Question about linen sheets.

We are considering buying sheets from you. Our choice is between all linen and 50% linen/50% cotton. How do they compare? What are the strengths and weaknesses of either?

That's a tough question!

I like pure linen in the summer as it has a cool hand; this is a classic in Europe, but a challenge for Americans as there is the wrinkle factor and the crisp factor. Linen sheets do get softer with time, but it does take some time. I'm not crazy about sleeping in pure linen in the winter.

I like a 50/50 blend because it has the unusual feel and heft of linen, but also the softness of cotton. This fabric tends to be thicker, heavier. This is a better year-round fabric.

I hope this helps.

I'll show you mine....

We've been given the opportunity to do the bedrooms and bathrooms in one of the most spectacular penthouses in the Pearl District -- for the second time! The orginal owners of The Henry unit are among our best and favorite customers, and when they recently sold, they sent the new owners to us for bedding style and expertise.

Another of our favorite customers leads an intriguing life of weekends in a Pearl District loft and week days in a contemporary Eastside home just 1.8 miles away from the loft! We've helped him with both master bedrooms and the results are stunning and sophisticated.

Another of our customers is in the process of "doing" four bedrooms in her river front home that sits on 1,000 acres and through which the explorers Lewis and Clark traveled.

Essentially, our customers get to live out my bedding fantasies by choosing our finest textiles with their great taste and working them into their own, exquisite personal spaces. Even though I own the joint, there is a limit to how much luxury bedding and towels I can accumulate.

I'd like to start an online scrapbook of our customers' bed. If you're so inclined, please email me photos of what you've been able to create using French Quarter products (and if you have a before picture, all the better). I won't divulge any personal details. Please email photos to: timo@frenchquarterlinens.com

Ok, so here's mine, wrinkles and all:
I just made my bed last night and decided to pull off the Legna (this was a difficult decision!) and put on my second favorite sheets and shams which are a 460 threadcount Italian percale with three lines of embroidery. My duvet cover and shams are Leitner's pure-linen Istanbul in a faint blue. I also threw the Leitner geometric top sheet over my ancient Peacock Alley matlasse coverlet.

And how about that wallpaper? Just put up and it's from Cole & Son, a pattern they pulled from their 1950's archives. www.cole-and-son.com

Ok, now... show me yours!

It only took us 12 years!

Meet Cindy. Meet Eileen.

And meet our Dream Bed, debuting the month of our 12th anniversary!

Cindy and Eileen are genuine customers right off the street and they're lounging in our real life tester bed. We should have thought of this before because our customers are loving it. And we love coaxing the occasional reticent customer to hop into bed in broad daylight.

The handmade RoyalPedic mattress sports a three-inch wool and latex pad, which sports a French washable-wool mattress pad, which sports our favorite ultra-soft sheets (good 'ole Legna, the wood fiber gems). The bed is also decked out with a premier duvet and sleeping pillows from Scandia Down. And all of this is tucked away in a far corner of the store where you can have a little fun. (Shoes must be off and clothes must stay on!)

What are you waiting for?

Cindy and Eileen had a blast this afternoon.

If it's April, it's White & Ivory month!

After my winter hiatus from blogging, I'm back to tell you about our annual White & Ivory Sale. We used to call it our Bread & Butter sale-- get it? white (bread), ivory (butter) -- because we've got the bread and butter of our stock on sale at 20% off for the entire month of April. We changed the name a couple of years ago to White & Ivory, just so there would be no doubt in anyone's mind about the best month of the year for stocking up on fine linens.

So, here's a sampling of what you might consider adding to your linen wardrobe: white and ivory sheets, duvet covers and shams in percales, sateens, linen and Legna (see my first blog entry for more details on Legna); white and ivory towels and yes, this includes Super Pile; all of our down products--hey, they're white!; and our RoyalPedic mattresses; plus whatever else might catch your eye in our stores that falls into a white or ivory slot.

Note that the 20% discount will be honored for special orders as long as they are placed during the month of April. Happy shopping!

A Dirty Little Secret Revealed

Ok, well, a few little dirty secrets: I make mistakes, my staff makes mistakes, our vendors make mistakes. In fact, the world of savvy retail is all about making mistakes--merchandise buying mistakes! Back in the good old days when I was participating in my Masters Class of Retail (it was a buying career at Meier & Frank; remember that name?!) we were always told that if we weren't taking risks with merchandise, we weren't doing our job; markdowns were invented to correct retail mistakes.

Sooooooo, this mistake-making is really risk-taking, right? Right! There is so much cool and beautiful bedding that falls into this category.

And here's the one secret that isn't so dirty: in the back of our Pearl District store we have a newly configured and organized sale and clearance area. Instead of the cramped, messy and disorganized zone you may have experienced before, you'll find neat and organized racks that allow you to power shop! We've pulled each thing out of its package, put it on a hangar and clearly marked it. All of our buying mistakes, overstocks and discontinueds can be found at 70% off the original retails. And please, this is one secret we want shared, so help us spread the word!

Some details of the Gold Dot Sale

Annual Gold Dot Sale

It starts today.

It's the best one yet. And I'm not just saying that!

I've made some special purchases on basic bedding and towel items that guarantee that you'll be able to walk out with a great value.

At 33% off you'll find:

+ 310 thread count Egyptian Cotton sheets in white and natural from Peacock Alley

+ Matlasse coverlets and shams in white and ecru

+ Thirsty Egyptian cotton towels in white, bamboo, brick, butter and coffee

+ Duvets and pillows from Scandia down

+ Most throws, bathrobes, pj's

+ All blankets

+ Lots of assorted bedding styles


Enjoy the savings.

Sale runs through January 15.