Materials

We use many different yarns in our products, each of which is common to traditional Ethiopian textiles. The yarn we use the most is Ethiopian cotton, which is known for its especially thick and soft texture. It’s a softness you can feel in our pillows, throws, napkins and table runners.

All of our Ethiopian cotton is processed by hand from start to finish, from harvesting, through the separating, and finally the spinning. It’s common to see tiny flecks of leftover plant fibers in cotton fabrics that have been hand spun like ours. We don’t mind seeing these tiny traces of the process in our textiles, especially since they’re traces of handcraftsmanship. Though, in our case the hands belong to craftswomen. While weaving is traditionally performed by men, women typically spin cotton in Ethiopia.

In addition to our staple hand spun cotton, we also experiment with synthetic yarns, including polyester, rayon, acrylic and machine fabricated cotton. These synthetic yarns have long been used to create the bold and intricate flourishes on traditional Ethiopian textiles and clothing.

Sewing:  Most of our products are finished in Ethiopia, while a handful of our pillows are sewn in the US. Unlike mass produced products from companies that use machines to cut and place their fabrics, we remain true to handcrafting throughout as all of our pillows are cut and aligned by hand. The sewing takes place in our workshop and warehouse in Pennsylvania.

Inserts:  Our pillow inserts are a alternative down that we feel offers the most comfort and durability. They’re made by a wonderful small business also located in Brooklyn.

Zippers:  We use invisible zippers for all of our pillows, produced in California and purchased in the Garment District of Manhattan.

Labels and tags:  All of our tags are cotton and sourced from a small business in China which we found on Etsy!