Inspired By Becca Mantei

Becca Mantei’s work carries a kind of quiet warmth. For our newest collection, she returned to antique quilts and old textile books, pulling from nearly a decade of designing quilt-inspired towels for Daydream. 

What excited you about collaborating with Slowtide on this collection?
"It's always such a pleasure to work with Slowtide. They are the best in the biz, so to be given the opportunity to design something with pretty much limitless parameters is a dream!"

Where did you start creatively when designing these towels?
"I knew I wanted to continue designing these towels that were inspired by antique quilts. I've been designing quilt beach towels for Daydream since we opened almost 10 years ago. I start flipping through old textile books to get inspiration on pattern and scale."

What inspired the color palette in this collection?
"I really wanted the colors to feel very natural and lived-in. Like they had the perfect amount of fading from being left in the sun. Colors that could fit seamlessly into someone's home while still making a statement. A mossy olive and dusty rose, and a faded denim blue and tide pool teal — both color combinations feel a bit unexpected but also very neutral at the same time."

Did you pull from any specific memories, places, or references?
"Definitely! I find that nature is a master at perfecting color palettes. I love referencing some of my film photography of landscapes when designing a collection. I'll go through and pull specific colors that are in the photos and use those to put together a collection."

What does a typical design process look like for you from idea to final product?
"I'm always collecting textures, colors, patterns, and thoughts before anything becomes concrete. I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to art and design inspiration. When I have a project I'm working on I sit with the ideas and try to give them space to let them evolve. Sometimes inspiration comes really fast and I can accomplish a lot in a short time, but other times I'll make 100 different versions of something before I land on its final form. I try to remind myself when I'm getting frustrated and stuck in a creative rut that usually when I get to the part where I hate what I'm making, the next iterations of it are usually gold. I think that's where the magic lies — when you're hitting your head against a wall trying all these different combinations and nothing is working. If you just keep working through it, the product on the other side is always worth the effort. For this collection, everything came together really fast! I have a pretty big collection of books about antique quilts and textiles and had been loving this floral motif, so when I was designing this collection I knew right away I wanted to include that in the design."

What detail in the collection feels most “you”?
"I think the pattern feels the most me. It's feminine but also structured and bold."

What’s next for Daydream that you’re excited about?
"We're opening a Daydream in Japan! It's been in the works for a couple years and now it's finally happening. This will be our second location and first international store. We have the most incredible partners there and I feel so lucky to make this dream a reality. It's still in major construction mode — earthquake retrofitting is serious business in Japan — but we're hoping to be open by Summer 2026! It's going to be in Chigasaki, an amazing surf community on the coast, about an hour train ride from Tokyo."

What are you currently daydreaming about?
"So many things! I'm an Aquarius so I'm always daydreaming. Here's what's been noodling around in my brain the last month or so: The Suzanne Jackson retrospective at SFMOMA, abalone shells, the first blooming daffodils in my garden, I just turned 33 (ahhhh!), chocolate covered strawberries, quilts, lava lamps, the White Elephant Sale in Oakland (look it up), dungeness crab cakes, soaking in an onsen in Hakone, Japan, my pug Penelope, drinking a mai tai somewhere warm, sailing in Tomales Bay, re-reading Eve Babitz's Slow Days, Fast Company, learning to oil paint, spring."

Follow along with Becca and Daydream Surf Shop on Instagram

Shop the newest Daydream x Slowtide collection here