Our Story
How The Linen Works Came to Be
Ten years ago I paid my first visit to the old farmhouse in the South of France that had been in my husband’s family since the 1950’s.
I remember a cupboard with piles of old embroidered linens. In the kitchen there was a melange of pottery stacked unevenly on rough wooden shelves and simple utensils hanging regimentally from peg boards. A steel dustpan and brush hung by the fire, and another on the back of the kitchen door.
What really appealed to me was the sense of restraint that had been exercised throughout. This was a home that had been created by someone who cherished useful and beautiful things. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, that first visit was also the beginning of what would become my journey to creating The Linen Works.
Over the next five years - as I got married, had children, and set up our home in London - we visited the house as often as we could. One day whilst hanging out the washing in my favourite spot, overlooking the Bay of Toulon, I Iooked closely at the beautiful linen pillowcase I was pegging on the line and wondered where on earth I could buy something like that back home.
The reality was that I couldn’t. So much of what was available was part of our increasingly throw-away culture where true style was being replaced by a drive towards disposable fashion. This seemed to me to be just ‘stuff’ rather than products with any real integrity or discernable provenance.
And that’s how The Linen Works was born.
I realised that if I wanted to capture the essence of the home that my mother in law had created, I would have to search for products that shared an aesthetic based on simplicity and functionality. These were the principals that would stand the test of time.
In doing so, I met artisans who were passionate about maintaining the legacy of wool production in the Pyrenees, and makers of porcelain enamel who had developed their technique over 80 years. I discovered a company that had been making stunning copper cookware since the nineteenth century. And of course I immersed myself in everything linen, searching out producers of the finest linen, working only with those who had been certified by the Masters of Linen, the true stamp of quality.
These pieces form part of the Linen Works collection.
Today, I continue to look for items that share this pared-down style that I know from experience will grow more beautiful with age and use. I am delighted to bring you our first range of linens produced and designed especially for The Linen Works. All our linen is produced from Belgian flax and carries the Masters of Linen stamp of quality.
We are delighted with our new relaxed pre-washed range of bed and tablelinen in soft muted tones which, with the fibres broken down through washing, already feel like an old friend. We have also created a superb range of cushions in many of our different fabrics. Don’t miss our kitchen linen which includes our new linen roller towel, available in three classic stripes. We have a broad range of fabrics available by the metre, now with some lovely plain linens of varying weights and colours as well as the popular stripes and checks.
Welcome to The Linen Works. and a huge welcome back to those of you who are already customers. I hope you find something here that inspires you too.
Marina Guirey
Founding Director
