The Beach People – Founders

Redefining Seaside Luxe, The Beach People are a globally admired brand known for the original ‘Roundie’ towel and their iconic designs.

From sailing the seas as babies; to living and breathing the salty life as business women on the north coast of New South Wales. The Beach People co-founders Emma and Victoria, two sea-loving sisters share the story of how it all began.

Bringing style from the beach to the home, the ‘The Beach People’ brand was founded in the Summer of 2013 by sisters Emma Henderson and Victoria Beattie. Their much loved signature product, the original Roundie® towel, sold out in weeks and was followed by a range of seaside essentials including candles, soaps, ponchos, petite round towels and bath towels.

Inspired by their family, friends and living by the sea in Australia, their iconic products are elegant and functional, ensuring we soak up the sun in style.

We’ve worked really hard to design some beautiful luxurious products which reflect our love of the ocean and embody who we are as a brand.

The Beach People’s design process begins by drawing on inspiration from both Emma’s and Victoria’s every day beach lifestyle, along with their many travel experiences. All patterns are hand drawn, and incorporated into their luxurious products to create some truly unique pieces.

Everything we do has its own unique twist, and that is something we love about what we do.

Where It Began

We started The Beach People with a view of being stay at home mothers with flexible work hours.

It started with a simple idea and a love of design.

Being sisters, we really wanted to work together and pour our energy into something we could pass onto our children, but also inspire them to follow their dreams.

Business Start-Up

I would say to anyone starting something new that it will take all your courage, and it’s going to challenge you like never before but the rewards are so worth it.

Trust your gut! It’s usually right.

We put it all on the line for The Beach People! We used every cent we had, house deposits, the lot. But if you don’t give it a go, what is this life about?

Business Advice

Do the hard yards! Set everything up properly from the start and make sure you know what kind of business you want and the direction you are going to take.

Don’t put off till tomorrow what can be done today.

A friend told us this one the other day “eat the frog,” which means do the biggest task first every day and the rest feels easy. We loved that!

Business Challenges

We have all made mistakes but without them you don’t learn valuable lessons. Luckily we have a friend who has a successful global brand, so we pick his brain continually on all things business.

Find someone who has walked the journey before you and learn from their mistakes.

Surround yourself with like-minded people who can help you through the ups and downs of business.

Balancing It All

We say don’t worry too much about the word ‘balance.’ Being mum’s there are weeks when you’ll have sick children and work will take a back seat, other weeks when work is backed up but the kids just want a play date at a friend’s house, it all works out.

We don’t usually work weekends, we switch off after 5pm and spend quality time with our families. Dinner time is sacred so we can all be together and hear about each other’s days. There are always exceptions but generally this is a great way of living for us.

Family Business

From the start of The Beach People we made up a thing called the ‘Sister Contract’ and we wrote down each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We always put our friendship first. If we feel like we need to have fun together…we do.

What’s New

We launch our next collection mid-year. Loads of new products including our first ‘The Beach People’ bedding collection.

Sum It Up

When you own your own business the workload is limitless. There is always something to be done. So we learnt early on that it’s important to schedule time out.

Creating beautiful things for people to use every day around the ocean, with their families, friends, during adventures and on their travels. It’s a real delight. – Emma Henderson & Victoria Beattie, The Beach People

Emma and Victoria’s life oozes warmth, fun, a deep love for family, friends, the ocean which is reflected in their creativity and the following insights.

We love what we do because… We love the adventure and creating unique products.

Never be afraid of… Being honest.

My greatest talent is… Emma says of Victoria: She is the hardest worker and the wisest lady. Victoria says of Emma: Highly creative. She is literally buzzing with ideas.

Our biggest challenge… At the moment getting all our new products to market on time!

When starting a business one must… Be courageous.

Most rewarding career moment so far… Watching everyday people all around the globe enjoy products we create.

We’ve loved… Creating ‘The Original Roundie.’ It took two years. Nothing prepared us for the public reaction, it was so rewarding. We are so grateful people love our products as much as we do.

I never go to work without… Loads of snacks and a big bottle of water.

Never underestimate… A walk on the beach or a dip in the sea.

In our spare time we like to… Spend our days with friends and family by the sea.

Every girl needs… A Roundie!

Happiness is… Family.

Success means… A healthy and happy home.

What’s next… Lots of new products on the horizon. Top secret, so keep following!

Living the dream means… Being present and enjoying every day.

Stay connected with The Beach People through the following links:

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Thank you Emma and Victoria for sharing your refreshing journey with us and our readers. We believe you are both a true inspiration for all women innovative, enterprising and deeply devoted to all you do. – Demi Karan – CEO/Founder, Heels Agency