Towels reward a longer look: how they are woven, how they behave at the beach, and what they become after years of use. The three pieces here each start from one observation about flat-woven cloth, and none of them is in a hurry.
No pile, no loops. The diamond and herringbone patterns are not decoration. They are the flat weave, and the fringe is knotted by hand. Understand the weave before you choose a size, because it decides how the towel dries and packs.
Pile towels bury the sand down in the loops. A flat weave has no such pockets, so the first shake carries most of it off. The piece follows a beach day in order and ends with what salt and sunscreen leave in the cloth.
Hand towels come pre-washed, so the first wash barely changes their size. The routine that follows is plain: wash, skip the softener, and mind the fringe tied by hand. The piece stays with the towel to the tenth year and what it becomes by then.
Each piece is about the cloth itself rather than about the Bay Laurel catalogue, though the towels in the photographs are ours.
