Sitting at my desk as a super sensible civil servant in Scotland five years ago, I’d never have imagined I’d fall in love with Sitges, move here, set up an Airbnb, survive a global pandemic and now be launching a Sitges based lifestyle brand.
Sitges Bitges sells T-shirts, caps, mugs, magnets and tote bags (with more items coming soon), all hand pressed in central Sitges. The idea started when I christened a WhatsApp group ‘Sitges Bitches’ for friends living here and visiting, to follow Happy Hour and catch up on the latest saucy gossip. We aren’t actually very bitchy in the pejorative sense – we have reclaimed its more powerful meaning. Think Alexis Carrington from Dynasty – independent, in control, self-respecting.
Saying that, there’s definitely a hint of Patsy from Ab Fab, ready at the drop of a sombrero to down a sunset cocktail and get the boogie on in the Street of Sin. We loved the rhyme with Sitges so we became Sitges Bitges for those wondering about the pronunciation and spelling.
My co-founders are full-time residents as well. Tracy is American-born but has French citizenship and is an actor, dancer and singer. Gregg has a property company in London and a fancy café. We jokingly refer to ourselves as a cottage(ing) industry, as we press everything on the ground floor of Sitges Home, my Airbnb, which now doubles as Sitges Bitges HQ. Our cheeky motto being Hecho Aqui Desde Ahora (Made Here Since Now).
We’ve been very fortunate, as we all recover from the impact of Covid-19, to be entrepreneurial without excessive investment costs – although my tea, biscuit, crisps and cava bill during the set-up around my kitchen table has definitely gone up.
Our designs reflect the Bitge attitude – sexy, silly, sassy with a vintage twist which we hope reflects Sitges proudly, as it holds fast as the gayest town in Europe. We had a successful launch event at the HQ on the auspicious Tutu Tuesday – 22/2/22 at 22:22 – although we only had one tutu wearer. We now have an online store up and running at SitgesBitges.com and we are stocked at ‘Sweet Sitges’ with plans for partnering with other local boutiques.
We’ll also be doing the occasional pop-up event at Sitges Bitges HQ. We’ve already generated interest and orders from as far afield as New York City, Hawaii, Australia, Canada, Scotland and the Netherlands. We’re proud of living in Sitges and it’s great that others can now share our sense of humour with quality locally branded products and be Sitges Bitges wherever in the world they may be.
We’re keeping busy with our marketing and sales plan, so watch this space – if you follow us on Instagram, Facebook or on our web site SitgesBitges.com, then you’ll see what next daft thing we’re up to and when and where you can find us. For Carnaval we were able to very quickly help build a mobile shower with a Sitges Bitges printed shower curtain – it brought some giggles.
Who knows what we’ll do for Saint Patrick’s day and Easter to shamelessly grab some attention. Sitges has such a rich history of art and creativity with plenty of bohemian living, so if any like minded creatives would like to collaborate with some funky Sitges designs we’d be happy to hear from them. Or if there’s a partnership in a local market we haven’t thought of, do get in touch. We’re grateful for Sitges Comedy Club for letting us pop on stage to show off our wares and for our upcoming promotion on Gaydio radio.
If you happen to see me, Tracy or Gregg and our mascota Woofy the cock-a-poo, do say hola and help inspire us. We’re looking for inspiration on the Sitges Bitges Doggie Style range of dog bowls and bandanas, although we’re not auditioning for any other models. Woofy has the gig! Thanks for all your support and on behalf of the team I wish everyone good luck for 2022. Keep bitging, Sitges Bitges!
Sitges Bitges can be found at SitgesBitges.com, by email reached at: info@sitgesbitges.com and on WhatsApp: (+34) 626 479 933.
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