Fiber And Fashion: Four Local Sources For Textiles That Touch Us
If you're tired of your home furnishings (or they need to be retired), here's where you can refresh them at a discount.
We’ve hunkered down in our homes long enough now that the throw pillows we hug, the bedding we crawl into and drapes we’ve been staring at could use some refreshing. Our area is blessed with exceptionally fine textile makers and vendors. Some of their outlet stores are open, and all sell online. These are not your run-of-the-mill furnishings you’ll find in Home Goods. But if you’re looking for the finer things in life at discounted prices, these are your sources.
Boxwood Linen
Canadian-born Franca Fusco studied design and worked in the fashion business for more than 14 years before making her move from Toronto to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the first incarnation of Boxwood Linen began. She started off slowly, growing the line from three items to several dozen. Her Chatham showroom is evidence of her passion: linen. Each piece, from table linens, tea towels, guest towels and bath towels to shower curtains, pillows and quilts is cut one by one so the grain is perfect every time, then handfinished by Fusco in her studio, She uses only the finest European linens, and everything is machine washable, so there's no excuse to eschew linen. While the store is closed for now, Fusco has been super busy creating new linens at home and meeting clients by appointment at the shop. And athough she doesn’t sell yardage of linen, she does sell linen scraps leftover from her cutting for orders. “They are great for making quilts and some packets have pieces big enough for napkins or pillows,” she says. “People seem to like picking those up. Sleeping under a linen quilt is heaven.”
Boxwood Linen
Traditions Linens
Founded in 1972 by Pamela Kline, a Claverack, NY antiques dealer, Traditions remains headquartered in the town where it all began. Its luxury linens were featured in the Neiman-Marucus, Orvis and Horchow Collection catalogs, but eventually, the demand from retailers was so great the company dropped the retail aspect of the business. Since then, Traditions has been a wholesaler that manufactures and imports (from a mill in Portugal) luxury quilts, towels, sheets, blanket, pillows, rugs, table linens, duvets, sleepwear and baby gear. Local interior designers rely on it to dress the beds in the fabulous houses they adorn. In 2011, daughter-in-law Shari Kline bought the business from her MIL. She also kept up the Traditions Linens outlet sales. Although the store is closed for now, there’s that proverbial silver lining: All of the sale items, including accessories imported from Portugal, have been added to the website, available 24/7. “We’re constantly adding new things,” says Shari Kline. “This week we added all kind of sheeting at crazy good prices.” She mentions that her staff is missing the sales, which are the company’s way of saying thank you to the local community for its longtime support. Recently the company provided bedding to the dancers who were in a bubble residence at PS21. “That allowed us to give back to the community,” Kline says.
Traditions Linens
In an earlier story about this textile designer and manufacturer, we said “It’s Annie Selke’s world, and you can live in it.” And who wouldn’t want to, with the highest quality fabrics in playful patterns, simple solids and captivating colors. Stockbridge native Annie Selke created the company almost 30 years ago and it's now the Annie Selke Companies, which includes Annie Selke, Pine Cone Hill, and Dash & Albert lines of rugs, bedding, décor and furniture. Locals look forward to the bustling spring and fall outlet sales at the Pine Cone Hill outlet store adjacent to its headquarters in Pittsfield. We’ll have to wait for the tent sales, but fortunately, the outlet is open so you can still snap up the bargains on quilts, sheet sets and other bedding, placemats, colorfully woven shawls, silk throw pillows, pajamas, bathrobes, and furniture. Currently the outlet is open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Of course, online shopping is always open. And for those who want the latest great designs (at the latest full prices), the Annie Selke Lenox on Main Street is open daily, with two customers allowed in at a time.
Pine Cone Hill
New York Designer Fabric Outlet
Even those not in the interior design trade find the New York Designer Fabric Outlet fun. Who doesn’t love owning things of the first quality that have been picked up for a song? The New York Designer Fabric Outlet located in Valatie, New York, is the exclusive source for overstock and remnants of custom hand-printed fabrics and wallpapers from luxury brands such as Quadrille, China Seas, Alan Campbell, and Home Couture. Thousands of yards of the finest European fabrics as seen in the pages House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Veranda, Architectural Digest, Coastal Living, and Martha Stewart Living, at an average of 75% savings. Here sold by the yard, many of these fabrics can be found in the most beautiful homes in America and Europe. The outlet is open on Thursdays and Fridays by appointment, and if you don’t insist on touching the material, you can shop and purchase through the website.
New York Designer Fabric Outlet
Written by
