School friends and founders Rachael and Inga set up Tea & Coast in Inga’s home town of St Ives (Rachael hails from Hayle, just across the river) celebrating their evident joy of living by the Cornish coast, born out of artistic banter during the 2020 Covid lockdowns, with a cheeky ‘Jam First’ print.

So Tea & Coast was born, reflecting their collective love of indulging in the odd cream tea and pasty, with more than a nod to the unique Cornish sense of humour. The feel good range of clothing and bags includes hoodies, t-shirts and totes, as well as ceramics, all printed with bold designs to make the buyer and wearer smile. Designs originate from lino-cut prints which Rachael sketches, carves and hand prints. Inga then digitises the prints for use on  clothing, or as decorations for the ceramics that she produces for the shop.

It is important to both Rachael and Inga that Tea & Coast is run in an environmentally responsible manner. Comfortable, high-quality clothing is made-to-last from 100% organic cotton and printed with water-based inks. To minimise waste, clothing is printed on-demand and they only maintain a small selection in store. When tea&coast clothing finally reaches the end of its useful life, it can be returned so that the fabric can be recycled into fresh fibres for new clothing.

Their best-selling design is a seagull balanced on a Cornish pasty, proclaiming “Mine!” – a very effective and affordable therapy for the hungry visitors who have ‘shared’ their lunch with the graceful scavengers.

Rachael and Inga like to think that their little shop is a throw-back to what St. Ives was like a couple of decades ago – quirky, eclectic, fun, selling high quality items, with great personal service. There is no other shop like it in St.Ives, and the designs are instantly recognisably Cornish – Rachael loves to recall when her husband was wearing an Engine House Mine t-shirt in Chicago airport, and someone approached him and said: “That’s from Cornwall, isn’t it!”