New Sidmouth shop will bring the beach to the High Street

Sunkissed & Salty, in the High Street, will sell coastal décor and beach art and accessories, mainly sourced from the local area.

Many of the items on sale will be hand-made by local artists and craftspeople using beach materials such as driftwood, sea glass and pebbles.

There will also be candles, sunhats, sunglasses, natural sunscreen and small decorative plants.

The business is owned and run by Dean Olliffe and his wife Tasha, who moved from Florida to Sidmouth in March.

Dean is originally from Exeter; his family relocated to Florida when he was 15. He met Tasha on his first day at high school in the US when they were both aged 16.

He said they had been planning to start their own business for some time, and decided the time was right when they moved to Sidmouth and the opportunity of the shop came up.

He said: “What we’re doing is, we’re providing an opportunity for local artists to have somewhere to sell in town that isn’t a tent in a craft fair, or a one-off like the folk festival for a week.”

For example, the local photographer Kyle Baker, who sells items including calendars, photo books, coasters and tote bags featuring his images, will have a display area in the shop.

A young GCSE student from Sidmouth College who makes hand-drawn greetings cards will also have her work on sale, along with an artist who paints pebbles, makes driftwood wall hangings and designs jewellery.

Tasha said: “It’s going to be ever-changing but very much with the coastal theme and also a Florida flair to it, because I’m a Florida girl.

“There’ll be a lot of driftwood, a lot of sea glass, a lot of things that have that natural element. A lot of one-of-a-kind pieces as well, almost everything in there that isn’t merchandise is going to be handmade, so it’s going to have unique little twists.”

Dean and Tasha are working hard to get the shop ready for business, and hope to open Sunkissed & Salty in the week starting July 17.