Handcrafted quality for everyday living
One of the easiest ways to add a little bit of luxury into your daily life is to upgrade your linens.
Whether you are looking at bedding or towels or napkins, quality linens should be seen as an investment instead of a cost.
Modern day luxury needs to be livable.
There is a demand for couture textiles that are washable at home and linens that are meant to be lived in by everyone in the family, and become softer with every use.
For more than 25 years, Mitchell Gately, CEO of Bella Notte, has been an industry leader in small-batch crafted and dyed linens.
Their products are handcrafted by master sewers using hand-mixed color palettes and are known globally for their luxury and quality. Bella Notte’s signature linen is made from European Flax, a fiber which uses less water to grow and emits less carbon than cotton per pound.
Gately says his company responsibly sources the finest quality materials from all over the world, applying low impact dyes and finishes. Each piece is garment dyed to order in an artisanal dye house.
As a construction foreman for years, Gately traded his cement and iron nails to co-found Bella Notte (bellanottelinens.com) in 1996. Monthly magazine tracked down Gately in California, where his company is based. Here are excerpts from the conversation:
WHAT DOES YOUR COMPANY DO?
We create comfort for the home by handcrafting luxury linens in a custom palette of colors that reflect a unique aesthetic.
WHAT’S THE PROCESS FOR MAKING LUXURY LINENS?
We design collections of bedding and living room pieces using a variety of luxurious textiles. Each item is hand cut, sewn, and then small-batch dyed to order. Even our trims and tassels are handcrafted.
HOW DID THE IDEA ORIGINATE?
Our goal was to create luxury linens that could be used every day. The only way to do that was to make sure that every beautiful textile we worked with was machine washable.
DO YOU SET OR FOLLOW INDUSTRY TRENDS?
We create heirloom linens in the sense that they can be handed down through generations. We avoid trends because in the world of Bella Notte, shams that you bought 20 years ago will complement the blanket that you buy today.
WHAT’S YOUR SIGNATURE PRODUCT OR TECHNIQUE?
Our styles are designed with impeccable attention to detail. We’re known for our textural combinations such as linen with cotton velvet, cotton jacquard with silk velvet, silk velvet with charmeuse, and also for our unique dye process. The tonal variations among our textiles and colors are endless.
WHO IS YOUR TYPICAL CUSTOMER?
Up until a year ago I would have said, a woman who insists on originality, cares about quality craftsmanship, and wants her home to reflect her distinct personality. But now, I must include men in this description as well, as we’ve recently seen the emergence of our male customer. Bella Notte’s colors and textures suit a wide range of aesthetics, and I’m excited that our buyers are expanding to include more men.
