How it all started

Fou Furnishings was borne out of one of those eureka moments, sitting on a plane at the end of a long day in retail consultancy. After a weekend of spending precious time trudging round the shops to find quality bed linen which was different from the mass produced look, I thought, there has to be an easier way. Then the idea struck me that I could design home products.  I had spent my entire career covering most parts of retail, from the shop floor to head office, and had been involved throughout in selecting or selling designs commercially. So why did I not then do a design course. Then I could design a range for the home which I, and many friends also, seemed to be looking for. A range which offered a different and distinctive choice from the mass produced product of chain stores, convenience, original design and good quality which didn’t literally cost the earth and last, but not least, customer service which delivered on its promises.

There followed a year out to concentrate on product design and development, through a one year MSc in Product Design & Development, in spite of my children’s concerns that I would be the oldest student ever!  At the end of my first week, my eldest daughter asked with concern if I had met any friends at my new ‘school’.  The end result, almost another year later of design and sourcing is Fou Furnishings organic cotton bed linen and accessories collection.  The selection of organic cotton as the key material was based on the traceability and sustainability of the supply chain as well as the quality of this natural fibre.

Every product in the collection has a story. The form of three of the duvet cover closures was also driven by the belief that there had to be a way of getting a duvet in to a duvet cover without having to funnel in to it.

Many sketches later, the Fou duvet was worked on, critiqued, prototyped and the design registered in the UK and Europe. I hope you enjoy this, our first bed linen collection, in the finest organic cotton yarns and fabrics I could source, for smooth, soft percales, lustrous sateens and crafted accessories from Italy. Hopefully it highlights that organic cotton bed linen can be contemporary, classic and original in design as well as be luxurious, soft and smooth. We will do our very best to deliver on our promises.

Please let us know what you think of the products on the feedback forms in the catalogue and on the web site.