Harbour & Tide in Margate is more than just a shop selling joyful and useful beach-themed wares – for former fashion stylist Katy Lassen, it’s the realisation of a lifelong dream
Words Susie Atkinson | Photography Edward Thompson & Katy Lassen
If you stand outside Harbour & Tide, the cheerful beach store just a few steps away from Margate’s harbour, you can smell the sea and see the Turner Contemporary art gallery.
It’s a bright little shop packed with joyful, practical, sustainable wares that reflect the pace and pleasuresof coastal living – and it’s here that Katy Lassen, former fashion stylist and art director, has made her creative home.
Originally working in London, Katy’s transition to coastal life was a gradual one. In 2016, she moved to nearby Ramsgate with her partner, but they both continued to work in the city. ‘We commuted at the time,’ she says, ‘and Ramsgate had good links to London, plus space, air, and houses near the station so, on one level, it was a practical choice – however, we were also seeking a different pace of life.’
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and during the 2020 lockdown, the shift from city life to coastal living crystallised. With the fashion world paused and work on hold, Katy found herself being called in a new direction.
‘My interest in styling was starting to wane and, when the pandemic hit, I spent a lot of 2020 on the beach and in the sea,’ she says. ‘We had amazing weather and I started sea swimming that first winter, dressed up in a neoprene swimsuit, gloves, socks, little hat, the lot,’ she laughs.
‘It was something I’d never thought I’d be able to do. It was freezing, obviously, but it was also exhilarating. There’s a clarity that comes with cold water, and a camaraderie when you do it with a group. You’re all screaming, but you’re doing it together.’
AN IDEA FORMS
Gradually, sea swimming became Katy’s weekly ritual. ‘There’s nothing else on your mind in the water. The cold demands your full attention.’
Amid this salty clarity, an idea began to take shape. ‘I noticed the beaches in Margate would get really busy – but all you could buy was cheap plastic buckets and towels. And that seemed so wrong.
‘All of my swimming buddies were talking about keeping the beaches clean, about plastic in the sea. Yet there wasn’t anywhere to get sustainable, decent beach stuff.’
Katy viewed this as an opportunity to realise a lifelong dream. ‘I’ve always wanted a shop. And I thought there was a gap in the market for good- quality things that would appeal to visitors, and to locals who live that coastal life year-round.’
It took a few years for her idea to take shape and for the right premises to become available, but with funding from a business start-up loan, Katy stocked up and prepped for launch.
In 2022, she ran summer pop-ups in Broadstairs and Ramsgate, testing her idea and her stamina for the business. ‘Through the winter, I also sold knitwear, winter swim gear, practical coats – basically useful, joyful things for year-round coastal life. It gave me a chance to show that I wasn’t just a summer store.’
HARBOUR & TIDE OPENS
The first permanent Harbour & Tide shop opened in March 2023, in a small but perfectly located space in Margate. ‘It’s a bit out of the town hub, but it has this incredible outlook. You can see the sea and the Turner from the shopfront.’
The shop reflects Katy’s values: the items are colourful, functional, sustainable, and thoughtfully curated. ‘Coming from fashion, where you sell things people don’t need, I really wanted to offer products that were worth buying – things that make people think: “I’m going to use this, and I’m going to love it.”’
From journals and enamel mugs to branded sweatshirts and beach totes, the product range is tightly edited and joyfully designed. ‘We launched our own T-shirts last summer, with slogans like “Resting Beach Face”, and people loved it,’ she says. ‘Now we’ve added sweatshirts using circular production from a British maker. I ran a pre-order and sold 25 in a week.’
Today, around 25% of Harbour & Tide’s revenue comes from online sales – an area Katy is keen to grow. ‘I want to be a destination for people going on holiday, or even just craving that coastal feeling wherever they are.’
Katy finds inspiration everywhere: in the shifting light on the waves, in the colours of beach huts and fishing boats, in the wind-blown wildflowers clinging to the cliffs. Her creative process is similarly intuitive. Ideas often arrive during swims or walks. ‘I might be watching the tide or noticing how a colour looks different in the morning light, and something clicks. I think that being near the sea keeps you in a receptive state. It opens you up.’
COASTAL INSPIRATION
For Katy, the coast is more than a location – it’s a way of life. It slows the pace, deepens the breath, invites pause and presence. She reads on the sand, journals with a thermos beside her, and spends as much time outdoors as possible. ‘It’s a kind of therapy,’ she says. ‘Nature doesn’t care about your to-do list. It just asks you to show up.’
Her business was also born from this mindset. Harbour & Tide is not just a shop, but an expression of a lifestyle rooted in presence, pleasure, and care for the natural world.
‘What I wanted to create was a place that reflects how the coast makes you feel. Not just what you need for the beach, but what you want to take home from it, emotionally.’
Sea swimming remains Katy’s passion and sanctuary. ‘In the water, I’m not thinking about anything else. I’m not worrying about emails, the shop, or what we’re having for dinner. It’s just me and the sea. You feel your body, your breath. It’s like a deep reset.’
Katy has an eight-year-old daughter and they now also enjoy spending time together by – and in – the sea. ‘It’s a bonding thing. She loves the water. We dig holes, we jump waves. There’s a sense of freedom by the sea that I really value, especially for children. I didn’t want to raise her in the city. Here, we have space, salt air, nature. It feels grounding.’
Katy’s previous career in fashion still informs what she does in terms of curation, design, and a keen eye for colour and storytelling, but life by the sea has changed for her. ‘When I’m in the sea, I get a sense of peace. It’s embodied. Present. It opens you up.’
Vistors to Margate can find the Harbour & Tide shop opposite the Turner Contemporary gallery. Prices for its own collection range from £1 for a postcard to £48 for a sweatshirt. Find out more and shop online at harbourandtide.com, and follow on Instagram @harbourandtide.
