A Mother's Day gift idea

Our original design for Sal del Mar de Cortez embroidered bags are being featured in Bon Boutique  https://bontucson.com as a gift idea for Mother's Day... we are thrilled. The owners, Crystal Flynt and her mother, Bonnie, collect their favorite things to feature in their shop. "The two of us share a love of things that are well designed and well made. We like a mix... new and old, rough and refined, dark and colorful, east and west, fun and serious... the beauty is in the way it’s all put together." 

I am always amazed at the photographs on Bon's website.  Crystal shoots many of the photographs and I admire her creative eye. Her photographs of Sal del Mar show how she captures the symplistic beauty in everything.

For the "Gourmet Mother"

We love the idea for the Gourmet Mother on Mother's Day that one of our retailers, Bon Boutique, came up with.... pairing our Sal del Mar together with wooden spoons from France and Fog Linen kitchen cloths.

A New Year... and a New Design

We decided to get "dressed up" a bit with our new Sal de Cocktail hand-embroidered bag.  And what better time than at New Year's?

It's the same salt from the Sea of Cortez that is dried by the wind and sun and hand-harvested. The taste is ideal for food or for cocktails whether it is a Margarita, Salty Dog, or a Bloody Mary because the taste of the Sal de Cocktail-rimmed glass enhances the flavors in any cocktail.

We wanted a sophisticated look so we choose a grey linen fabric and a white on white embroidered design, using sea horses holding a shell as our new label (we patterned it after sophisticated liquor labels).

They make a great gift anytime of year.  Bon Boutique in Tucson made up gift package of Sal de Cocktail and a shallow crystal bowl for dipping the salt, tied with a simple twine bow.  

We always salt the rim of our cocktail glasses in advance of the party so they have a chance for the salt to crust a bit....and so the salt doesn't drip down into the cocktail.  Another tip:   just salt half the rim so that the guests can have salt or not. I guarantee that even "non-salt people" will like Sal de Cocktail.

We wish you and yours a happy, healthy 2015!  We value you as customers and as friends and thank you for your support.  It is because of you that our embroiders are able to help sustain their families.

PS:  We still have all of our other Sal del Mar and Sal de Cocktail designs available.  Our new linen bag is another design to choose from!

A Tasting Party for Sal del Mar

I am so excited to show off these photographs taken at a party and tasting for our Sal del Mar hand-embroidered bags that Bon Boutique held at their store in Tucson, Arizona. The photos taken by Amy Haskell (www.haskellphotography.com) are worth a thousand words.

Beautiful Crystal of Bon Boutique.

Bon Boutique, Tucson

Crystal, one of the proprieters (her mother Bonnie is the other) greeted guests with trays of Sal del Mar salted nuts for guests to taste our hand-harvested gourmet salt. 

The setting was exquite with garlands and twinkling lights and displays of Sal del Mar gift ideas.

Sal del Mar's NEW grey linen Sal del Cocktail Bags

Gift Idea:  Sal de Cocktail with a salt dish 

Gift Idea:  Sal del Mar with a beautiful cookbook

I loved the gift ideas Bonnie and Crystal designed. For Sal del Cocktail...our new embroidered bag design for the home cocktail bar...they packaged each bag with a shallow crystal bowl for salting cocktail gasses.  

Our Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt bags were tied as a gift package with twine and hand-made paper flowers and a glorious cookbook, "Mexico, The Cookbook" by Margarita Carrillo Arronte.

Beautiful Teri Arnold Shannon

Teresita's New Martini

Tiny paper fluted cups held savory and sweet salted almonds. 

As the guests browsed through Bon, they were served delectable samplings of Sal del Mar and Sal de Cocktail.  

Trays of tidbits were passed with such treats as olive oil sautéed dates topped with Sal del Mar, salted chocolate truffles, melba toast topped with goat cheese and salted caramelized guayaba by Chef Teri Arnold Shannon who prepared them from her Teresita's Panadería y Bistro kitchen in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.

Sal del Mar filled a salt dish to try with French radishes, herbed butter and baguettes.

Tasting of a new-style Martini was served with salt-rimmed cocktail glasses (for the recipe go to our website).

If you couldn't attend the tasting and party, Bon Boutique is located at 3022 E. Broadway, Tucson. It is worth a visit and you can even order from them on-line! Sal del Mar and the gift ideas shown above, make the perfect hostess gifts, holiday gifts and are packaged beautifully!

It's All in the Details

Getting ready for a tasting for Sal del Mar at our favorite boutique, Bon, in Tucson, Arizona.

The owners Bonnie and Crystal have created all kinds of decorative magic for the evening.

It's such a "creative high" working with them.  There will be more to show in our next blog soon.

First look at our new linen Sal de Cocktail bag!

Our embroidered bags will be presented for gift ideas, including for the hostess, for the cocktail party, for the little holiday gift, for the gourmet cook, for the teacher......

A Diane Keaton Discovery

I have long admired Diane Keaton, not just as an actress but as a designer. I have followed her in Architectural Digest where she has been featured many times. In fact, I have recently discovered that the set design of a new NBC comedy, The New Normal, was inspired by her Spanish Colonial-style house in Bel Aire.  I also read an article in the New York Times that she is designing tableware for Bed Bath and Beyond.

So, it is not surprising that with her impeccable taste the first word she said when she walked into Bon Boutique in Tucson was “Wow.” She liked what she saw so much that she wrote an article for Remodelista: Sourcebook for Considered Living.  (See her article: http://remodelista.com/posts/a-treasure-trove-in-tucson)

I discovered Bon Boutique many years ago when I was editor of Tucson Lifestyle Home and Garden magazine and feel the same way Diane Keaton does about the store and owners, Bonnie and Crystal.  They have hand-picked, wondrous items that you can’t find anywhere else.

I am very pleased to know that Sal del Mar is one of the items that Bon Boutique carries in their store and on-line, as well.

PS:  I like to imagine that Diane Keaton walked into Bon Boutique and said Wow!” when she saw Sal del Mar artistically displayed in one of Bon’s hand-crafted woven baskets.

Check out Sal del Mar on Bon Boutique's website.