When I started Rhody Life, I wanted it to feel like a place, a season, and a way of living that so many of us know and love.
For me, that started in Bristol.
Bristol is where some of my fondest Rhode Island memories have been made. It reminds me of the small coastal town my grandparents lived in back in England, Lee-On-Solent, a place where the water, the streets, the shops, and the pace of life all seem to work together. It has that rare feeling of being both familiar and special every time you arrive.
Over the years, Bristol became one of those places we kept coming back to. Bike rides with my daughter when she was little, first being pulled behind me and then, as she grew up, riding alongside me. Teaching her to sail in a BYC Mercury sailboat. Grabbing flowers or vegetables from Fales Farm. Dinners out with friends and family. Long afternoons outside after work when the best plan was simply to be near the water.
We love all of Rhody, but Rhody Life started in Bristol.
And when it came time to launch our first collection, I could not think of a better town or a better moment than Bristol during its 250th Fourth of July celebration.
Bristol’s Fourth of July tradition is something special. For me, one of the clearest memories is sitting on the curb during the parade, watching the town come alive. The flags, the families, the music, the summer heat, the red, white, and blue line running through town...it is one of those experiences that feels both deeply local and deeply American.
That spirit inspired our first pieces: the Bristol 250th celebration caps and the Local Tide sun-and-wave sweater. They were created for anyone who wants to celebrate the Bristol community, the Fourth of July, and the ebb and flow of days along the coast.
Rhody Life, to me, means long days that end sun-kissed and smelling like salt air. Sometimes it is a day in the garden. Sometimes it is sailing in the harbor, paddle boarding, biking by the water, stopping for coffee, or walking through town with nowhere you need to be too quickly.
It is casual, coastal, and a little nostalgic. It is the feeling of summer in Rhode Island.
I also want to say thank you.
Thank you to our first 25 customers last week. Thank you to everyone who followed along, shared feedback, wished us good luck, and opened the door to collaboration. Launching something new is exciting, humbling, and a little nerve-racking, and the early encouragement has meant a lot.
There are wonderful apparel shops, makers, and local goods all over Bristol and across Rhode Island. Shop them, shop us, and find a piece that helps you feel festive, coastal, and summer-ready for Bristol’s Fourth of July celebration.
So here is to Bristol.
Here is to the 250th.
Here is to parade mornings, harbor evenings, beach days, bike rides, farm stands, and all the memories still to come.
Thank you for being part of the beginning.
Simon
Rhody Life