Island Magic with Tea Towel Art

On Marco Island, Sharon McLaughlin started S McLaughlin Unique Gifts 15 years ago with uniquely designed tea towels. According to McLaughlin, Marco Island was the very first city that she designed 15 years ago. Then she added Naples and then it turned into many other cities in the United States. For the past 15 years, Sharon has designed tea towels celebrating the character of places and cities across the United States and introducing new designs each year. Through the years, there have been over twenty tea towels for Marco Island. “I design the towels here in Marco by photographing familiar images on the Island,” said McLaughlin. “A favorite place can hold a thousand memories. My first one was the Crescent Beach tea towel design, and my newest one is called Wild Wonders of Marco Island.

But now, her creative focus is just on Marco Island, capturing its personality through whimsical, colorful artworks filled with magical local scenes. She develops the concept, gathers the details she wants to feature and sends her designs and directions to the artists she is collaborating with. Her original artist, Thomas Vieth of France, inspired her to do custom local work. They worked together for 12 years, creating images that combine recognizable places with his artistic touch.

McLaughlin’s tea towels offer residents and visitors a cheerful reminder of a special place they love. She also credits the collaboration and artistry of two artists, Sara Hess of Ohio and Pauline Gatt of Naples. Gatt is an artist who has a passion for painting animals and her designs range from realistic wildlife to whimsical creations. Hess is a very accomplished artist whose range stretches from portraits to murals and also does beautiful, commissioned pieces. Tea towels are both practical and decorative and as an accomplished seamstress, McLaughlin also turns them into aprons, decorative pillow covers, and totes. For McLaughlin, it always starts with a picture through words, and working with her two artistic partners, they become tea towel art of favorite places on Marco, portrayed in colorful and whimsical ways.

The humble tea towel had an upper-class heritage that dates back to 18th-century England, where the British refined the ritual of tea time. Soon, afternoon tea required the decorative accents that specially designed tea towels added to the chinaware and silver trays on the table. The tea towels were usually embroidered with monograms, floral patterns, or family crests to reflect the family’s status.  During the afternoon tea, tea towels had a practical purpose; they warmed the bread, kept the tea at the right temperature, and provided an elegant lining to tea trays. They were also delicate enough to dry delicate glassware. Modern British tea towels now reflect landmarks and royal references and are purchased as souvenirs. Other countries, such as Japan, have tea towels that have become iconic cultural artistic masterpieces and are used not only as tea towels but as eye-catching wall displays.

For McLaughlin, a tea towel offers a charming way to bring those Marco Island memories home or share them with family members and friends. Customers have bought the tea towels and asked her to frame them. They are used as hostess gifts, housewarming gifts, and practical general use – they are very absorbent, functional, and artistic. Marco designed tea towels from Sharon McLaughlin blend functionality and art, making them ideal for kitchen use and as a decorative accent anywhere in the home. You can find them at S McLaughlin Unique Gifts, 999 N. Collier Blvd., Marco Island.