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Our Inspiration — Why a 1920s Bed Sheet?

Our Inspiration — Why a 1920s Bed Sheet?

It's a good question and one that is essential to our story... so let me explain why we chose to model our signature sheets after a bed sheet that dates back to the 1920s. 
 

A Little Background:

When we started this journey, we landed on bed sheets because we thought it would consume the most cotton of any product out there... (we're in the cotton-growing business ya know). So after we selected the product we would make and we put together our supply chain, we were then tasked with the question of, "So how do you want your sheets to look and feel?".(insert the blushing big-eyed emoji)

It was suggested to us that we find some sheets that were currently on the market and try to emulate them. We felt like that tactic wasn't ethical and we wanted to do something different... but what?



The Ah-Ha Moment:

So, as a family, we all began talking about our favorite sheets and what we liked to sleep on. To be honest, I was a newlywed at the time and the best thing I had ever slept on was the sheets given to us as wedding gifts. I only knew that I bought a cheap set of sheets at Target once and it was the worst nights sleep I'd ever had!

That's when my Dad and business partner, Mark, started talking about his grandmother's sheets. He described how they were substantial but breathable. He reminisced about how they came off the clothesline stiff and you would kinda have to break them in... but once you did, there was nothing better. That description appealed to me because it seemed unique and different and it had a personal story attached to it. Now I wanted to get my hands on one of these "heirloom" sheets.

But where do we find these "grandmothers' sheets"? We didn't have any "heirloom" sheets. So we started asking friends if they had any old sheets passed down from distant relatives. (What an odd question!!!) Our good family friends, Bob and Daphne Sittason, invited us to take a look at their storage of linens that had been passed down. IT WAS A TREASURE TROVE! 



Inside several storage containers were sheets that had been passed down from Bob's Grandmother, Madeline Gray. There were pillowcases and flat sheets with hand tatted lace, hand-sewn monograms and intricate decorative stitching like you wouldn't believe — and it all felt divine! We asked if we could take some home to sleep on and see what we thought. They were kind enough to oblige. 

After one night's sleep, my Dad called me and declared that THESE were the sheets. This is what we needed to make. It seemed like this "feeling" fit a niche that was missing in the marketplace. The fabric was soft but not smooth or silky. The yarn was thick and substantial. You could see it weave its way across the body of the sheet. The construction was open and airy for adequate airflow. And that decorative stitching was just icing on the cake! 

The Result:

We put the old sheet in the mail to the textile engineers at Cotton Inc and Hamrick Mills in South Carolina. And after the engineer's analysis of the construction of the bedsheet, we set about constructing a fabric that is made with a thicker yarn than what is traditionally used in modern bed sheets. We are using an open percale weave that allows for airflow so you don't wake up stuffy and hot (140 thread count... just like the heirloom sheet).




The substance of the yarn coupled with the open nature of the weave makes for a truly unique fabric that 
is soft and breathable but substantial. And we can't help but think if you put it on the line and let it hang to dry in the Summer sun, you would experience a night of sleep just as my Dad described from his childhood memories. 




Our sheets are unique in how they feel because they are made the old way. Over time, the bedding industry has focused on a slick and smooth feel for an element of perceived "luxury", high thread counts, plied and twisted yarn... all for what? A complicated buying process that leaves us asking, "what's the big deal?" and "why did I pay so much for this?".

Our sheets are also unique in heart we've put into their creation. We developed these sheets and our brand after recalling moments from childhood when things were simpler, purer and built to last a lifetime and then some.  



So that's why we recreated an old 1920's linen and built our company on top of a single product — a line of bedsheets grown and made in America from our family farm to your home. 

 

 

 

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