Ahem. First and foremost, linen is durable. If you read nothing else in this blog post, you're still golden walking around knowing that little fact. Wash it lots and lots, and it's not going to give out like synthetic fibers. It's even going to outlast our second favorite household textile, 100% organic cotton.
But for those who want to know more, here's a little background on linen and why it's amazing, so you can understand why The Linen Closet is utterly in love with the stuff.
Linen fibers are sourced from the stems of flax plants (hey-o Linen Closet logo) and are known for their extreme sustainability and durability. Flax plants are grown in cooler climates throughout the world in countries like France, Belgium, Italy, and Lithuania (we feature beautiful Lithuanian linens in our shop!). Linen is considered a higher quality fabric than cotton, and is produced and sold at a higher price (but worth it, promise).
So why do we want linen on our dining table?
Of course we want our tables to be beautiful and have that certain, shall we say, je ne sais quoi, to give our guests--and of course, ourselves--a cozy and elegant dinner to remember. The key to a beautiful and functional table setting is to use quality linens. But also, table textiles have to be able to handle spills, stains and frequent washings. Our more pragmatic selves know it is important to use quality fabrics that won’t fall apart or become threadbare, especially after your four-year-old guest flings spaghetti sauce all over your white table runner....for the third time.
Which leads me to the importance of linens in your kitchens as well.
Linen is very absorbent and dries quickly. Let me repeat that. Linen is very absorbent and dries quickly. While cleaning your kitchen, you can leave your linen towel in a pile on your counter after becoming distracted by, I don't know, the fact that you have eleven loads of laundry to do by the upcoming Monday morning (tell me I'm not the only one), and it's not going to be wet and smell weird when you come back to the kitchen hours later. You can use a kitchen towel several times without having to wash it in between uses since there will be no musty smell produced, thanks to linen’s naturally antimicrobial features (bye germs!). Because of the durability of linen, you will get many more uses out of this high-quality fabric as well. How many times do you wash and dry dishes every week? You need something that will last through a lot of swipes over your dishes, and a lot of subsequent washes.
At The Linen Closet, we kind of love the idea of buying something ethically produced and made to last. We love the idea of buying quality things and buying them less often. But let's be real, we also love the idea of buying things that are beautiful in an understated, elegant way. If you find yourself nodding in agreement, I would love to invite you to drop by our store in downtown Frankfort or check out our online offerings as we grow and add new products. We have pretty things for you, your home, and gifts for someone you love a bunch.
See you soon!
-Brittany