Lili Piraki
Summer with “Anaskela”
by Lili Piraki
Packing for summer holidays, whether the beach, the pool, the boat… every one of these occasions will include taking some essentials. Sunglasses, hat, sun cream and of course a towel! It can be tiresome, trying to roll up a bulky towel and fit it in the beach bag, wait for it to dry, get the sand off it, roll it up again and lug it back. While doing just that, on a trip around the Greek islands, two young women conceptualized the Anaskela brand. Anaskela means lying on your back! A need for a towel that is lightweight and can be rolled up easily, a towel that is very absorbent, yet dries quickly, and a towel that sand would not cling to, so you could shake it right off and go. So Anaskela was born, for every occasion that requires a towel, and a uniquely-designed one made using recycled materials at that.
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Melissa and Jana, two Athenian childhood friends who spent beautiful carefree summers as children, then teenagers and finally as young adults on the Greek islands are the minds behind the idea and co-owners of Anaskela towels. Fast-forward a decade (or two), now with their families, Jana lives in the UK and Melissa lives in Qatar; life has moved them apart geographically, but has made them business partners. And although the design and production of towels for the sea is a very specialized field, Melissa and Jana, originally chose it out of necessity. As Melissa said “I was using thin workout towels which were perfect as they folded up into the palm of my hand and they were super absorbent. Which is so helpful when you are traveling with kids and lugging all their stuff to and from the beach – the last thing you want is a bulky wet towel in the mix. So we thought, “why not make this bigger, and design it for the beach instead of the gym”.
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One of the most important elements concerning Anaskela is the company’s dedication to the environment and keeping the beaches and ocean clean. In 2018 when they started they wanted to make sure that the materials and process were in line with those values.
Each Anaskela towel from this company removes plastic water bottles from a landfill as it is a microfibre made using repurposed plastic. Plus the company organises beach clean ups to further their commitment to the environment.
Kids collection
Anaskela launched with the Geometria collection, consisting of 13 bold patterned towels, each packaged within a useful cotton pouch. The towels measure a large 180 x 90 cm and roll up into the palm of your hand. The Geometria Kids collection followed with four towels measuring 120 x 80 cm also with their mini version of the pouch. Finally Spring 2020 introduced the Under the Palms collection, distinctive in its understated patterns and colour combinations and only slightly smaller in size at 160 x 90 cm.
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The designs are inspired by natural surroundings, especially from Greece. The sea, the sand, the rocks, a little secluded cove, a lonely olive tree on a hill – in an abstract way, all the elements can be found in the towel patterns.
The name Anaskela, is as creative and original as the product itself. As the owners grew up in Greece they wanted to make sure that the brand had a connection to Greece and Anaskela seems the perfect match. As Jana said “It is quite literal but not so serious; we were having fun working together, being creative and we felt the name reflected that!”
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The Anaskela brand has come to change the travel experience making life easier and still stylish!
In order to celebrate their first year of business Anaskela launched the Bespoke Service, offering custom orders; whether in creating a luxurious experience for a yacht, or a branded gift or product for a business or an event, this is a special opportunity for personalisation and creating a unique experience.
For further information visit www.anaskela.com or email contact@anaskela.com
