December

Eastern Europe, USA, and Canada:
Order by Wednesday 8th December

Western Europe:
Order by Sunday 11th December

UK:
Order by Monday 19th December

If you have an emergency that means you are unable to place your order before the above dates, do get in touch and we will try to work our delivery magic to ensure you get everything you need.

* Rest of world includes: South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East (including Japan), Australia and New Zealand

(Mmm, sprouts...)

New Guide towels from Stuart Gardiner!

We've got two new corking designs from Stuart Gardiner in stock - "A Guide to White Wine with Food" and "A Guide to Red Wine with Food". Be the sommelier of your own kitchen with these comprehensive wine pairing guides - they're both beautiful and functional.

A guide to white wine

A guide to red wine